Explore is provided on a remote server which is not directly under UCL control. Check its status here, and see details of alternative sources to help you find what you need if it becomes unavailable.
Regular maintenance window
Please note that, each weekend between 22:00 on Saturdays and 03:00 on Sundays, Explore's suppliers perform maintenance which can affect the service's functionality and availability. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Alternative sources to use if Explore is unavailable
If for any reason Explore becomes unavailable, please try the following alternative sources of information:
- Find a book in the library
Jisc Library Hub Discover is a tool for searching the holdings of major UK and Irish including UCL Library Services, and is a useful substitute for finding the location of library materials (please note that very latest holdings information will be uploaded soon). You can restrict any search to UCL only, by putting “held-by:ucl” at the beginning of any search.
(see this example)UCL's app, known as UCL Go, can also be used to find items in our libraries, and is available on mobile devices as well as on PC.
- Check your account
The self-service kiosks in our libraries will enable you to renew your loans and see your reservations and fines.
UCL's app, known as UCL Go, also offers these facilities, and is available on mobile devices as well as on PC.
- Find an electronic journal
You can access UCL's ejournals using the e-journals list.
For help with this service, and for further information, please see our e-journal FAQs
- Find journal articles
Google Scholar provides a means for accessing a wide range of articles from scholarly ejournals. You can see which ones UCL has access to using findit@UCL in Google Scholar
- Find a database, or search for articles
A large number of general and subject-specific databases are available for finding journal articles and other forms of information.
To choose which database to search, consult our subject-based guides to resources.
- Search other types of information within Explore
Consult individual collections which form part of Explore: