Sci-Hub is an illegal website which poses serious security risks and should be avoided by University students and staff. Police have warned against using websites, and Sci-Hub, in particular that allow users to illegally access scientific research papers.
The Sci-Hub website will be blocked for accessing on campus but it is important that students and staff do not access the site from home or off campus.
“Sci-Hub obtains the papers through a variety of malicious means, such as the use of phishing emails to trick university staff and students into divulging their login credentials. Sci Hub then use this to compromise the university’s network and download the research papers” The City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) press release
The Edinburgh Campus Library will be open the following hours until the end of March. Occasionally, we have to change the opening hours at short notice due to staff availability so please check the website for any changes and also twitter HWU_IS
The Click and Collect service for print copies of Library books has now been resumed following a break to review the procedures. The service is available at our Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Malaysia campuses.
To borrow a book from the Edinburgh Campus library, you should request it online via the Library system Discovery Once your request has been approved, you will receive an email from the Library Service Desk letting you know when the book is available for you to pick up.
Step by step instructions: Requesting a book Go to Discovery. Sign in (top right-hand corner) Search for the book you would like to borrow Once you have found the book that you would like to borrow, there will be an option to request it
Select Request and fill in the details Your request will be placed
The request will then be processed by Library staff and the book will either be found from the shelves or will be recalled from another student if they have it out on loan.
Collecting a book
When your book is available for you to collect, you will receive an email from the Library Service Desk. The email will give you instructions about when and where to come to collect the book. Please wait until you have the email with details of collection before visiting the Library.
If the book is in the Library, you will be able to collect it the next day. If the book has to be recalled, this can take anytime up to 2 – 3 weeks as it will rely on the student who currently has the book on loan returning it. Students have up to 2 weeks to return a recalled book.
All books when they are returned from other borrowers, must be quarantined for 72 hours to comply with safety guidelines.
You must bring your Student ID card so that we can check the details. The book will be issued to your Library account by staff before collection.
We are pleased to be able to reinstate click & collect services for print books at the Edinburgh and Scottish Borders Campuses. We know that this service is very helpful for students this year and apologise for any inconvenience caused while the review of its safety was carried out by the University. This week we are working through the backlog of requests received and revising our service in the libraries. Further information of the full reinstatement and new process will be communicated early next week.
To access the Library building, it is essential to have your student or staff ID card. If you haven’t got an ID card, please contact the Student Service Centre via the HWU portal.
Face coverings must be worn at all times in the Library building.
There are 200 bookable study spaces in the Edinburgh Campus Library. You can check the occupancy of the Library at any time by looking at the tile on the portal
All spaces are for individual study and the spaces are physically distanced.
The study tables that can be used are clearly marked with green ticks (or red crosses)
It is mandatory to book a study space in advance in order to comply with the University and Government guidelines.
If you have any problems booking a space, please let Library staff know.
Opening hours of the Library can be found on the website The hours are subject to change but the details are updated daily and also promoted on twitter
If you have any enquiries, please contact the Library Service Desk 0131 451 3577 or ServiceDesk@hw.ac.uk or IS Help ishelp@hw.ac.uk. Thank you for your co-operation and help in keeping everyone safe.
The Edinburgh Campus Library will be open the following hours for the next two weeks and we hope to continue with these hours into March. Occasionally, we have to change the opening hours at short notice due to staff availability so please check the website for any changes and also twitter HWU_IS
One exception is Friday 12th February when we will be open 2:00pm – 6:00pm. This is a University Staff Rest Day where staff across the University, working from home and on campus, are able to take a day off as a thank you for their hard work, professionalism and dedication in difficult times. Therefore we are working reduced hours on that day.
Some students and staff members are reporting error messages when they try to access library resources, including journal articles, eBooks and databases. These errors may mention that the connection is not secure or not private, or say that the site cannot be reached.
Update Mon 8th Feb: This problem was caused by a change to the security certificates and should now be resolved. If you are still seeing an error message when you try to access eBooks, journals or databases you may need to clear your browser’s cache.
To clear your cache:
Windows – press Ctrl + shift + delete
Mac – Chrome – press Shift + Cmd + delete
Mac – Safari – press Option + Cmd + E
Please contact ishelp@hw.ac.uk if you continue to have problems accessing resources.
We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and thank you for your understanding.
Please be aware that there are reports of several phishing emails being sent to HWU staff and student accounts. Some of these emails claim to be from the NHS about vaccination appointments e.g. “important Book an appointment using the NHS e-Referral Service NHSVaccination” with links to book an appointment.
If you think you have received a phishing email, do not click on any links, and do not open any attachments.
If you are unsure if an email is real or not please forward it or screenshot the email content and send it to ishelp@hw.ac.uk If you have received a phishing email, accidently clicked the link in it and provided your university credentials (username and password), please contact the IS Helpdesk for assistance.
Accounts that are suspected to be compromised will be blocked automatically. If your account has been blocked because of this, please send an email to ishelp.hw.ac.uk for further assistance.
Top tips to help you spot phishing emails
(phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication).
Be suspicious of any urgent requests for personal or financial information
Be aware: Phishing scams are common at main instalment payment dates or connected to newsworthy events
Check that you’re using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information.
Prevention: Your email details may have been taken from a social networking site so avoid disclosing your email address or make sure you hide it on your page
Look for tell-tale signs of phishing: Check the quality of the communication. Misspelling, poor punctuation and bad grammar are often good indicators
The Digital Copies Service from Information Services will enable you to provide Copyright compliant scans of book chapters or articles via the Copyright Licensing Agency’s content store.
The service will provide teaching staff with scans of book chapters or articles for use in Vision. There is a requirement on all staff to ensure that scans are enabled within the limits of the University’s licence with the Copyright Licensing Agency (which applies to all UK campuses).
