System upgrade 26 June – some services disrupted

Tonight, we are upgrading our Library Management System. During the upgrade on Monday 26 June, between 19:00 and midnight, (after the Library buildings are closed) some services will be unavailable.

 

Open laptop

 

You will still be able to …

  • Search the Library catalogue, Enterprise.
  • Access all our E-resources – so any e-books or e-journals you find on the catalogue will still be available via the ‘Click here to access’ links.
  • Use Summon for online access to journal articles, book chapters, and much more!

But you won’t be able to …

The upgrade is planned to be finished by Tuesday 27 June, but the system will be ‘at risk’ for the rest of the week whilst our Systems Team make sure everything is working correctly. We will let you know if Enterprise will be unavailable for longer than initially planned. 

If you have trouble accessing e-resources, you can contact the E-resources Team at eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or you can fill in a Problem Report Form.

If you want to talk to someone about your account, you can contact the Library at library@reading.ac.uk.

 

Lewis Mills – Library Systems Team

 

Wi-Fi work on 4th Floor

Image shows a deep blue sky with lit up silhouette buildings. Several buildings have wi-fi towers on the roof tops suggesting reliable broadband by the presence of consistent, concentric circles in the sky.

Our Wi-Fi is improving!

Contractors will be in the Library on Friday 23 to Tuesday 27 June to install extra Wi-Fi access points in the group study area on the 4th Floor of the Library. These extra access points will help to improve Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the building, making it easier and quicker for you to log on. 

Please bear with us through this short period of disruption.  

For your safety, this group study area will be closed but individual study spaces will still be available on this floor. There is also a range of alternative study space on the other floors and throughout campus to choose from, including group study spaces and PC labs.  

Visit Student essentials, Study space for more information about finding study spaces and booking a group study room.  

 

 

Your Library team 

System maintenance 12 June – some services disrupted

Tonight we are upgrading our Library Management System. During the upgrade, between 19:00 and midnight (after the Library buildings are closed), some services will be unavailable.

 

Open laptop

 

You will still be able to …

But you won’t be able to …

  • search the Library catalogue, Enterprise.
  • see the current location of a physical Library item, so you won’t be able to tell if it has been borrowed.

The upgrade is planned to be finished by Tuesday 13 June, but the system will be ‘at risk’ for the rest of the week whilst our Systems Team make sure everything is working correctly.

If you have trouble accessing e-resources you can contact the E-resources Team at eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or you can fill in a Problem Report Form. 

If you want to talk to someone about your account you can contact the Library at library@reading.ac.uk. 

 

Lewis Mills – Library Systems Team

 

System maintenance 10 May – some services disrupted

Tonight our Library Management System is undergoing scheduled maintenance. During the maintenance window from midnight to 01:30 some services will be at risk.

 

Open laptop

 

You will still be able to …

But at times you won’t be able to …

If you have trouble accessing e-resources you can contact the E-resources Team at eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or you can fill in a Problem Report Form. 

If you want to talk to someone about your account you can contact the Library at library@reading.ac.uk. 

 

Lewis Mills – Library Systems Team

 

System maintenance 3 May – some services disrupted

Tomorrow our Library Management System is undergoing scheduled maintenance. During the maintenance window on Wednesday 3 May 22:00 to 23:00 some services will be at risk.

 

Open laptop

 

You will still be able to …

But at times you won’t be able to …

  • find up to the minute locations of items on the Library catalogue, Enterprise.

If you have trouble accessing e-resources, you can contact the E-resources Team at eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or you can fill in a Problem Report Form. 

If you want to talk to someone about your account, you can contact the Library at library@reading.ac.uk. 

 

Lewis Mills – Library Systems Team

 

Improvements to Library Wi-Fi during Week 6

Image shows a deep blue sky with lit up silhouette buildings. Several buildings have wi-fi towers on the roof tops suggesting reliable broadband by the presence of consistent, concentric circles in the sky.

In the morning, on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 February, DTS have organised for contractors to install extra Wi-Fi access points in the group study area on the 2nd Floor of the Library. The work will be noisy because they will be drilling into the concrete ceiling.  The good news is, these extra access points should improve Wi-Fi connectivity in the building, 

Please bear with us through this short period of disruption. 

Whilst the work takes place, the area will be closed but if you still find the rest of the floor too noisy remember there is a range of alternative study space on campus to choose from, including 

  • Library – there are several alternative locations such as Ground Floor quiet study and the 5th Floor silent study area.  
  • URS building – study space is available in URS between 8:00 – 18:00 Monday to Friday.
  • The Study @RUSU – visit the RUSU website for the most up-to-date information. 

Visit Student essentials, Study space for more information about study spaces and locations. 

Your Library team 

System maintenance 1 February – some services disrupted

Tomorrow our Library Management System is undergoing scheduled maintenance. During the maintenance window on Wednesday 1 February 22:30 to 22:50 some services will be at risk.

 

Open laptop

 

You will still be able to …

But at times you won’t be able to log into Enterprise to …

If you have trouble accessing e-resources, you can contact the E-resources Team at eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or you can fill in a Problem Report Form. 

If you want to talk to someone about your account, you can contact the Library at library@reading.ac.uk. 

Lewis Mills – Library Systems Team

Opening hours back to 24/6+  

Welcome back to all of our new and continuing students! It’s a fresh new academic year, and we are returning to our regularly-scheduled 24/6+ opening hours.

Monday 26 September – Friday 9 December       
Mon – Fri* 24 hours
Sat Open until 21:00
Sun Open from 08:30
*Friday 9 December: Library open until midnight.

 

The Library Café generally closes at 18:00 Monday – Thursday and at 16:00 Friday – Sunday; for the most up-to-date opening hours, please see their webpage. IT Service Desk hours can be found on the DTS website. 

It’s fixed! – Problem with study space bookings system

Image of laptop and mobile phone on deskApologies for the technical problems we were experiencing with the study space bookings system this morning.

Fortunately the situation has been resolved, and the bookings form should be working as usual again.

If you have any further issues, please email library@reading.ac.uk, and we will try to get back to you as quickly as possible.

Library User Services

Accessing Library E-resources

IT recently updated how you log into their systems so that you now use a combination of your IT username and email address, i.e. ab123456@student.reading.ac.uk as your username. This change affects how many of you log in to a variety of University systems such as your University email accounts and Blackboard.Open laptop

However, this change does NOT affect how you access Library E-resources, which include Talis. If you are accessing an E-resource via our Single Sign On page, you just need your IT username (ab123456) and password to access.

If you are having any issues accessing E-resources, you can contact us via eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or by submitting an e-resources problem report form.

Lindsay Warwick, E-resources Team

 

COVID-19 update: Your Library this summer

Refurbished Library building with extensive glass front and silvered cladding, behind young, llight green trees

You can borrow print items from the Library building with our ‘Click & Collect’ service.

Library services online

All of our existing support and electronic resources will continue to be available and delivered to you online over the summer. This means that you can still:

Loans and returns

Return loans in the Book Drop flap to the right of the Library front doors

We will renew all books for the entire summer vacation so do not worry as you will not have anything overdue or running up fines! All items will be due on 30 September 2020. If you have already returned items via our Book Drop (right of Library entrance) be assured they will be removed from your Library account as soon as we are able to get back in the building to process them.

We are investigating whether we can accept postal returns of books over the summer and will provide more information if we are able to do so.

Click & Collect service for print items. For those of you writing dissertations, we understand accessing materials is very important. We are providing a service for you to request items (from 13 July 2020). You can still ask your Academic Liaison Librarians whether they can source an alternative option for you.

Further information

Any updates on access to the books or changes to any services will be publicised on our website and Library blog so keep an eye out for news.

Stuart Hunt, Director

COVID-19: Focus on study with digital tools

Staying focused when studying and revising can be challenging at the best of times, and likely to be more so under the current conditions. If the home environment is proving distracting, why not investigate apps designed to keep you focused and working productively? Alternatively, you could save time by checking out the Study Advisers’ favourite digital tools and selected guides:

Tomato Timer

Based on the Pomodoro technique (working for short, focused periods, followed by brief rest-breaks), tomato timers aim to promote productivity while maintaining mental alertness. A multitude of these apps are available – for simplicity try Tomato Timer and, for extra features, try Pomello.

Flora and Forest

Apps like Flora and Forest help you resist distractions from your phone while you study. Simply ‘plant a seed’ in the app, and watch it grow from sapling to tree – if and only if, you don’t touch your phone. Yield to the temptation of using your phone and the sapling dies! Successful repetition results in a forest, which, if you are using the Forest app, can earn you points towards planting a real tree with the ‘Trees for the Future Scheme’.

Written? Kitten! and Focus Writer

Overcome writers block with Written? Kitten! Write 100, 200, 500 or 1000 words and get rewarded for your efforts with a picture of a cute kitty. Alternatively, try Focus Writer, which enables you to set a daily target for the number of words you write on a blank screen; you can then measure your progress against this target.

Online planners

While there are no real substitutes for having a clear time-management strategy (see our Time managment guide for help with this), some apps can help you manage your workload more efficiently. Try  Microsoft to-do, for organising tasks and managing deadlines, and Trello for monitoring your progress.  Trello can be synched with Pomello, enabling you to see how much time you’ve spent on individual tasks.

Turn off notifications and pop-ups

Minimise interruption and distraction from unwanted notifications and pop-ups by disabling them on your devices – temporarily or permanently. Do this for android and iPhone via the ‘Settings’ function on your phone, and see this brief guide on how to disable web notifications.

Blocking social media sites

Manage social media sites that vie for your attention, with the help of social media blocking apps. Specific websites can be blocked at set times of day, or the entire internet switched-off while you work. See 10 best apps to help you stay focused for a quick guide to help you decide on a blocking app that’s right for you. That said, if you’re a fan of social media, use it as a motivational aim by saving it for a reward at the end of the day.

Study Advice

Linda Schroeder, Study Adviser