Join us, as we continue our look at the changes made in the Library throughout 2021 based on your feedback. In the first part we took a look at learning resources; so if you’re interested in new e-book resources, LibrarySearch improvements and more please give it a read. This week we take a look at the library spaces and facilities we provide.

Transition out of COVID arrangements

It’s been a year of great change. We started the year with one-way routes around the library and booking requirements in place for all our study spaces. Throughout the summer we transitioned out of most of the COVID arrangements we had in place. We maximised the number of booking free study spaces, whilst still helping to keep you safe with a range of hand sanitisers, wipes and regular cleaning protocols. We’ve increased NHS COVID app QR code coverage so you can now use your phone to check into individual group study rooms or the StressLess zone.

As the government requirements for face coverings have changed throughout the year, we hope the small gesture of providing them for free at the entrance to Augustine House has helped. Now seems a good time to thank all of you who have helped keep our library community safe across the year, from the amazing housekeeping team to all our students, staff and visitors who have followed the rules.

Thank you.

24/7 access to the library throughout assessment periods

“I love the 24 hours service provided – more please!”

Participant in Shape Our Library

We’ve relaunched 24/7 access to the library. For the first semester of this academic year, we provided 11 weeks of 24/7 access to support you in the run up to and during the assessments. We’re also pleased to announce that 24/7 will be back soon, from 7 March – 20 May (excluding bank holidays).

Group Study Room Booking System

Make the system of booking a room easier, maybe have a better way of knowing if the room is vacant or not …

Participant in Shape Our Library

Based on your feedback, we’ve improved the way you can book the group study rooms in Augustine House. You can now book a group study room through MyBookings. Once you’ve logged in, click on our new “Book a group study room” tile. Choose a room from the list available and then use the calendar to choose a day and time.

You can use MyBookings to edit your existing booking; if you need to change the time or cancel it completely if you no longer need it.

Alumni Access

“Free alumni, library subscription for let’s say one year would be amazing”

Participant in Valentine’s Day Love or Let down

“I’d like access to the Access to the library after graduation”

Participant in Shape Our Library

A better library offer for our alumni has been a regular request at our feedback exercises. So we were really excited to launch a new offer in November last year. We changed the membership pricing for our alumni, so you can now join the Library for FREE in the first year after Graduation and we’ve significantly reduced membership for any years after that to £20. We also don’t want anyone who may have graduated in 2020 to miss out due to COVID-19, so you can still apply for a free year of membership too. By becoming an alumni member you’ll have:

• Access to the library and its collections (please see our Opening Hours page for more details on when public members can use the library).
• A borrowing allowance of:
  • eight items from the 4-week loan collection,
  • two items from the 7-day loan collection,
  • eight items from the curriculum resources collection.
• The ability to request items from another Christ Church University library
• Support on the use of the library, including finding books and using our library catalogue (LibrarySearch).
• Wi-Fi.
• Use of the visitor PC with limited access to electronic resources.
• Printing, photocopying and scanning facilities.
• The Learning Skills Hub is open access, so you can continue to use it for your academic, personal and professional development.
• A RefWorks alumni account. You can continue to access your RefWorks account after you graduate even if you don’t join the library as an alumni. But you’ll need to update your account before you leave the University. Instructions are available on the RefWorks webpages.

Interested? Find out more on our new alumni website.

Lapsafe Laptops in Verena Holmes

We’ve been working with colleagues in IT to bring a new delivery system of laptops to Verena Holmes. You can now borrow laptops from the Lapsafe lockers in Verena Holmes for 8 hours at a time. Whilst you’re borrowing the laptop it will be added to your library account and when you’ve placed it back in the locker the laptop is returned from your account. Borrowing a laptop in a completely seamless way. Let us know what you think of the system if you’ve borrowed one.

New quiet and silent zones in the Drill Hall Library

The Drill Hall Library’s Quiet and Silent Zones had a fresh new look over the summer. A new layout, updated shelving and a colourful modular furniture creating a vibrant environment for studying. Along with the uplift of the library’s Quiet and Silent study zones, the training rooms were also updated with new equipment and a Family Room was added to the facilities. Find out more on the Library blog.

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Thank you for reading, pop back in two weeks for the final part in this series where we will take a look at the improvements to the study support we provide.