Recharge and reinvigorate this exam season

• Resources to inspire you
• Resources to help to help you relax
• Wellbeing events in museums

Resources to inspire you

Films

We subscribe to several audio-visual databases which provide a rich selection of films and TV shows to support academic study.

• Kanopy – watch critically-acclaimed movies, inspiring documentaries, award-winning foreign films and more.
• BFI Online (only available from the UK) - hundreds of exceptional films handpicked by the BFI and made available to UCL students and staff for academic purposes only . 
• Bloomsbury Video Library: Arts and Humanities Collection - exclusive indie films and shorts, avant-garde performances, interviews with renowned art practitioners and more.
• Shakespeare’s Globe on Screen : Drama Online - 30 productions from Shakespeare's Globe theatre.
• World Cinema Collection : Films on Demand -  films from around the world, from the silent era to contemporary works.

Please check Databases: Audio-visual page - for a full list of databases containing films, TV shows and theatre performances to support academic research or study.

Magazines

Magazines are a great source of inspiration and fresh insights on a range of topical issues to reinvigorate your research.

• Art magazines are available in print editions in the Main Library. 
• Historical and contemporary newspapers from around the world provide new perspectives on varied subjects.  
• Vogue – We have every issue of Vogue from 1892, a brilliant resource for social history and style tips.
• New Scientist – Stay on top of what’s happening with science and technology news from around the world.
• Rock’s Backpages – This archive from rock and pop music history has the full text of popular music magazines like NME and Melody Maker.
• The New Yorker is full of thoroughly researched prose and incisive pen portraits.
• We also have access to the Times Higher Education, Sight and Sound, London Review of Books and much more…

Resources to help you relax

Make time to relax, connect with friends and family and rest from revision.

Books

• Daily reading for pleasure positively affects mental health, lowers stress levels and improves concentration among many other things.
• The UCL Main Library has a fantastic range of fiction, art and design books, which you can borrow from any UCL Library via the Click and Collect service. 
• We also have dedicated wellbeing collections in many libraries with novels and books related to mental health and wellbeing, including several from the Reading Agency’s ‘Books on Prescription’ list. Check our Mental Health and Wellbeing Reading List.
• Several libraries have book swaps which are a great way to declutter your shelves and find brilliant new reads.
• We also recommend joining your local public library. Anyone can join Camden and Islington libraries, while Westminster accepts anyone with a permanent UK address.

E-books and digital collections

Escape to other worlds and discover treasures via some of our online collections, including:

• UCL Press – the world’s first fully open access university press has published 189 books which have been accessed over seven million times. Highlights include Treasures from UCL and The World of UCL.
• Digital Collections - many important items from our world-renowned Special Collections have been digitised, including items about the history of UCL, medieval manuscript fragments and the George Orwell archive.
• Literature online (LION) - access more than 350,000 works of poetry, prose and drama.
• Oxford World's Classics - read over 300 great novels and other books, which have proved the test of time and inspired hit shows like Bridgerton or Clueless.

Take a break in our libraries

• Regular screen and study breaks are important. 
• Visit one of UCL’s museums or exhibition spaces - which are free to visit. Check opening times online before planning your visit.
• Community jigsaws - available in the School of Pharmacy, IOE Library and LaSS Library.
• Origami - create beautiful paper animals in the School of Pharmacy Library.
• Chess - The SSEES Library chess board is very popular and you will always find someone to play against.
• Nearby nature – spending time in green spaces has been proven to be good for your mental wellbeing and focus.
• Exam Season Toolkit  – Student Support and Wellbeing have organised activities across the exams season to help you “relax, unwind, and take some time out away from the books”.

Wellbeing events in museums

Drop-in Origami Workshop in the UCL Art Museum

Dates: Thursdays 2 May, 9 May, 16 May and 23 May, 13:30-16:30

Sharing the care of Origami, one-fold at a time this exam season, Dr. Lizzie Burns will be hosting free drop-in sessions on Thursday afternoons throughout May to demonstrate the mental health benefits of the practice of Origami. 

Drop-in Drawing Workshop in the Grant Museum of Zoology

Dates: Wednesdays 1 May, 8 May, 15 May and 22 May, 13:30-16:30

Looking closely at the Grant Museum’s collection of invertebrates, Sally-Anne Hickman will lead students to ‘collect’ sketches into their very own cabinet of curiosity, encouraging creativity and the development of strong observational techniques for art. 

No prior experience or knowledge is required for either drop-in event.