Membership
Join us as a member and you will become part of a unique community of readers and writers, united in supporting Exeter’s oldest library in its original setting and preserving 7 Cathedral Close for public education and enjoyment.
Benefits of Membership
We offer a beautiful, tranquil reading, writing, and meeting space right in the centre of Exeter, with magnificent early 19th century galleried libraries for research and relaxation.
Membership Options & Fees
We have a number of different membership options, including for children, young people, and those on a lower income.
Join or renew here
Become a member or renew an existing membership online here. Alternatively, pop in and one of our friendly volunteers will be happy to help you.
Trial Membership
Are you considering DEI membership? Why not take us for a test drive before committing? Trial memberships are available from £10 for one day.
Gift Membership
Give a friend or loved one the gift of DEI membership and you will be supporting a thriving independent library and educational charity.
University of Exeter – students and staff
Please note that our allocation of complimentary University memberships for 2025–26 is now full.
I've just joined online! What happens next?
Thank you for joining us! We couldn’t do what we do without you.
Once we have received your membership fees and activated your membership, you will receive an email from us officially welcoming you to the Institution. This email will invite you to come in to the DEI and collect your Welcome Pack, which contains lots of useful information about using our facilities and accessing our resources, as well as a selection of leaflets and postcards and a DEI bookmark.
Depending on how you opted to pay your membership fees, you should receive this email about 1 – 2 weeks after signing up. (NB It can take up to 10 days for a new Direct Debit to be processed, and about the same amount of time for a bank transfer to appear on our statement.)
Please note that if you opted to pay by offline card or cash, then you will need to come in to pay your fees. You can collect your Welcome Pack at that point, and will receive your Welcome email shortly thereafter.
We hold a New Member Welcome Event every six months, in the autumn and the spring. This is your opportunity to meet staff and other members of our community and find out how to make the most of your membership. Keep an eye out for your invite! The next New Member event will be on Tuesday 21st April.
Renewing your membership
Unless otherwise specified, all DEI membership types are renewable annually. If you have opted to pay by Direct Debit (either annually or in instalments), then your membership will roll over automatically, unless you cancel it. For payment by all other means, we will send you an email about a month before your membership fees are due to remind you.
Please note: if your membership lapses by more than two months, then you will be required to pay another joining fee of £15.
If you do not wish to renew your membership, then we ask that you let us know as soon as possible, so that we do not continue to remind you that your fees are overdue and can update our records.
Please note: if your membership lapses by more than 3 months, then we will contact you to tell you know that GDPR requires us to remove your details from our system.
Resigning your membership
We understand that you may decide DEI membership is no longer right for you. If you do not wish to renew your membership, please notify us by emailing [email protected]. It’s helpful for us to know why our members decide to resign, so please do tell us, if you’re able.
When you membership has expired, we will email you to formally confirm your resignation. You will no longer receive correspondence from the DEI and your details will be removed from our system after 3 months. (You can continue to receive our quarterly newsletter by signing up here or notifying us by email.)
Please note that if you pay your annual membership fees in monthly instalments by Direct Debit, you will need to complete your payments for the year before cancelling your Direct Debit.