Taking a Break Scheme: the story so far

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Our “Taking a Break” Scheme has been running in the Forum Library for several weeks now. Hopefully you’re all getting used to seeing cards like this around the Forum Library:

You can find these cards in yellow-backed holders all around the Library. They’re also available at the desk by the Library reception, so why not grab one as you enter so you’ll have it ready when you need a break?

What to do:

When taking a break of up to one hour: please always leave a card, fill in the time you left and be sure to return within 60 minutes. Don’t forget to take any valuable items with you or put them in a Forum Locker.

If you will be gone longer than an hour: please clear your desk so that others can use the space.

Background:

How did we develop the scheme?

Before we introduced the scheme , we did a lot of research about what other HE organisation were doing about the problems of people saving seats while they are away.  In libraries of a similar size to ours, it can be almost impossible to successfully enforce any “no saving seats at all” rules.  We needed to think around the problem in another way.

We met with the Student Guild and they were clear that we needed a student led scheme that increased awareness and allowed some flexibility.  They also feel very strongly that the library should increase the number of study seats available over time.  We were pleased to announce additional seats at the start of this academic year  – and don’t forget that during the revision period the number of available seats in the Forum Library will increase again as the Seminar wings on Level 0 and Level +1 switch to become library spaces.

We also met with individual students who had complained about the problem of saving seats and together (with all this input) we came up with the “Take a Break” idea, as promoted.

Feedback so far:

Thanks to everyone  who has taken the time to get in touch with Library staff and share your thoughts on this scheme. Your feedback is appreciated and we’ve been pleased by your support. Here’s a selection of youe comments so far, as well as  responses to some of your questions and concerns.

“Great Idea”
“I think this ‘Take a Break’ Scheme is a fantastic idea!”
“Hopefully these new guidelines will be a good step”  
Having worked with the university on the “Taking a Break” initiative, I am pleased to see it introduced! – (comment from Alex Louch (Guild VP Academic Affairs) – quoted in Exepose

Your concerns:

“Good idea, but only if everyone uses it“

Our response: Our front line team are working very hard to implement this new system and we think it may take at least a full academic year (or more) for the scheme to prove its worth.  The Student Guild are also behind the scheme.  It is a big change and needs sufficient time to become part of the culture.

“an hour is too long “

Our response: Both the Library and the Guild are keen to achieve the right sense of balance and to encourage healthy study habits. It is good practice to take breaks when working to get fresh air and to eat. Students need (at most) an hour to get lunch, especially if they have to buy food, queue or use the toilet.  Also, students can leave for shorter periods; one hour is the maximum permitted time away.  Library staff will do more work to promote this message.

“it isn’t fair for people to leave a desk at all; if students need a break then they should give other people the chance to use the desk.”

Our response: we appreciate this concern, especially at times of highest demand but there are a number of reasons why we feel it would be unhelpful not to allow breaks:

Our consultations revealed many reasons why students need to spend extended periods of time in the Library:

  • Some courses require students  to spend a large proportion of their time in individual study (as opposed to in contact hours with academic staff). Many of you have told us that you prefer to spend this in the library as here you feel most motivated to get on with the work.
  • Some students live off campus (or travel in on public transport) and it would not be practical for them to come in for short periods.  They may need to work for long periods, fewer days per week.
  • Many students explained that they need “library days” where they can work consistently on certain projects over extended periods.

All of these are reasons why we feel it’s important to support extended study periods in our spaces. But we’re keen to do so in a healthy way, which includes allowing our users to take short breaks.

We hope Library users will continue working with us to make this scheme a success.

If would like to share your thoughts on the “Taking a Break scheme” then please fill in one of the comments cards you’ll find around the Library or .

ARTstor Digital Library

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ARTstor Digital Library logo

Did you know that the University Library has a subscription to ARTstor? ARTstor is a resource that provides over 1.6 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities and sciences. The collections include contributions from outstanding international museums, photographers, libraries, scholars, photo archives, artists and artists’ estates.

The project began in 2001, after the demise of the slide projector during the previous decade. ARTstor was founded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create a shared, non-commercial repository of teaching and research images from the collections of hundreds of educational institutions. Collection highlights include images from the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Réunion des Musées Nationaux, the Bodleian Library, and George Eastman House, to name but a few.

The images are high-resolution, and there are also software tools that make ARTstor valuable for teaching and research. For example, it’s possible to:

  • zoom in on and pan images
  • view 360˚ panoramas of world architecture using Quick Time Virtual Reality (QTVR)
  • organise images into groups
  • download images to PowerPoint for use in presentations
  • export the citations for images or image groups into referencing software such as EndNote

The wide range of images available, drawn from varied collections, means that ARTstor is a useful resource for students and academics from across many disciplines. So, whether you study art history or anthropology, Classics or politics, religion or literature, take a look at ARTstor – you might find something of interest there.

ARTstor is accessible via our Electronic Library and the library catalogue. Don’t forget that if you need help using this resource or any other library resources then your Subject Librarian will be happy to help. Find out more on our Subject Guides page.

Think Recall! Your guide to vacation borrowing

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Image by Mei Teng courtesy of http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1409738

Enjoy the festive season but don’t forget to Think Recall over the break!

Christmas is coming! The decorations are up in the Forum, and we’ve even got lights in the Forum Library’s very own Seal Courtyard – looking lovely! But as the end of term approaches, as well as planning any festivities, it’s also time to start thinking about how you might want to manage your library borrowing over the coming vacation period.

What you need to know: The Forum Library is open 24/7 throughout the holiday (see our opening hours page for information on Library staff availability) and our loan rules continue as usual during this period.

What does this mean for you?

This means for the many students and staff who arrive or choose to stay in Exeter during holiday periods we are here and open to provide help, support, study space and the resources you need. If you are going away from Exeter you are welcome to take books with you (though we advise against taking Library resources abroad) but do keep in mind that you will be responsible for renewing any items you borrow regularly throughout the vacation. You can do this online by logging in to your Library record.  Please remember also that books can still be recalled by other library users.

How do recalls work? 

If a book on loan to you is requested by another Library user, you will get an email informing you of this and providing a new date by which to return it. So it is important you check your email regularly if you are borrowing stock during the holidays. Recalled books cannot be renewed and may be due earlier than the original due date. With normal loan books, you should get a week within which to return the item. This should be sufficient time to return the items by UK post if necessary and you are welcome to do this.  Library books should not be taken overseas.

Our recall policy exists to ensure fair access to our stock for all library users, so don’t forget if the books you need are on loan you can recall them at any time of year. Learn more about how to place reservations here.

As always if you need help, or have any questions about managing your library record do please get in touch: 

5 Top tips for smart borrowing during the festive period:

  • Return any books you don’t need before you leave Exeter. Please don’t leave Library resources locked up in your room or office over the break, it isn’t fair to take them out of circulation if you’re not using them either and they could get recalled by other borrowers.
  • If you do take our normal or short loan books away with you, be sure to renew them regularly. We advise against taking Express Collections items away from Exeter.
  • Think Recall! Any item you borrow can be recalled by another user so please check your email regularly and be prepared to return items by post if necessary.
  • Staff are here to help! If you have any problems or questions about recalls, renewals or anything else please get in touch as soon as possible. Library staff available to help every day throughout the vacation period with the exception of December 25th, December 26th and January 1st. On these days the Forum Library is available for study and self-service borrowing via swipe card access only.
  • Don’t forget, the Library is so much more than just printed books: we also provide access to over 100 research databases, more than 30,000 electronic journals and thousands of e-books. All our electronic resources are available off campus, so you may not need to take hard copies away with you!

“Taking a Break” scheme coming very soon

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Watch out for cards and holders like these all around the Library

We know that the Forum Library can get very busy during peak times of day, especially as deadlines approach. We’ve listened to your comments and have already added 160 new study spaces since the start of term. But you also told us that it causes problems when other Library users take up more than one space or “save seats” by leaving their belongings and then going away.

In response, we have worked closely with the Student Guild Representatives and individual students to come up with guidelines for using study seats in our Libraries and study centres.

Together, we ask that you follow these basic guidelines when working for extended periods.

1)    Use one seat when working; leave enough room for someone else to sit and work

2)    It is OK to take a break for about an hour (60 minutes) if you are working in the library for a long time; but always use one of our Taking a Break cards so others know you are coming back and return promptly within one hour.

3)    Remember the Library is a public space! Always take valuables with you or lock them in a Forum Locker.

You’ll start seeing posters and Taking a Break Card holders all around the Forum Library from Sunday 24th November onwards. Please keep the scheme in mind and make our Library a better place to study for everyone by following the rules and using a card to indicate if you are taking a short break. It’s healthy to take a short break from study now and then and we do want support healthy study habits for all our users but if you plan to leave the Library for longer than 1 hour please be fair and clear the space for another student to use.

If you don’t leave a Taking a Break card, or do not return within one hour then your belongings may be moved to make space for other Library users.

Library staff are here to help, so always ask us if you’re looking for somewhere to study and we’ll help you find a seat.

The Taking a Break scheme has been developed in association with our users and with the Guild but we are keen for further feedback. If you have any questions or comments on taking a break while studying then let us know! You can , Tweet to us @Exeterunilib, comment on our Facebook page, or why not fill in one of the comments cards that can be found across all our Library sites and study centres.

We also offer more detailed information about what to expect in our library and study spaces on our web pages – so please do have a look and help make your Library a great place to be for everyone.

 

Donate your Library Fines to Children in Need on 15th November

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Friday 15th November is Children in Need Day.  If you haven’t encountered this charity initiative before it’s a wonderful fundraising project, led by the BBC, that seeks to raise money for disadvantaged children right across the UK. For a glimpse of how money raised in the past has helped children and young people right here in the South West why not click here.

Here in the Library we’re keen to do our bit to support the appeal, so on Friday November 15th we’ll be giving you the chance to donate any Library fines you have outstanding on your record to the Children in Need appeal.

How it works:
Rather than paying your fines money to us we will be inviting you to donate the equivalent amount to the Children in Need Charity appeal. We will then clear the fine from your record.  Donations must be cash only and made in person at any one of our Library desks (The Forum, Research Commons or St Luke’s). We regret that we cannot accept charity donations via credit card or using our online payment system.  Library staff will also be collecting, so if you don’t have a fine to pay but would still like to donate you will be welcome to do so – please see Library staff.

We hope you’ll take this opportunity to give generously, support worthy causes, and clear any outstanding fines on your Library record!

Fantastic New and Very Moving Archive at the University

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John Jarmain Archive (EUL MS 413)

The Special Collections team manage archives and rare books and has its own reading room in the Research Commons, Old Library.  We’re always keen to receive new deposits of archives and rare books, particularly relating to literature and west-country writers.

We’ve been incredibly fortunate to receive the archive of John Jarmain, a writer and poet who lived in Somerset and Dorset and was based in North Africa and Normandy during the Second World War.  Jarmain was killed in Normandy in 1944 but he had ensured the survival of his war poems by sending them home to his wife, Beryl, in a series of letters and airgraphs.   The poems were published posthumously.

Jarmain’s letters contain drafts of some of his best known war poems, together with references to his children, particularly his daughter, Janet Susan, who was born in August 1942 two years before Jarmain’s death.  However, Janet only discovered the cash of letters in which the original drafts were contained in 1990 after her mother’s death.  It took her ten years before she could bear to read them.   Last year, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Jarmain’s death, they were re-published and the originals have now been donated by Janet to the University of Exeter.

The archive is currently being catalogued and digitized and some of the letters are already available for research.

We are hoping that the archive and Janet’s fascinating story will feature on BBC TV next week.  Look out for more blogs and library/Heritage collections tweets.

A Scan of the original  “For Alamein” by John Jarmain  in our new archive.

Forum Library ‘Highly Commended’ in National Awards

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We’re very pleased to announce that the Forum Library has received the ‘Highly Commended’ award in the coveted SCONUL Building Design Award 2013.   

 The judges said:

 Citation for The Forum, Exeter University 

The award is made for a Library which, as an integral part of a larger development bringing together a range of student  support and retail services, has had a transformative effect on the campus creating a  ‘beating heart’ at its centre.

A flexible and technology-rich learning environment has been created with impressive sustainability and energy efficiency.  The inclusion of artworks plus careful thought to colour and design provides a pleasing visual experience and a creative buzz. 

Great care was taken throughout the development period and beyond to liaise with the student body which has voted with its feet by visiting in vastly increased numbers.  There is a definite feeling of student engagement and ownership, as one student said; ‘it makes learning fun again’

Michele Shoebridge, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Director of Academic Services, commented:

            ‘This was a great outcome and we were up against stiff opposition’ 

Stephen Mossop, Head of Library Customer Services, commented: 

             ‘We’re delighted that the SCONUL judges considered the Forum Library worthy of such a prestigious award – but the judges we wanted to impress most are our customers, and we’re overjoyed that they clearly love it!’

Make sure the Library has the books you need with an IWOOT!

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Getting the books you need from the library is child’s play, even if the library doesn’t have them!  All you need is an IWOOT.  If you are a student on a taught course and the library does not currently have a title you need for your course then let us know by filling out an ‘I Want One Of These’ (IWOOT) form.  We will then forward it to your College/Department as a recommended purchase. Once an approved order is returned, we will process the order as soon as we can so the item is available for you to borrow.  Just go to http://as.exeter.ac.uk/library/news/iwantoneofthese/