Information Services Newsletter
Overview of Recent and Forthcoming Library Service Developments

The summer period has been a period of high activity for library staff with the main focus being on preparing for the new academic year. Resources have been transferred across the campuses reflecting the changing pattern of course provision, and similar transfers will occur over the next few summers.

Work has continued on developing and improving our range of services. Support for online students continues apace with context-sensitive help being provided and more reading lists available through WebCT. Valuable assistance has been provided by placement students and their endeavours have enabled us to push ahead quickly with the lists.

For sometime we have been working to improve the speed of access to books and journals not immediately available on campus. It is now possible to request and receive same-day delivery of journal articles through our improved inter-library loan service. In the months ahead we will be turning our attention to the inter-campus loan service with the objective to provide a faster delivery of items.

In the Learning Resource Center in Jordanstown a new walk-through short-loan room has been opened giving students direct access to short-loan items prior to selecting items for borrowing. Coupled with the introduction shortly of a self-issue system a greatly enhanced service will be on offer to users.

Work has started on developing the design and layout for the new Learning Resource Centre for the Belfast campus. Having completed two Learning Resources Centres we are building on the experience gained whilst also taking into account the distinctiveness of the Belfast campus to create a state-of–the-art facility.

http://www.ulster.ac.uk/library/srx.htm

Study Room Facilities in Jordanstown and Magee Learning Resource Centres – demand grows for popular resource.

The LRCs in Jordanstown and Magee offer a range of bookable Study Room facilities that have now become a key resource for our students. These rooms can accommodate groups of students ranging in size from four to twelve and can be booked for two hours at a time. Each room is bright and spacious with modern furniture while those in Magee are all equipped with a networked student PC. Students are using these rooms for group study and collaborative projects. It is now obvious from the ever increasing number of bookings that using these facilities has become a regular part of student life.

We have also taken the opportunity to reserve some of the study rooms as “Silent Study Areas”, where students do not need to book, but know that they can always find an oasis of peace and quiet. The fact that these areas are also in constant use is another reflection of the changing demands on our services from students.

New Non-Book Media Room in Magee LRC

The transfer of Music from Jordanstown to Magee Campus, plus new film and animation modules in Design, has led to a considerable increase in the purchase of videos, DVDs and CDs. In addition there has been a significant transfer of music CDs from Jordanstown stock. Transferred CDs include a wide range of classical music. There is also popular music and a small collection of vinyl albums. Existing non book media resources have transferred from their original location near the main book stock and have been brought together with this additional stock in a separate location.

The Non-Book Media Room is on the Ground Floor near the Issue Desk. We have invested in a full range of equipment needed to watch or listen to CDs, DVDs and videos. We believe this new facility represents an important expansion of our service and we hope that it will come to be used by students and staff as much as our more traditional books and journals.

Elaine Urquhart