Category Archives: Staff

Library website migration

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The Library webpages have moved over to the University’s new content management system (CMS) – you may already be familiar with the new interface as many areas of the University website have already been migrated.

Partial image of the new Library website.

The migration means that the look and feel of our webpages have changed, but access to all our guidance, resources and other information should remain available. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for, please email us at library@reading.ac.uk so that we can help you stay on track with all your information needs.

Your Library team

‘Library recommends’ … fun productions and healthy walks

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Feet in trainers and grey trousers walk on grey wooden path

Fancy treading the boards inside or out this Bank Holiday with Library online access?

Need something enjoyable to relax with this weekend? Why not take up these suggestions from Library staff, who point out that you can also use Library resources to enhance your wellbeing, not only for serious research!

Entertainment for staying in

We can all access some excellent film, theatre and television resources with our University username and passwords to take our minds away from worry. Particularly good are Box of broadcasts and Drama Online, the latter also giving us COVID-time access to National Theatre productions. Below, Sarah and Kim review their favourite productions.

One Man, Two Guvnors (National Theatre)

In this play by Richard Bean, recorded by National Theatre Live, 15 September, 2011, Tony Award-winning James Corden plays Francis Henshall in the hilarious West End and Broadway hit. I recommend this play as one of the funniest things I have watched in ages. James Corden gives the role 110% as the play descends into a chaotic, high energy farce. With various members of the audience on stage, James’s character, Francis, tries to serve dinner to his two guvnors without either catching sight of the other and with the ‘help’ of the waiting staff, who keep falling down stairs, popping up at the wrong time and generally providing a perfect spectacle of mishaps! If you enjoyed ‘The Goes Wrong Show’, you’ll love this.

Go to: https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/one-man-two-guvnors-nt-iid-190503 Select ‘Log In’ at the top right of the page, then ‘Log in via your institution’, search for ‘University of Reading’ and log in with your University or Reading username and password.

Sarah Hatcher, Library User Services

Good Omens (BBC Radio adaptation 2014)

Good Omens is a surreal and insightful story about the end of the world, written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and with a host of supernatural and incredibly human characters. You may already be aware of the recent Amazon Prime-BBC television adaptation which aired last year (and can still be streamed online). But BBC Radio 4’s radio dramatisation starring Mark Heap and Peter Serafinowicz as Aziraphale and Crowley was broadcast a few years earlier, and is a really great adaptation – including not only some excellent performances (Heap is brilliant) and cameos (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, notably), but some great scenes from the book which didn’t make it to the television adaptation.

You can listen to the radio adaptation (and find the BBC television broadcasts too) on Box of Broadcasts – a TV and radio archive service, that includes a whole host of fantastic programmes, great for researchers and those of us wanting to catch up on favourites alike. I find listening to the radio while working from home really helps my concentration, as I’m not a fan of silence, and so I’m enjoying discovering and re-discovering programmes using Box of Broadcasts. For the next few weeks, you can also enjoy the service from across the EU, so if you’re not based in the UK at the moment, you can still listen and enjoy!

Go to: Box of Broadcasts. If you’re a new user you may need to register using your University username and password. Good Omens Episode 1 is here.

Kim Coles, Academic Liaison Librarian

Guidance for going out

A valid reason for going outside during lock-down is for health-giving exercise. Judith and Jackie advocate making use of online map resources to search out a new local experience.

Digimap

Getting bored walking the same old route every day? We all know how important it is to get regular exercise, but after a while you want a change from the routine. Jackie was fed up with her usual local walks so decided to see if she could find some alternative routes with Digimap to explore more widely without getting lost! Digimap is an online collection of maps of Great Britain, including current and old Ordnance survey maps, geology and aerial photographs.

You too can use Digimap Ordnance Survey to create and print a map of your local area – take it on your daily walk to discover new routes, whether you’re in an urban area or the countryside. If you’re feeling adventurous, print out a map from Digimap Historic to discover the area as it was in the past! Using the Roam service, search for your town or village, then zoom in. You will need to register the first time you use it but then the (lockdown) world is your oyster! Enjoy exploring!

Judith Fox, Academic Liaison Librarian/Map Librarian;
Jackie Skinner, Academic Liaison Librarian

More about Library resources

Look out for further Library information on the Library website, University Library News blog, Twitter and Facebook.

Kim Coles and Rachel Redrup, Academic Liaison Librarians

 

Library refurbishment: return to a single Library building

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Chairs in front of a long enquiry counter where on the other sides a librarian sits talking on phone. Two people are talking across the far end of the counter.

Come to the Library building Welcome Desk where Library staff have relocated to assess all your library-related queries!

Library refurbishment has reached the significant point where services and study space return to one single building! Most services are already up and running in the Library building, with our contractors moving study space furniture and PCs back from the Library@URS building over the next days. The Library@URS building is now closed, as of 2 July 2019.

Services in the Library building

Books on shelves to left of table and chairs with packing crates sticked to right.

Overnight loan books moved back to the Library building to form Short Loan (formerly Course Collection) on the Ground Floor. You also collect ‘Holds’ here now.

Services now returned to the Library building include Library User Services’ Ground Floor Welcome Desk; the Short Loan collection of overnight loan material (formerly Course Collection); and the Holds shelf where you can collect requested material. Come to the Library building once more to receive Study Advice and Maths Support, or help from your subject’s Liaison Librarians.

Small beared-person behind counter helps long-haired person sitting on a stool infront of him.

Receive IT help in person at the IT Service Desk on the Library’s 1st Floor!

The IT Service Desk is now restablished on the 1st Floor, where more and more PCs will arrive to create an area for individual and group PC study, with two teaching rooms.

People sit on seats outside large building with glass front and metalic brown cladding.

Try out communal benches for groups or single seats for individual reading outside the Library Café this summer!

You may already know the well-established Library Café, but do try out the smart, new outside seating which includes communal benches for groups, and single seats for individual reading.

Coming to the Library building soon!

Quiet and group study area seating is due to return to the 3rd and 4th Floors over the next weeks. (We anticipate refurbishment of the 2nd Floor to be completed in time to reopen in August.)

View of construction site from above,. One shelter is roofed, another has beams raised above a concrete pad.

New cycle shelters are under construction, in line with the University’s environmental policies.

Work continues in several areas, including on new cycle shelters – which can be viewed from the new lift stairs – so note that there may still sometimes be noise and disruption in the Library building. Although the Library@URS is closing, a variety of alternative study space options remain across campus.

Further information

Library refurbishment forms part of the University’s ambitious 2026: Transform capital investment programme, which focuses on improving campus facilities and supporting the student experience by the University’s 100th anniversary of its charter.

To keep up to date with the latest Library refurbishment news, please visit the Library refurbishment webpage and look out for posts on this Library blog.

Rachel Redrup for University Communications

Book Desktop EndNote training for easy referencing

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There are spaces still available on the next beginner’s Desktop EndNote workshop for postgraduate students, researchers and staff.Student studying

Come along to learn how to use EndNote to…

  • store details of the books and articles you read
  • download references from databases such as the Web of Science
  • insert citations in your Word documents
  • build a bibliography in a style of your choosing at the click of a button

Workshop time

Wednesday 14 November, 14:00 – 16:00

Book your place

Book your place via the ‘Library course bookings’ link on the RISISweb portal. The bookings link is located in the ‘Actions’ tab if you’re a student.   If you’re a member of staff click on ‘Specialist Actions’ in the ‘Specialist Actions’ tab.

This workshop is part of the Student Training and Experience Programme (STEP) and counts towards the RED Award.

Unable to make this date?

Check the EndNote training webpage for other dates for this workshop and sources of help with using EndNote.

Sally Smith, Learning Support Co-ordinator

Video for teaching and learning – find out more at TEL Fest 2017!

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Recently we posted our Info Tip about some of our great Video streaming resources that you can use in lectures and course materials to engage students and bring some variety to your teaching and learning. If you are a member of Staff at University of Reading and would like to find out more the Library will be getting involved with some of the events at this week’s TEL Fest 2017!

Tuesday 11 July, 13:00-14:00 we’ll be at the TEL Roadshow to talk informally about Box of Broadcasts and how you can use it in lectures, reading lists and BlackBoard. Come and join us in Carrington 201- no need to book, just drop in at 13:00 for a bite to eat and a chat!

Thursday 13 July, 14:30-16:00 Markeda Cole from Learning on Screen is presenting: Bob’s your uncle! Using TV & radio programmes from Box of Broadcasts to enhance T & L – more information and how to book a place on this session

So come along and get involved in the festival experience!

Natalie Guest, Multimedia manager

Library study space now located in URS Building

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blue sofas and tables and chairs

One of the new group study rooms relocated to the URS Building.

Much of the study furniture from the Library has relocated to the URS Building. It now provides students with a contemporary and versatile space to work and study – including around 800 spaces (145 computers), work areas for collaborative, quiet and silent study, and several key facilities from the Library Building.

Including URS, students can now access over 1,700 study spaces across our Whiteknights and London Road campuses.

URS Building key features

  • Library Information Desk: For general and registration enquiries, located on the Ground Floor.
  • Study space: A variety of study areas – group, quiet and silent – are available on the Ground and 2nd Floors.
  • Study Advice and Maths Support: Get help with study skills and maths on the Ground Floor.
  • Course Collection: Find key texts for your modules in the Course Collection on the Ground Floor.  Holds are also available to collect here.
  • IT Service Desk and facilities: PCs and printing facilities are available on the Ground Floor.  If you need help, just ask at the IT Service Desk there.
  • Café Libro: The Library’s popular café is located on the 2nd Floor of the URS Building.
  • Opening Hours: The URS Building will adopt the 24 hour opening during term (except closing 21:00 Saturday to 08:30 Sunday) as is currently the case in the Library.

Take a look at the map and floor directory to see what’s been moved where.

Preparation of space

Furniture being moved form outside the Library, passing hoardings

Vitra staff moved and reassembled our modern study furniture in URS

The relocation was carried out over the Easter vacation – during this time, several new improvements were made to the URS Building in order to make its study environment as welcoming as possible:

  • Rooms have been configured to meet a wide range of study needs – you’ll find individual study booths, group areas, quiet study spaces and more.
  • We have improved several of the building’s existing features in order to make it a better place to study – new lights have been fitted to make studying easier, and south-facing windows on the Second Floor have been tinted to deflect heat.
  • We have balanced creating a maximum number of spaces with ensuring that students can study in comfort and safety. Health & Safety guidelines recommend that URS holds a maximum capacity of 800 students.
  • Our job as a University is to provide students with comfortable spaces to study, and we believe that URS will prove to be a popular home to Library study space until summer 2018, when facilities will move back into the Library Building.

Why has the space moved?

Relocating study space and facilities from one to building to another posed several benefits.

Moving study space from the Library into URS will provide a quieter environment for study while still being close enough to borrow and use materials. It also means we can carry out more work inside the Library than previously planned, and so will complete the refurbishment around six months earlier.

With URS in such close proximity to the Library, you won’t have far to take the materials you’ve just borrowed from the original Library building for studying.

Library Building key features

The Library remains open for use – inside you will still find:

  • Printed materials: All printed material (other than Course Collection) will remain inside the Library for borrowing or reference.
  • Library staff: Although Library staff are now based in URS, they will still offer a Help Point by the Library entrance and Information Desks on the 2nd and 4th Floors.
  • Opening Hours: The Library Building will open 09:00-22:00 seven days per week during term time. URS will be open 24/6+ during term time (closed Saturday nights).

Construction work will continue in the Library Building whilst we strive to complete the project as soon as possible, so you may experience considerable noise whilst using this building.

Alternative study space across campus

Including URS, there are approximately 1,700 spaces to study on campus (subject to teaching timetabling and departmental use).

Keep in touch

While we have taken great care to ensure that URS meets your needs, we appreciate that there may be more to improve over the coming weeks. Please pass on any feedback or comments to library@reading.ac.uk.

Further information

A dedicated URS Building page has been created to help clarify exactly what has moved from the Library. It will be kept updated by our Library team, who will also share regular news and updates via the Library blog. The Library opening hours page lists opening times for both the Library and URS buildings.

Further details of the Library’s major £40 million refurbishment can be found on our Library Refurbishment Project webpage: www.reading.ac.uk/library/refurb.

Rachel Redrup, Library Marketing Co-ordinator
for University Communications

Out-of-hours virtual enquiry service

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It’s fine to contact UoR Library staff during staffed service hours, but what can you do out-of-staffed-hours overnight, or when the Library Building is closed (such as during the University Easter Closure 12-17 April)? From today, you chat online via the blue ‘Virtual Enquiry Service’ box appearing on the Library webpage at these times!

This service is staffed by professional librarians working remotely to answer your queries from our website and other information we’ve supplied.  You can keep an email transcript of the chat. If they can’t resolve a particular issue they’ll refer you back to us during staffed hours.

UoR Library has subscribed to this service in the third tranche of UK higher education libraries to join under a SCONUL agreement with OCLC.

Rachel Redrup, Marketing Co-ordinator for
Sue Egleton, Associate Director (Systems & User Services)

Library study space moves to URS Building

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Three femal studetns walk infront of orange building with protruding sturts and undercroft on a sunny dayThe University will shortly be able to offer the URS Building instead of studying in the Library during its major refurbishment. We will be moving furniture and IT equipment from the Library into URS so that students can study in a comfortable and quiet space away from construction works.

What we are doing

  • Studying in URS will be quieter as it is further away from Library building works.
  • The URS Building will be open 24 hours in term (except Saturday night) just like the Library is now.
  • Course Collection will move into URS to maintain full access.
  • Books will remain in the Library and will be borrowed as usual.
  • Although Library staff will be based in URS, they will also run an information service in the Library building to help you find and borrow books there.
  • Using URS means the refurbishment will be finished earlier than originally planned.

838 study spaces (including 145 computers) will move into URS along with Library staff – so there’ll always be someone on hand to help. Cafélibro will also relocate to URS.

All books (excluding the Course Collection) will stay inside the Library and will be available to use and borrow as usual. The Course Collection will move into URS and will continue to be accessible for 24 hours in term-time, as the Library offers now.

As well as providing a quiet and convenient alternative space for students, using the URS Building will mean that the length of the refurbishment programme will be shortened by approximately six months, ending mid 2019 as opposed to late 2019 / early 2020 as originally planned.

The URS Building was vacated in December 2016 in preparation for the building’s own major redevelopment – as the programme is still under revision in light of the URS Building’s grade two listing, the University is now in a position to offer it up as relief space to students. We expect URS to be available until at least August 2018.

RUSU are supportive of the move as it helps provide a suitable environment for work and study in the wake of such a major project. Ben Cooper, RUSU President, said:

“RUSU is committed to campaigning for more study space and better facilities for students on campus. We highlighted that the University must do everything it can to mitigate issues such as noise from the building work and access to books, especially for students currently studying here.

RUSU believes that this move of study space to URS is a good option and will result in less overall problems for students to face. It means that some of the noise problems will be reduced and there will be adequate study space in the busy periods whilst the Library refurbishment is being completed.”

The University is working hard to implement these plans ready for the 2017 Quiet Period. Logistics are still being finalised – we will share final plans as soon as possible. If the move is at risk of affecting the exam period it will be postponed until after exams have finished.

Don’t forget that as well as the URS Building, there are many additional alternative study spaces around campus – a full list is available online and our Free Room Finder helps identify available rooms on a daily basis. For more details of additional study space available on campus, project benefits and the latest news, please visit the Library Refurbishment Project webpage.

Rachel Redrup
for University Communications

Summer Library refurbishment and study arrangements

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Artists impression og refurbished libraryHere’s how the University plans to support you during Library refurbishment works, which – dependent upon the formal appointment of a contractor – should take place over summer 2016.

At times there will be noise and access to some areas will be restricted in the Library between early July and the start of the autumn term 2016, as several large-scale construction tasks are planned. Works include removing stairs, punching holes in the basement for new lifts, refurbishing offices, constructing a small café extension and undertaking roof work.

Whilst the majority of undergraduate students will be away from Reading at this time, we are very aware of the possible impact of this on staff, taught postgraduates completing dissertations, PhD and other researchers, and any undergraduates working on dissertations.

Library business as usual

Be assured that the Library will maintain its usual summer vacation opening hours and all printed books/journals on Floors 2-4 will remain accessible. Library staff will still be on hand to help, including your Liaison Librarians, as will the Study Advice and Maths Support teams.

Alternative University study space

The University and the Library will continue to provide as much information as possible on proposed works and alternative arrangements during this time. We are currently exploring providing alternative study spaces, including some with PCs, and will update you as soon as any plan is complete.

In the meantime, check out University PC areas beyond the Library. Extra study space is also available at RUSU’s The Study, and unreserved teaching spaces can be booked via Room Bookings (rooms@reading.ac.uk).

Further information

The Library Refurbishment 2016-2019 webpage gives further information, including a proposed work schedule, frequently asked questions and links to the latest refurbishment news on the University Library News blog (where day-to-day advice will be given to Library users).

Rachel Redrup, Marketing Co-ordinator