Services currently available from SPL

UPDATE (12/5/21):
The Scottish Poetry Library is open on weekdays and offers a limited service while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. We’re offering:

• Free postal loans with extended borrowing periods.
• A ‘click and collect’ service; consult our catalogue to see if we have the book you want and then email our reception to secure it; you can then come down to the Library and pick up the books.
• We are open to the public Mon-Fri 10am-2pm. Visitors must wear a face mask (unless exempt) and use their phone to check in for NHS Track and Trace.

See below for more information.

Click and collect? It’s simple. Email our librarian reception@spl.org.uk or give us a call on 0131 557 2876 between 10am and 2pm, Monday to Friday, and if we have the book you’re after, and it’s not on loan, we’ll put the book aside, wrapped in a tote bag, for you to come to the building and collect between the hours mentioned earlier.  

If you don’t feel comfortable coming into the Library, we are offering free postal loans. After browsing our online catalogue, you can order a book you wish to borrow by emailing us at reception@spl.org.uk or calling 0131 557 2876 between 10am and 2pm, Monday to Friday. Postal borrowers will be able to have two books sent out to them. We will manage a once-a -week bulk postal service and provide a freepost label so you can return the books to us. Users might wish to consider quarantining their books for 72 hours after collecting them from the Library.

The Library is now open to visitors Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm. Previously, our reduced Covid-safe service consisted of click and collect as well as free extended postal loans. Those services remain, but now our users can come into the building to browse our collection. As we’re only permitting three borrowers in the building at any one time, we recommend contacting the Library to book a slot. Anyone entering the Library must wear a mask and practice social distancing. Non-members will have to sign up for a library card to use the building unless it is to access the shop only. There will be a bathroom available for users. Our service is informed by the Government’s Covid-19 guidance for libraries.