Category Archives: Environment

Teaching and study space in Library@URS

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From 1 October, the University has temporarily converted two more Library@URS rooms for teaching. Although less study space is available here on term-time weekdays, remember you can use alternative study space available across campus, as well as the new group and quiet study areas recently opened in the Library building.

Changing rooms!

With the temporary closure of some teaching rooms in the Palmer building for remedial work, two of the rooms on the second floor of the Library@URS (2s21 and 2n09) have been converted to teaching rooms. When these aren’t in use for teaching they can be used for study. However, owing to fire regulations regarding the safe capacity of the URS building, more group study rooms on the second floor will be closed while teaching rooms and the Large Lecture Theatre may be in use.

All group study rooms will be open for use from 18:00 on Fridays until 08:00 on Mondays during term time, as well as all throughout the vacations and summer term. All other quiet and silent study rooms on the north side of the building will remain open throughout. You can still use the group study rooms on the Library@URS ground floor.

Study space in the Library

The Library’s newly re-opened Ground Floor offers quiet study seating options, while the 1st Floor provides a range of group study seating options. Please bear in mind that Library refurbishment continues on these and other floors until autumn 2019 and it will sometimes be noisy or disruptive. Read more about the newly opened spaces in the Library here.

Alternative study spaces across campus

In addition to Library spaces, there are still around 1,500 study spaces available across the Whiteknights and London Road campuses. These are listed on the Student Services pages about alternative study space available across campus or the ‘Find study space beyond the Library’ section of the Library Refurbishment Project page. Do bookmark this on your laptop or mobile to find it easily later!

Further information

To keep up to date with the latest study space and Library refurbishment news, please visit the Library refurbishment webpage and this Library blog.

Katie Moore, Trainee Liaison Librarian 

Library refurbishment: toilets, stairs and landscaping changes

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When using the Library building after Monday 30 July, please be aware of the latest changes due to ongoing refurbishment. These affect where to find toilet facilities, accessing upper floors and approaching the Library building entrance.

Use stairs behind lifts

Red barriers on slate floor with balconies above

Please use lifts and adjacent stairs in the centre of the building.

Do not be alarmed if, on entering the Library, you no longer see a flight of stairs directly in front of the current entrance. These have been demolished as part of Ground Floor refurbishment. Until newly installed stairs are ready to use at a later stage, please use the existing stairs behind the lifts in the centre of the building. Ask at our Info Point for directions.

Toilets on the 3rd Floor

Red arrow points to door labelled as gender neutral toilet next to book shelves

New toilets are on the 3rd Floor, behind the book area, on the east side.

Take your first opportunity to try out the new gender-neutral and accessible toilets at the far end of the recently re-opened 3rd Floor! (See our 3rd Floor plan.)

Opening these new facilities means we have closed the Ground Floor toilets, so that contractors can work on with creating new single-sex toilets as part of Ground Floor refurbishment. This section is due to open in autumn this year.

The nearest single-sex toilets to the Library are located in the URS and Edith Morley buildings. Please ask Library staff at the Ground Floor Help Point who can point you in the right direction.

Image of refurbished University Library surrounded by seating, trees and hedges.Landscaping refurb: outside seating and planters to be replaced

Also after Monday 30 July, contractors will be fencing off the outside seating and brick-built planters directly outside the Library building. These are to be removed in anticipation of new landscaping to complement Library refurbishment.

Please walk between the fencing and hoardings to access the Library entrance. Watch out for occasional traffic directed by contractors’ when gates are opened.

More information

Keep up to date with the latest Library refurbishment news on our  Library refurbishment webpage.

Rachel Redrup, Library Marketing Co-ordinator

Water restored in Library

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The leak in the Library building has now been fixed.

Drinking water and toilets are both available on the Ground Floor of the Library building during opening hours.

More information

Keep up to date with the latest study space and Library refurbishment news on our Library refurbishment webpage.

Katie Moore, Trainee Liaison Librarian for
Robin Hunter, Facilities Manager

Library refurbishment: noise expected from external works (updated)

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We’re making good progress on our major refurbishment of the Library. While work continues on the inside of the Library building, much attention will be paid to the Library’s exterior over the coming weeks.

How will this affect you?Image of refurbished University Library surrounded by seating, trees and hedges.

As the works will involve the use of heavy machinery, we anticipate high levels of noise around the outside of the Library building. One major phase of work will be the creation of new ramps and steps into the building – this involves working with concrete, and so will necessitate drilling at times.

In addition, work will continue to transform the exterior facades of the building. Some of the work will involve loud machinery, which is likely to be audible from nearby buildings such as Edith Morley. Night works will also take place at various points over the summer.

We apologise for any inconvenience this will cause, and are extremely grateful for your patience at this time.

More information

For the latest refurbishment news, please visit the Library refurbishment webpage.

Katie Moore, Trainee Liaison Librarian
for University Communications

3rd Floor book moves

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What’s changing?

Work on the 3rd Floor of the Library is progressing. The next phase involves moving stock from the 2nd and 4th Floors onto this floor to prepare for the 4th Floor closing for refurbishment.

When will it start?

The anticipated start date for this is between Wednesday 9 May and Friday 11 May, with a timeframe of 7-8 weeks. This is subject to approval from Building Maintenance. We’ll keep you updated on this blog and on Twitter (@UniRdg_Library) and Facebook (@universityofreadinglibrary).

Can I still access my books?

Yes! In keeping with our strategy to maximise access to stock throughout the Refurbishment Project, all books will remain accessible as far as possible throughout the move. Each shelf will be unavailable for around thirty minutes whilst the stock is being moved. The Library catalogue will also be updated to reflect the new locations, usually within a day.

Where will I find my books after the move?

The stock will be split by Call Number as follows:

2nd Floor

000s – computer science

300s – social sciences, law

800s – literature

900s – history, geography, archaeology

Journals

3rd Floor

100s – philosophy, psychology

200s – religion

400s – languages, linguistics

500s – science

600s – technology, business, typography

700s – arts

EDC

Teaching Practice

Where can I get help?

Library staff will still be available at the Information Desks and Ground Floor Help Point – please contact them if you can’t find what you’re looking for. The 4th Floor Information Desk will  move to the 3rd Floor from 14 May.

More information

Work will continue to take place on the 3rd Floor, which is anticipated to be due for completion on 1 September 2018. The work will not impact access to books.

Keep up to date with the latest study space and Library refurbishment news on our Library refurbishment webpage.

Katie Moore and Caitlin McCulloch, Trainee Liaison Librarians

Be fair and share books and space!

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Library's 'Looking for study space?' card in red and greyHelp make the Library work effectively by respecting everyone’s right to resources and limited space. It can be as easy as checking when your Library loans are due back or clearing a desk space for other users. And don’t forget there are alternative study spaces on campus too.

Here are some simple suggestions on how to keep on top of your Library account, save time and money, and help provide a pleasant and productive working environment for all:

Please help us share study space in the URS building fairly. It is fine to pop over to the Library building for a book and return to your desk within a short time. However, we think it unfair for students to reserve desks with their belongings for long periods when other students want to use that space.

If you find unattended study places apparently ‘booked’ with clothes, stationery and the like, please ask Library staff for support at either the URS Reception desk by the main entrance or the URS Information Desk next to the Course Collection on the ground floor. We will give you a timed warning card you can place on the abandoned stuff. Put the belongings to one side and sit down. If the owner returns within the hour, they are entitled to the space back. If not, you can sit there. Also ask staff to help explain, should anyone returning after an hour and complain.

Where unattended stuff hasn’t been moved overnight, staff will remove it to URS Reception. If it is not claimed by the next morning, it will be taken to Palmer Reception, the centre for all lost property in the University.

Check out our ‘Using the Library’ and ‘Policies and Rules’ pages for more information.

Alternative Campus Space

Check the ‘FIND STUDY SPACE BEYOND THE LIBRARY’ section of the Library Refurbishment Project homepage for alternative space.

Holly Thomas, Library User Services

Our recycling’s rubbish at exam-time!

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Grey display boards with posters, black sacks and post-box with big eyes on it advertising how to improve recycling efforts.Recently we held an exhibition to show how Library users can help fix an environmental problem in the Library. Statistics show that during busy periods, including exam-time, waste tonnage collected in the Library goes up but the percentage of recycling goes down. This is most obvious in the Group Study Areas of the 2nd and 4th Floors.

Graph showing recycling levels dip and waste rise at exam time

What can we do?

  1. Please take a moment to be more environmentally friendly by:
    • putting used coffee cups in the waste bin! If our recycling company sees bin bags contaminated with used cups or drink dregs, they won’t take it – and the whole bag goes to landfill. Many people are unaware of this and would help if they understood.
    • put recycling in the right bin. (The exhibition tells you more about which paper,  metal and plastics we recycle here).
  2. Look out soon for our ‘roving slop bin‘, on test for University Estates & Facilities, coming to various parts of the Library soon. Is this bin type the solution to the problem of where to dispose of unfinished drinks before we bin the container? Let us know what you think below, or post your comments in the Sustainability Team Green Box(check out those googlie eyes!) beside the exhibition.

More information

For more news about this project, please contact the Library’s Environmental Champion, Sam Tyler.

Rachel Redrup, Marketing Co-ordinator