Library at Walton Hall

Welcome to the virtual tour of the Betty Boothroyd Library building on the Open University campus at Walton Hall, in Milton Keynes. Our Library building is open to all, including the general public. At the entrance to the building, you can enter via either the revolving doors or by the accessible automatic door.

You will see the postgraduate common room immediately to the right, which is accessible 24/7 by postgraduate students using their ID card. Through the sliding doors to the left, you will enter the atrium. There will be a friendly member of staff sitting at the enquiries desk between 9am and 5pm every weekday, who can help with enquiries relating to finding, borrowing, renewing, and returning items. The Library building is, however, self-service, so you’ll see one of our self-issue machines here where you can easily borrow and return books.

To the left, you’ll see the magnificent Tree of Learning – a 22-foot-tall sculpture installed in 2019 as part of the OU’s 50th birthday celebrations. The tree houses over 7000 personalised shields recognising the support of donors to the Carers Scholarships Fund.

There is plenty of soft seating available throughout the atrium. There’s a communal jigsaw, and a book and jigsaw swap table. For those seeking refreshments, there are vending machines to purchase drinks and snacks from, and a water fountain for filling up your water bottle. If you need space to secure your belongings whilst visiting us, lockers are available for you to use.

As you continue through the atrium, you’ll notice shelves containing OU course materials. Then, you’ll find the Archive Research Room, where anyone who is interested can work with the OU’s physical Archive materials. There's also the University Archive office, which holds historical materials of The Open University and unique research collections. These Archive facilities are accessible via appointment only.

Once you reach the end of the atrium, you’ll see an amphitheatre, which is the ideal space for OU colleagues to deliver lectures to small audiences.

Down this small corridor, you’ll find two doors to the toilets – one which is Unisex and Accessible, and the other being Male toilets. There’s also a door to a set of staircases, which can be used to access both the first and second floors.

We’re now back at the Tree of Learning. The door ahead opens automatically when you push this green button. These automatic door push-buttons are located throughout the building.

To your right, you’ll find two doors to the toilets – one which is Unisex, Accessible and Baby Change, the other being Female toilets. Toilets can be found by both staircases on all floors.

To access the first and second floors, you can either use the lifts or the main staircase.

We’re now on the first floor, which is the library’s designated quiet study space. Entering through the second set of automatic doors, you’ll see another self-issue machine to your left. There's a digital library catalogue, which you can use to locate the books you’re interested in. There's also a shelf of Ordnance Survey maps.

You’ll then reach the many rows of bookshelves, covering a variety of subjects. As you head through the walkway between the bookshelves, you’ll come across a variety of seating areas and study desks where you can sit and study in peace and quiet.

Further down the walkway, there is a wheelchair accessible desk, which can be lowered or raised to suit your needs.

Now we’re on the second floor, which is quite a bit different to the first. As you enter through the second set of automatic doors, you’ll encounter an ideal space for informal gatherings and study breaks. There’s an array of tables and soft seating, as well as The Park, which is an outdoor-themed breakout space.

Next to The Park is a collection of Research Methods books which are for reference use only.

As you head down the walkway, you’ll enter the collaborative study space, which contains shelves of journals and banks of study desks. This area is designed for collaboration, so there’s no need for quiet working here! There are two wheelchair-accessible desks in this area, which can be lowered or raised to suit your needs. Here is the first accessible desk, and here is the second.

As we continue down the walkway, you’ll encounter more bookshelves and additional study space amongst the shelves.

There is also some designated space for private study in the form of 5 study rooms, which do not require booking. Now, let’s head back downstairs and take a look outside the library building.

As you exit the building, you’ll notice a grey post box in the wall to your left. This is where you can post any books that you’ve come to return out-of-hours. There is a sign above it that details the building’s opening hours.

As you can see, there’s plenty of outdoor space for you to get some fresh air.

As you continue walking, you’ll encounter some fancy-looking blue lockers. You can place requests through Library Search to borrow print books held in the Library and then collect your requested items from these lockers.

There is also a fenced-off area between the Library building green space and the bus stop that is designated for assistance dogs.

If you decide to visit us in-person, we recommend taking a walk around the OU campus. You’ll encounter many wonderful sights and facilities, including historical artwork, the Walton Hall building - of which the earliest surviving part was built in the 1690s; St Michael’s Church – a Grade II listed building that dates back to the 14th century; The Hub – which offers a wide selection of fresh seasonal food and beverages, and is also open to the general public; and the beautiful Legacy Garden - planted in 2013 as a visual testament of our gratitude and lasting tribute to donors who have remembered the University in their Will.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our virtual tour of the Open University Library. To find out more, visit our website.