Image credit: Mark Thomson, Wellcome Sanger Institute.
Reading in all its forms underpins research and discovery, with the library playing a key role in making knowledge accessible, usable and impactful.
This year is the National Year of Reading – a UK-led campaign designed to encourage and inspire more people to engage with reading whenever they can. This campaign is a reminder of something simple but powerful: every discovery starts somewhere, and more often than not, it starts with reading. Whether it is a student exploring a new topic, a postdoc refining an idea or a researcher building on years of evidence, reading underpins the entire research lifecycle.
At the Wellcome Sanger Institute, reading looks a little different from the traditional romcom or thriller books found on the shelves at your local library. It spans academic monographs (long-form work on a specialist subject), journal articles, datasets, preprints and code – reading happens across digital platforms as much as physical spaces. But the principle remains the same – access to knowledge can fuel curiosity, and curiosity drives discovery.
The Ashburner library – our internal library named after Michael Ashburner, biologist and co-founder of the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) – sits at the heart of this process. It not only provides access to information, but it actively enables research. From connecting people with the resources they need, to supporting publishing, to championing open access so knowledge can be shared globally, the library plays a vital role in turning reading into real-world impact.
As we acknowledge the National Year of Reading, we want to highlight how our library goes beyond providing access to books and journals – it supports reading in all its forms, from exploring research papers to building skills on learning platforms or engaging with content like this blog. By making reading accessible and flexible, the library helps spark ideas, support discovery and connect people with knowledge at every stage of their journey.
Managing knowledge
Reading is not always as simple as picking something up – without access to content, whether that is online articles and blogs or physical books, it can quickly become out of reach for many.
At the Institute, the library plays a key role in removing those barriers. It provides access to both physical and digital collections, including books, journals and databases that support a wide range of research needs. Library Manager, Andrew King, and Assistant Librarian, Michaela Djan, work to maintain subscriptions to major journals, and when something is not immediately available, they step in – sourcing individual articles and monographs or collaborating with other libraries to ensure researchers can still access what they need.
The Library team. Images credit: Mark Thomson / Wellcome Sanger Institute
Alongside traditional resources, the library also offers access to the O’Reilly learning platform. This gives staff and students the opportunity to develop programming and technical skills through books, videos and interactive content – broadening what reading can look like in a modern research environment.
They also manage an online catalogue system, making it easier to search for and discover materials. By improving how resources are organised and accessed, the library helps ensure that reading – and the knowledge it unlocks – remains available to everyone who needs it.
“Acquiring material that isn’t available to Sanger staff is a vital part of our everyday work. We can obtain paywalled articles and source ambiguous, incomplete citations, sometimes within hours if need be. If we order material from another library, staff will be informed about how long the expected time of delivery should be. If there is a resource or database which staff believe is useful to Sanger research, they can let the library know so we can help with next steps.”
Andrew King,
Library Manager, Wellcome Sanger Institute
Engaging with researchers to support action
The team supports researchers with a wide range of enquiries, offering tailored guidance to meet individual needs. For example, in the library the team places a strong emphasis on the physical space and on helping users find the resources they need. Whether that means guiding them to specific titles on the shelves or directing those interested in informatics to digital platforms such as O’Reilly’s learning platform. This support makes it easier for researchers to navigate large volumes of information and focus their reading on what matters most to their work.
They also help host dedicated sessions run by Postdocs for Postdocs, called ‘Shut up and write’, providing protected research time without distractions.
“Another way that we support staff here at Sanger is by providing them with a quiet space to reflect, study and recuperate. We have comfortable lounge chairs for people to relax with a book or a coffee, or both! Hotdesking spaces are available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis for those who like working in different environments, and we also provide a quiet room with individual study carrels. This room can be used for a general quiet space, for those who need to concentrate without distractions, or can be booked in advance through the library for quiet group events. Providing this kind of environment helps create a welcoming, restorative space where people can enjoy reading.”
Michaela Djan,
Assistant Librarian, Wellcome Sanger Institute
The Library offers a quiet reflective space to think, study, and explore. Images credit: Michaela Djan / Wellcome Sanger Institute
“The library is an important part of my time at the Institute. There are periods when I spend many hours there, reading, studying and working with focus. For me, it is also a kind of safe space. Sometimes I go with a clear purpose, while at other times I simply sit in the comfortable seating area, have a coffee, review notes or pause. It offers a quiet environment where I can process my work and concentrate without distractions. The large windows overlooking the well-kept garden bring natural light and create a calm, reflective atmosphere. I go there whenever I need to reconnect and reset.”
Lorenzo Mazza,
Advanced Research Assistant, Wellcome Sanger Institute
Driving communication and open access
The library team tracks all publications produced by researchers at the Sanger Institute. They manage references, ensure metadata are accurate, and tag papers by core faculty, programmes and publication types. Weekly lists of publications are shared with colleagues across the Institute, keeping everyone up to date with the Sanger’s published research output.
Our librarians also support researchers with publication queries, ensuring submissions comply with Institute policies before being sent to journals. All Sanger-authored papers containing original research must be open access. There are several routes to achieving this:
- Article Processing Charges (APCs) – covering costs to publish papers in fully open access journals.
- Read and Publish agreements – deals that allow open access publishing while providing journal access, at no extra cost to authors.
- Europe PubMed Central (EPMC) – self-archiving the accepted manuscript here without an embargo ensures immediate access upon publication, without having to pay any open access publishing fees.
- Preprints – publishing the submitted manuscript on a preprint server (e.g., bioRxiv and medRxiv) is another route to open access without having to pay any fees.
The library team also monitors open access compliance. Unless exceptions apply, all research publications must be available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY), allowing others to reuse the work as long as the original authors are credited. Additionally, all publications need to be deposited in EPMC to ensure accessibility.
By reducing barriers to access and publication, this work enables researchers worldwide to read, learn from and build on Sanger research, helping to educate and expand knowledge globally.
“As advocates for open research, it is arguably the primary role of the library to provide support when staff are publishing their research open access. We promote the different routes to open access, provide guidance for the Creative Commons licences, facilitate APC payments, and track compliance with the Wellcome Open Access Policy as well as the Sanger Publication Policy. All Sanger authors need to abide by the general principles of acknowledging Wellcome’s core grant to Sanger, licensing their publications under a CC BY licence, and depositing their full text in EPMC. However, open access publishing is more than just compliance; it is a complex ecosystem within scholarly communications and academia. It has the ambitious aim to ensure research is freely and immediately available to reuse and distribute in order to promote equitable and open advancement of knowledge.”
Michaela Djan
Assistant Librarian, Wellcome Sanger Institute
Ultimately, libraries are more than repositories of information – they are the facilitators of reading and discovery. At the Sanger Institute, the Ashburner Library ensures that knowledge is not locked away, but accessible and actionable. By connecting people with the right resources, supporting skill-building, facilitating open access and guiding researchers through complex information landscapes, the library transforms reading from a passive activity into a catalyst for innovation and real-world impact. As we recognise the National Year of Reading, it is a reminder that reading comes in many forms and engaging with any kind can spark ideas, broaden understanding and open doors to discovery for everyone.
