Winter Newsletter 2014
Award Winning Edge Hill University
NOWAL Operations Team
Being shortlisted for a THES Award is absolutely
great, but winning an award, especially against
some very stiff competition is special.
Lorna Clarke
NoWAL Operations Officer
clarkel@edgehill.ac.uk
Tel: 01695 584157
Colleagues from Learning Services
were shortlisted for the category
‘outstanding contribution to leadership’
based on the success of their use of
a CPD framework developed by the
Association of University Administrators
(AUA). Focussed on stretching staff
leadership capability through a range
of projects, the framework provided a useful touchstone to help staff assess
their professional behaviours and track their development through use of
a reflective log. Six Learning Services staff attended the awards ceremony
alongside members of the University’s senior management team and its
chancellor Tanya Byron and Chair of Governors, as the University had
also been shortlisted for the award of ‘University of the Year’. Based on
the success of the University, in particular its relatively recent successes
since it was granted TDAP in 2005 and RDAP in 2008, which included
an increase in student numbers, high graduate employability, campus
developments including expansion of residential accommodation and high
quality teaching spaces including industry standard TV studios, consistently
good student satisfaction for support and personal development and many
more noteworthy achievements, the judging panel agreed that for 2014 Edge Hill University should be awarded ‘University of the Year’. Although,
we were mildly disappointed at not winning ‘our’ award, we were very happy
to have been shortlisted and having the opportunity to share the stage
with our extremely excited and emotional colleagues, in particular our Vice
Chancellor John Cater when he accepted the award for University of the
Year was a very special moment.
Margaret Weaver (NoWAL Chair)
Head of Library Services at the
University of Cumbria
Margaret.Weaver@cumbria.ac.uk
Sandra Bracegirdle
(Procurement group chair)
Head of Collection Management
at the University of Manchester
Sandra.Bracegirdle@
manchester.ac.uk
Alison MacKenzie
(CPD group Chair)
Dean of Learning Services at
Edge Hill University
Alison.Mackenzie@edgehill.ac.uk
Laura Dunn (Treasurer)
Head of Customer Services at the
University of Liverpool
L.Dunn@liverpool.ac.uk
Heather Thrift
Director of Library Services
Liverpool John Moores University
H.J.Thrift@ljmu.ac.uk
Upcoming CPD Event:
Visit the Events page on the website to book your place http://www.nowal.ac.uk/events
22 January 2015
Research Support
University of Central
Lancashire
2 February 2015
Designing amazing
Powerpoints for Teaching
Manchester Metropolitan
University
17 February 2015
NoWAL Inter-Library loans
and Document delivery
Royal Northern College
of Music
17 February 2015
NoWAL Collection
Development
Royal Northern College
of Music
NOWAL
New Library Location at
Brampton Road
New Look
NoWAL Website
UoC staff in Carlisle worked very hard over the
summer to move the library on our Arts campus
at Brampton Road to a bigger, brighter space in
what was previously the textiles area at the rear
of the main building.
The move was necessitated by the need to accommodate the Policing
collection following the decant form our Newton Rigg campus in July.
The move to a new location has also benefitted the Arts students as we can
now also accommodate the full run of back issues of the Art Journals which
have previously been in storage. It was a mammoth effort pushing trolleys of
heavy Art books backwards and forwards and at one point the lift gave up in
protest at the extra use!
The space has been configured to include PCs for student use, group study
areas, a silent study room and two interview rooms. This means that the
specialist student support advisors can work alongside the frontline team
more effectively.
One of the enhancements in the library space is the wall mounted plasma
screen with five way splitter to accommodate 5 headphones. This gives the
students group access to a high quality screen to view electronic resources
and digital images. They can also watch dvds or recordings of performances
as a group.
Another enhancement is the new sofa system with sockets for students to
plug in their own devices which are already proving very popular.
As the library is now located away from the front entrance it is not so easy
for students to find so we have worked with the Graphic design department
to create a way finding design which will flow along the corridors to lead
students to the new space. The third years have had this as their first
assignment and we are currently in the process of selecting a winner
which will then be used on the walls. The standard of work submitted was
extremely high and gave us much innovative and original food for thought.
We have already received many positive comments from academics and
students. If you are in Carlisle please do visit. The team there will be happy
to show you around.
The NoWAL website
has been re-designed
with a fresh look and
easier access.
It has information about NoWAL staff,
groups, news and booking for NoWAL
events. Have a look and if you have
any news you would like to share
please contact us.
clarkel@edgehill.ac.uk
Winter Newsletter 2014
MMU’s new library
MMU’s superb new-look library is a triumph for
student choice, according to the Vice-Chancellor.
Now six-storeys, the Sir Kenneth Green Library is
fully equipped to serve all Manchester faculties –
a total of 33,000 students!
On completion this week of the 3rd phase of the
£5million Library Consolidation project, Professor
John Brooks said: “We are delighted to announce
the opening of the newly refurbished group study
area on the 5th floor of the Sir Kenneth Green
Library.
“I’ve just been up there and it’s absolutely buzzing.
Libraries constantly need to reinvent themselves
to meet needs of students, and I’m pleased to say
Phil Range, Ruth Jenkins and their staff have made
huge strides.
Planning
“A great deal of hard work and planning has gone into the consolidation of
the Library and we now have a world-class 24-7 service at the heart of the
Manchester campus.”
The latest phase has seen the transformation of the former Pennine Suite into
a modern group space providing additional study places, 124 PCs and some
stunning views of the city. Previous phases were a £1.7m reconstruction of the
ground floor and the creation of new IT zones, 4th floor quiet study zones and
updated heating, lighting, windows and furniture.
Added Professor Brooks: “It’s all about giving students choice; they now have
a whole range now of spaces – for self study, group study, quiet spaces, talking
spaces, and access to different technology. It’s a much more exciting place.”
The project also included significant improvements to the infrastructure including
lighting, acoustics ventilation, together with window replacement and additional
toilets.
Open minded
Dr Phil Range, Director of Learning and Research Information Services, said
feedback from students had been very positive, but that the team would not be
resting on its laurels. “We’re proud of these developments and of the fact that
learning resources at MMU are consistently rated highly in the NSS. But this is a
library which is constantly evolving and we shall be looking at other ways to help
student , such as laptop loans through the Library.”
As well as Library staff, the project has been facilitated by academic programme
leaders, ITS, Facilities and the Capital Projects team where research and
design was carried out by a Graduate Intern from the Manchester School of
Architecture, Paulina Kowalska.
With 86,000 volumes coming to serve the Faculties of Education and Health,
Psychology and Social Care, the total stock is now 418,000 volumes – more
than 12kilometres of stock.
John Brooks with (l-r) Miraenny
Boughren (Library Services
Manager), Mary Heaney, Dr
Phil Range, Ruth Jenkins
(Head of library Services) and
Judith Shaw (Library Services
Manager)
NOWAL
Over by Christmas? Liverpool Libraries Together
commemorates the First World War
Between July and September of this year, five of the partners in
the collaborative initiative Liverpool Libraries Together (see http://
liverpoollibrariestogether.wordpress.com/) took part in a successful joint
programme of exhibitions and events entitled Over by Christmas? Life in
Liverpool during the First World War.
The University of Liverpool, Liverpool Central Library, Liverpool John Moores
University, the City of Liverpool College and the Liverpool Institute for Performing
Arts worked together to reveal how the social change and educational
developments precipitated by the First World War are reflected in their special
collections and archives. The Central Library’s exhibition focused on recruitment
campaigns, munitions production, the role of women and leisure activities, whilst
Special Collections & Archives at the University of Liverpool explored how the war
affected the lives and outlooks of staff and students in Liverpool and elsewhere.
As the University struggled to maintain classes with so many in war time service
abroad or on the home front, staff found new roles for their expertise and came
to terms with their losses, reflected on the University war memorial within sight
of the exhibition in the Victoria Gallery & Museum. The current staff of the City
of Liverpool College provided the content for their exhibition, with donations
of original artefacts including an 18 lb bomb shell fired during the battle of
Passchendaele.
LIPA, built on the site of the Liverpool Institute for Boys, hosts the bronze
memorial to those 220 former students who died during the war, which has
now been preserved and rededicated. Items from the LIPA archive joined the
exhibition at Liverpool John Moores University, where the exhibition focused on
the role of its predecessor institutions (such as the City School of Art and the F.L.
Calder College of Domestic Science) in addressing issues such as rationing and
the provision of courses for disabled soldiers. A search of the LJMU archive even
revealed a recipe for wartime cake which, once recreated, proved popular with
attendees at the associated events!
The programme of events began with a successful launch at the Central Library,
attended by representatives from institutions across the city, and a camera crew
from Forces TV. Other contributions included the Central Library’s Roger Hull
talking about Liverpool on the very day war broke out, the University of Liverpool’s
Science Fiction Librarian Andy Sawyer on the First World War and the literature of
the fantastic and Dr David Clampin (LJMU) on the nature of wartime propaganda.
Dr Alex Harris’ (UoL) closing lecture on the war art of Stanley Spencer at the
Victoria Gallery & Museum was well attended by members of the public. The
lecture, and the wine reception which followed, marked a fascinating and convivial
end to the project.
Although the intention was to fit in with national, regional and local programmes
of First World War related events, it was decided early on that our focus should
be on the home front in Liverpool and what the effect of the war was on our
institutions and our city. The programme was developed so as to best showcase
the strengths of the individual collections, and the project steering group agreed
roles for different people in terms of curation, producing publicity materials, event
organisation and marketing. Use of public venues such as the Central Library
and the University’s Victoria Gallery & Museum heightened the impact of all the
events and exhibitions, and social media proved extremely effective in promoting
the various activities (see Liverpool Libraries Together’s @libtog feed).
Winter Newsletter 2014
Textbook Rescue
Textbook Rescue was developed from a quickwin idea that stemmed from Eureka! Library
Innovation Challenge – a competition for students
to come up with innovative ideas to enhance the
Library customer experience.
The scheme enables graduands to donate their textbooks
at drop-off points in libraries across campus. The books
are then made available for collection by new and returning
students during Welcome activities at the start of the
academic year.
The objectives of Textbook Rescue are to engage students
in charitable action, and to provide an easy solution for
disposing unwanted textbooks. This year the campaign
was delivered in two phases: ‘Donation’ (April-September),
which focused on motivating students to donate their
unwanted textbooks, and ‘Collection’ (during Welcome
Week), which focused on encouraging new students to
collect textbooks by visiting their site library.
This year we achieved our target of 2000 donations,
with various books donated across all subject areas. An
additional outcome saw us effectively engage new students
with a core message of the Library’s Welcome campaign:
Find Your Library, which raised awareness of library sites
and services, and established the Library’s presence and
role on campus. Entry statistics show a higher number of
students entered site libraries during the collection period
than in the same period in previous years.
We learnt from the 2013 campaign that we needed to limit
the number of books each student took, in order to avoid
others being disappointed. We provided students with a
bag and let them take as many books as they could fit in
to it. This worked very well, and we offered sweets and
drinks vouchers to students who missed out, which was
undoubtedly popular!
Focussing on marketing the campaign was time well spent. Digital
engagement was high, with the website receiving 1,922 page views during
April-September. Textbook Rescue reached 6949 Facebook timelines, and
949 interactions with #Textbook Rescue posts (clicks, likes, shares).
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_txr0nT7Ok
Textbook Rescue proved popular with academics, and the Library received
a lot of support for the campaign from Schools and Faculties across the
University. We aim to increase the number of donations next year, and
amongst other ideas, we may look to target academic staff to donate
textbooks. One thing is for sure: Books live on! A similar scheme ran
successfully at Liverpool University.
NOWAL
NoWAL Updates
University of Chester
Manchester Metropolitan University
• The new Sutton library at Thornton supporting the
Faculty of Science and Engineering opened at the
beginning of term. Facilities include 4 study pods with
AV screens and “scribble boards”, individual study
booths, wireless mobile charging, self-service issue
and returns systems, self-service loan laptop system
and a large relaxation and eating space with vending
machines and chilled water.
• In May, Library Services was re-accredited for Customer
Service Excellence for a further 3 years.”
• Plans are being drawn up to expand the Seaborne
Library to provide more computer space, private study
rooms and social learning space. This is likely to be a
phased development with the work starting on phase 1
in summer 2015.
University of Cumbria
• We have opened our new library at Brampton Road;
it is an enlarged space and offers library and student
services support to the arts curriculum area.
• We were finalists in the 2014 Cumbria News Golden
Apples awards – Learning Support team of the year
• We are implementing Rebus list; so far we have around
55% of reading lists migrated to the new system. We’ve
run pilots with faculty to achieve this.
• The Ambleside campus is now fully operational with the
move of students from the Newton Rigg campus, which
we no longer occupy.
• Our Learning Enhancement Advisers have taken part
in Peer Review of teaching this year demonstrating
our contribution to student learning and our quality
enhancement role.
Liverpool Hope University
• LLB was approved and started this term, we have
moved our physical law resources so that they are
together and close to the Law Librarian Subject Support
Point
• We are working with Milapfest an Asian Arts and
Music organisation to house their resources in the
Student Study Space at the Creative Campus. As well
as physical resources there will also be access to an
archive of recordings as the first location for these
outside of India. As well as supporting teaching these
resources are likely to be of interest to external users.
• We have just re-opened the 5th floor of the Sir Kenneth
Green Library (SKGL) on the All Saints Campus.
There are 100 new study spaces with PCs on this floor,
replacing study spaces lost on the lower floors to make
way for book stock from the libraries that are being
closed.
• The Didsbury and Gaskell libraries moved across to the
All Saints Campus during the summer. The Faculty of
Education and the Faculty of Health, Psychology and
Social Care have moved to Birley, which is a new
campus currently being built in Hulme, There is no
physical library at Birley, but we have invested heavily
in additional e-resources and there are a couple of ‘hot
desks’ for Library staff.
• We are involved in planning for the development of a
new arts and culture building, which will include Special
Collections, a theatre, a bar and academic spaces.
This will give us a real opportunity to raise the profile of
Special Collections both within MMU and outside it.
University of Bolton
• Procured Summon, “Discover@Bolton”, and it should be
fully operational by the end of this year
• Currently re-launching Talis Aspire, “Reading Lists
Online”
Lancaster University Library
• The Library building refurbishment is now underway,
and a complete refurbishment of the original 1967
East Building has begun. A full library service is
being delivered from the West Building and 500,000
print items, including all book stock, law reports and
theses have been retained on the open floors and the
previously closed access Lower Ground Floor. The
project is expected to be completed in January 2016.
• Following an extensive review the Library has
implemented a new loans and fines regime. Henceforth
fines will only be incurred where other readers have
been disadvantaged, i.e. on recalled books, High
Demand items and laptops. Loan periods have been
lengthened to reduce the need for renewal.
Winter Newsletter 2014
LSTM
University of Central Lancashire
• LSTM achieved HEI status in July 2013 so it has been
“all systems go” since then putting into place the new IT
and Library systems needed.
• Overseas developments are progressing with varying
success. Mauritius and Hebei (China) are operational.
The Sri Lanka campus is being reviewed following the
appointment of the new senior management team.
• Archives: some digitisation of images in the collection of
a former Dean, Prof. Brian Maegraith took place in the
summer. In the future, we hope to make some material
available from the LSTM website;
• For the first time, as part of the Student First project,
library tours were included on students’ online timetables
during Welcome Week. 3435 students were given a
library tour which is almost 500 more than last year and
equates to roughly 72% of the intake (FD, UG, PG).
University of Manchester
• The Library’s My Learning Essentials programme was
recognised as the winner in the Innovative Blended
Learning category of the 2014 Blackboard Catalyst
Awards
• BookedIn, the new Library game app, has been
launched (https://bookedin.manchester.ac.uk/index.php)
• The Library has been successful in a bid to become the
lead institution in a JISC Open Access Pathfinder project
• The Librarian, Jan Wilkinson, has received an honorary
degree from the University of Leicester for her services
to HE Librarianship and Information Science
• The Library was awarded the prize for Safeguarding the
Digital Legacy at the international Digital Preservation
Awards . The award was presented for the Carcanet
Press Email Preservation Project, an initiative set up
to tackle the challenge of capturing and preserving the
email archive of Manchester’s world-renowned publisher,
Carcanet Press.
University of Salford
• The next phase of the Library Development Project is
currently being planned which will see the incorporation
of the Adelphi Library into Clifford Whitworth building
and further enhancements to the space. As part of the
project we are looking at learning spaces outside the
Library and developing a roadmap for improvement to
informal learning spaces across the campus.
• The Library has launched a new programme to help to
engage students with information and digital literacy
skills development. The Skill up website http://www.
salford.ac.uk/library/skillup is designed to help students
develop skills in using Library and IT resources to help
with their studies.
Edge Hill University
• Replacing Ebsco’s EDS, Proquest’s Summon on their
new Intota platform was launched at the beginning of
September.
• All staff who are engaged in student support have
been involved in the design of a set of activities for
peer observation and student feedback. This initiative
is designed to provide evidence and assurance for
ourselves and that the support we are delivering does
assist students to progress.
RNCM
• The RNCM’s new strategic plan, RNCM 2020, was
launched in September.
• In June, one of the library assistants (a post-doc) who
also teaches academic courses was the recipient of one
of the student-led teaching awards for his teaching. The
knowledge and expertise of the library staff as a whole
was one of the points singled out by the students in the
2014 library survey and the students’ pride in the Library
was included in the report of one of the Overall External
Examiners.
• Edge Hill University Learning Services Department has
been shortlisted for the THES award for ‘Outstanding
Contribution to Leadership’.The University has also been
shortlisted for University of the Year.