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Read and Relax

Reading for fun, relaxation and interest - the library has more to offer than just resources to support your studies.

About the Read and Relax collection

Note: please be aware that this is a new collection which we are still developing and more titles will be moved into it over the coming months.

Our Read and Relax collection is in the Calm Space on Floor 0 of the library. We understand that there is more to life than just study, which is why we have created this collection. Books can be borrowed by anyone; students, staff and external library members with borrowing rights.

This collection includes titles on wellbeing, mental health and fiction from easy reading titles to stories from diverse or minority perspectives from across the globe. Books in this collection have come from our existing stock as well as from kind donations in good condition.

If you have books in good condition that you no longer want and would like to give them a second life, in either our book exchange or Read and Relax collection, please drop them in the donations box on the walkway outside the library.

Reading lists

We have reading lists for more than just your academic modules. We have gathered together resources you may find interesting on subjects such as Race, Racism, Ethnicity and Ethnic Minorities, LGBTQ+, Neurodiversity, Mental Health, Employability and Social Mobility. 

To access these resources, go to Reading Lists and search for EDI Resource bank.

Explore the library

We have a book display on Floor 0 near the stairwell, showcasing some of the fascinating and diverse books we have in our collection. Our display changes each week and has covered a range of topics from music, Bradford and world art to exams and stress and starting your own business. You are welcome to browse and borrow any of the books on the display.

Book club

We run a book club in conjunction with the local council libraries. Every three months we receive a box of books for you to borrow. We have no idea what the titles are going to be but that is part of the fun.

Past titles include:

  • To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman
  • Gossip from the Forest by Sara Maitland
  • The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
  • The Lighthouse by Alison Moore

Book exchange

The library has a book exchange on Floor 0 near the water fountain. You are welcome to take books and donate them for others to enjoy. These books are free and not ones that need to be borrowed.

Local libraries

Bradford Council Libraries are free to join online and offer a range of physical and online resources.

Free online reading resources

Project Gutenberg offers a library of over 70,000 free eBooks. The focus of this library are on older works where US copyright has expired. You can choose among free epub and Kindle titles for downloading or reading online. 

Many Books has similar content to Project Gutenberg with more than 50,000 free titles. In addition, Many Books is a platform where self-publishing authors have a chance to showcase their work to the readers. New content is is added daily - provided quality standards are met.

The Online Books Page lists over three million free titles on the web. The content celebrates women writers, banned books and various prize winners. Apart from indexes to free books, The Online Book Page also gives pointers to significant directories and archives of online texts, and curates special exhibits of especially interesting classes of books.

Internet Archive Text Archive offers a free download service for books and other texts. The Archive includes a broad range of fiction, popular books, children's books, historical texts and academic titles.

Open Library Accessible Books from the Internet Archive offer access to over 1,400 free works.

Google Books offers previews for online books out of copyright or where publishers have granted permission for this. Public domain titles discovered via the Book Search are free to download as PDF copies.

National Academies Press have approximately 4,000 titles available for free PDF downloading. You can also read the NAP titles online.

Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature provides texts from several periods of English literature. These include the Medieval and Renaissance periods; 17th century; Restoration and 18th century. Each author has an entry that includes works, biography, criticism, quotations and links.