Library notices

Borrowing of library books

The Library Service has resumed a postal loan service for print books stored at the IFoA London and Edinburgh offices. Please use the IFoA Library catalogue to search for, find and request to borrow printed library books. We may advise the route to use of the matching ebook in preference, where the title is available in our eLibrary and it is more cost-effective. If local to the London office, you may be able to collect or return library books in person at No. 1-3 Staple Inn Hall, London ground floor by prior arrangement for a day of visit, after first emailing the Library team. We may arrange despatch of library book loans to several different requests weekly, so this may affect delivery time.

Please note the change of address for collecting or returning books by prior arrangement: Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, 1-3 Staple Inn Hall, London WC1V 7QJ.

IFoA eLibrary and 'Actuarial Knowledge Hub'

The eLibrary is available to all members and affiliates who login via the IFoA website with their IFoA member credentials. Upon login, IFoA members open the 'Actuarial Knowledge Hub', an integrated research portal.  The Hub brings together several distinct sources of research in actuarial science in one search:

• The online journals and ebooks available to IFoA members;
• The valuable catalogue of over 30,000 abstracts and references from journals worldwide built up over many decades by library staff;
• The IFoA library catalogue and its 20,000 records of hard copy holdings;
• A complete index of Actuary magazine feature articles;
• The catalogue of historic rare books collected by the Faculty and Institute since their formation and added to this day on the history and development of actuarial science;
• Thousands of relevant references from research databases across the world.

Among the journal collections available are archives of the Annals of Actuarial Science and British Actuarial Journal and also the European Actuarial Journal, the Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance, Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, the Journal of Risk and Insurance, the North American Actuarial Journal, and the Scandinavian Actuarial Journal among others.

Members also have access to over 400 eBooks, from titles to support exam reading to insurance, pensions, risk management and general business books. 

Upon request, the IFoA Library Service can set up individual 'Athens' accounts for non-members registered to sit the IFoA's next CM1, CS1 or SP9 exams for a limited period.

To find out more contact the library service at libraries@actuaries.org.uk or access the Knowledge Hub as a guest user at http://discovery.actuaries.org.uk. to find references for research on your subject enquiry.

e-book resources newly added:  IFoA members who login to the Actuarial Knowledge Hub at http://discovery.actuaries.org.uk can now read Risk.net Academic’s published resources online on desktop and laptop devices. After member login, find Risk.net on the Hub page, then ‘Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ on its institutional sign-in and follow the Risk.net site's links to (Risk) 'Books' or (Risk) 'Journals' for articles.

Please contact the Library team if you have any enquiries.

Library resources for IFoA exams

The current Curriculum guides students to supporting resources for respective subjects as they prepare for IFoA examinations in the syllabus. For most examination subjects, the IFoA Library offers 'Resources' pages listing suggested additional reading and references. These can complement subject syllabus study and there are also some textbooks that form core reading for examinations CB2, SP6 and SP9.

For the curriculum's new Banking examinations, there are new lists of resources for SP10 (Banking Principles) and for SA10 (Banking Advanced). These help to locate 'Additional reading' identified by the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) in its B100 and B200 exam books that set the reading for ASSA and other actuarial association members registering for these exams.

After member login to the Actuarial Knowledge Hub, IFoA members and students can follow 'Access ebook' links to book titles listed on the Resources pages for each exam subject. eBooks of more suggested titles complementing IFoA exam study are being added where available to help students, especially those for whom borrowing and return of print library books may not be cost-effective.

Staple Inn Actuarial Society papers. The SIAS website also offers a news page for students to find these SIAS papers suggested for additional reading for SA exam subjects. Click on the exam subject to reveal SIAS papers of interest.

The Economist country reports

By licence with The Economist Intelligence Unit, the IFoA Library offers access to the latest EIU country report for the United Kingdom, France, Germany, United States, China, and Japan to support students preparing the IFoA SA7 exam with background reading on recent trends. You can access the latest country report as issued, once you have first logged in to your account on the IFoA website.  Follow the links to the respective reports on the 'Resources for Subject SA7 Investment and Finance Advanced' page to access. There is no access to archived or previous country reports so it is advised to log in regularly for the latest monthly or yearly report.

IFoA Library catalogue

The Library Service now offers an upgraded online library catalogue that covers all library resources and now includes historical holdings published before 1901 which can be viewed at the Library by arrangement. Members and affiliates can send a request to the IFoA Library Service to borrow selected results of those printed resources available for loan or export selected catalogue references into a reading list. Access the Library catalogue at: http://library.actuaries.org.uk

The library offers search links to new additions to its catalogue by broad subjects. Alternatively, this search of the catalogue finds added books and ebooks published since 2018.

External study: Arrangements for IFoA students to use external university and other local library facilities

IFoA students seeking alternative library study space can apply to local university libraries for a non-university library card subject to their admissions policy. The IFoA Library can provide a letter of introduction to support your application to a university or another library facility – please contact libraries@actuaries.org.uk.

Please note that university libraries prioritise access and study spaces for their students especially during busier university exam periods.

International Actuarial Association, Actuaries Without Borders – ‘Book drive’ donation scheme

Do you have textbooks no longer used from past exam studies? The IAA has a ‘Book drive’ scheme inviting those wishing to pledge book titles listed as requested by overseas universities for their actuarial courses. Financial donations to the scheme are also welcome.