Welcome to the Library, we’re here to help!

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WELCOME!

If you’ve just started a course at Exeter this year then congratulations and welcome aboard! If you’re a returning student then welcome back! We hope you’ll be using our Libraries and Library study spaces lots over the coming year. Find out more about the different libraries and study spaces we have available on our website: whether it’s the Forum Library, Research Commons, St Luke’s Library, The Amory Study Centre or The Sanctuary we’ve got spaces and resources to suit your differing study needs throughout the coming year. Library staff are available 7 days a week: we’re always happy to help and we’re keen to help you get the most out of your study experience at Exeter so – however large or small  your question – never be afraid to ask us.

Here’s a short guide to the different ways you get help from us:

Enquiry Desks

Reception desk at St Luke’s Library

Our main reception desks are located in the Forum  Library entrance next to the  Forum Street, and by the entrances in our site Libraries, Research Commons and St Luke’s. During staffed hours (08.00 – 20.00 Monday – Friday and 10.00 – 18.00 at the weekend) there will always a member of staff here who can either answer your questions or put you in touch with the person who can.

Information Central

Information Central is located on level -1 of the Forum Library. A number of Library staff are based here and available to help Monday – Friday 09.00 – 17.00. You’ll find the help desk immediately on the left as you step through the door. Come in and see us!

Meet our Rovers

Can’t find the classmark you need? Not sure how to use the issue machines? Don’t worry, Library staff are on hand! Library Customer Services are an active team working out and about – or, as we call it, “roving” – on the Library floors where you need us most. We wear a white or navy blue uniform and colourful lanyards so we are easy to identify. We can help you search the catalogue, access your library record or deal with a number e-resource queries on the spot, so there’s no need to queue at the desk. Any member of the team will be happy to help so if you see us let us know how you’re doing, and how we can help. 

Email or Phone

You don’t need to come into the building to get help. Why not send us an email: . We check and respond to messages 7 days a week, so don’t hesitate to drop us a line or, if you’d prefer, give us a call on +44 (0) 1392 723867.  

Follow us on Twitter!

Keep in Touch!

Keep up with latest Library news and developments by following this blog throughout the coming year. Or why not follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook? We use social media to share tips, facts, breaking news, fun quotes and competitions, and most importantly to make it easy for you to get in touch, so do speak up if there’s something you’d like to share. Or if you’d prefer to put pen to paper there are comments boxes located around our Library spaces. Questions, comments, suggestions and feedback good or bad we’re always keen to hear your thoughts on how we can improve our service, so do keep in touch.

See you soon, in one of our Library spaces!

Research Commons: opening hours update

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Research Commons silent reading room

Research Commons houses our Heritage Collections, the Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture and the Arab World Documentation Unit. Located just a few minutes walk from the Forum, this haven for research is open  7 days a week and also offers  a silent study reading room and bookable study desks for Research Postgraduates. Here’s an update on opening hours at Research Commons for the coming academic year.

Extended term time opening hours at Research Commons will resume from Monday 16th September. From this date the Library will be open from 08.00 – 20.00 Monday – Friday and 10.00 – 18.00 on Saturdays and Sundays during university term time.

After 8PM (6PM at weekends) current University staff and students who wish to continue working later into the evening are invited to move to the 24/7 study space at the Forum Library. This is located just a few minutes’ walk (along Poole Gate road, see map for details) and offers a wide range of study seats, colour/black & white printing and scanning, catering and vending. 

During the vacation periods Research Commons changes its opening hours to 09.00 – 17.30 (weekdays) and 10.00 – 18.00 (weekends). Please ask staff or see our web pages for more information.

St Luke’s Library: new opening hours

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St Luke’s Campus Library

Located just a short walk from Exeter city centre, St Luke’s Library is a great place to study, and you don’t need to be on a course based on St Luke’s Campus to use our facilities. Here’s some information about our opening hours at St Luke’s Library for the 2013-14 academic year.

St Luke’s Library offers our usual extended term time opening hours to cover 36 weeks per year, including the weeks before exams and the additional weeks in June to support our PGCE students.  We have also extended our opening hours to include Saturday and Sunday mornings, now increasing our weekend opening hours to 10.00 – 18.00 all year round.

From Monday 16th September, term time hours resume at St Luke’s. From this date the library’s staffed opening hours will be 08.00 -20.00 on weekdays and  10.00 – 18.00 at weekends so that Library staff will always be on hand to offer support during busy times. Library users are welcome to move to the 24/7 study room after 8 PM (6PM at weekends) but access to collections is not possible after this time.  Our 24/7 provision at St Luke’s includes up to 30 study seats and 28 computers (with colour and black and white print facilities), available all year round.

For more information on new our opening hours please talk to library staff  or why not visit our web pages for full details?

Coming Soon – Even More Study Spaces!

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We are pleased to announce that, in response to student requests, we are installing an additional 164 study spaces in the Forum Library.  This will bring the number of study seats in the Library to more than 1000, expanding to a massive 1300 during the exam revision periods!

We are conscious of the need to minimise disruption during term, so work is underway now to prepare areas of the Library for the new study spaces.  Some temporary desks will be in place shortly, with installation of the permanent furniture planned for mid-October.  We are grateful for your patience while work is ongoing.

We’ll let you know as soon as possible when the new study spaces are in place and we’ll also update you about the new locations of any items we move.

24/7 swipe access to The Forum Library available from 9th September

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We are pleased to announce that…

The Forum Library will be available on a 24/7 basis from Monday 9th September

Library staff will be available to help daily from 08.00 – 20.00 Monday – Friday and 10.00 – 18.00 at the weekend. During these times members of the public and visitors from other universities are also extremely welcome to use our facilities. Outside of these times, the building will remain open with self-service facilities available 24/7 but in the interests of security overnight entrance will be for registered university staff and students via swipe card access only.

Have you got your Unicard? Always remember it if you are coming to the Library and make sure you keep it with you at all times, including if you leave the Library for a break – you will need your card to get back in again!

We are proud to offer 24/7 facilities in the Forum Library and in the 24/7 study room at St Luke’s.  We understand that you need spaces to suit your individual study and research needs, however if you are working late into the night do make sure you stay safe and healthy. Here are some tips taken from our Library behaviour webpages:

  • Take regular breaks, move around or have a drink. Vending facilities are available in the Breakout area
  • Do not leave valuables unattended; locker keys are available to borrow from the Forum Library
  • If you are working through the night please be sensible and maintain a healthy attitude and working habits.
  • Short power naps are helpful but the Library is not a healthy or appropriate space to sleep; if you’re very tired please head home to rest properly.
  • Stay safe: if you leave the Library in the middle of the night try to walk with a friend or take a taxi
  • If you have any security concerns overnight call Estate patrol on 01392 263999.

Welcome to new international students

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If you have only just started studying at Exeter you may find student life different from your home country and may need advice on doing research, writing essays or presentations.

The Library provides a lot of help for international students –  look at the International student services part of the Library website or just come and ask! During Welcome Week and at the beginning of term tours of the library are organised for groups of students so you can find out where things are. These are led by library staff and give you the opportunity to ask questions.

You can always ask your teachers in the University for help but don’t forget that staff in the Library and study skills advisers can also help you – either in person or through ELE, the Exeter Learning Environment.  Look under Library or Student Resources on the blue tab at the top of every screen to find the help pages we have put together.

Choose Library and Study Skills if you want to find out how to use the library and electronic resources – there are a lot of demos to show you how to use the catalogue and databases.

 

Tourism Resources

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Are you visiting new places this summer? Would you like to know more about them?

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for developing Tourism in the UK. Its website has links to all relevant bodies, including Visit Britain. For further afield check out the World Travel guides.

The Institute of Hospitality provides free access to a wide range of hospitality, leisure and tourism information.

Why not look at our travel and tourism resources… We have databases available on the Electronic Library which provide information about the economic, political and social conditions in specific countries.

Business Source Complete country reports include extensive national profiles as well as economic studies, business forecasts and OECD economic surveys. From Basic search enter the name of the country you are interested in, then scroll down to Limit your results and select Country report from the options listed under Publication type

European Sources Online (ESO) provides access to information on the institutions and activities of the European Union and of all European countries and links to sources of official information in each country. These include press releases, statistics and other news sources.

Take a look at the guides to country information and tourism to find out more.

Bookable PGR Study Desks in Research Commons

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What are they?

These are large desks with associated lockers, which can be booked by Postgraduate Research Students from any college.

Where are they?

In the Main Reading Room of Research Commons. This is a silent study area.

When are they available?

During Research Commons opening hours. Check here for the current opening hours.

http://as.exeter.ac.uk/library/usingthelibrary/opening/researchcommons/

How do I book?

Book a desk in advance at:

https://roombookings.exeter.ac.uk/pgr2013wrb

A desk can be booked for 1 day or for up to 5 consecutive days. Collect your locker key from the Research Commons Reception Desk by 10.00 (weekdays) or 11.00 (weekends). If arriving after these times, please confirm that you still need the desk by phoning or emailing Research Commons.

Any questions?

Please contact library staff at the Research Commons Reception Desk (01392 724052) or email

Upgrade to our Library Management System

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Please be aware that on Monday 12th August we will be implementing an important upgrade to our Library Management System. Beginning  at 10pm the upgrade is likely to take around 3 hours. During this time Library services will be unavailable.

During the upgrade you will not be able to:

  • Use the Library Catalogue or Article Search
  • Access the Electronic Library
  • Login in to your Library record or renew books online
  • Pay online fines
  • Use the 24/7 returns machine at St Luke’s

We have chosen this late time to reduce disruption as far as possible. The Forum Library is not currently open 24/7 so hopefully the short period of overnight downtime will prove to be of minimal inconvenience. But if you do prefer to use our services  remotely overnight please keep in mind the short period in which our services will be unavailable.  

We anticipate full service will be restored during the morning of Tuesday 13th August although the system will be subject to testing for a short period. This should not affect access but please do contact us if you are experiencing any difficulties during this time.

Graduating? Check out our Library Resources for Exeter Alumni

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Hearty congratulations from all of us in the Library to everyone who is graduating this week! We hope you enjoy your ceremony and well-deserved celebrations.

But did you know that as a graduates of Exeter University can still be a Library member and even access some key collections from extensive e-resources? Here’s how… 

Access to library resources for Exeter Alumni

Electronic resources via ExOnline:

We are currently able to offer access to the following e-resources for Exeter Alumni:

 

JSTOR journal archives – access to 1,700 journals in a variety of academic subjects

 

 

 

Business Source Alumni  – access to hundreds of full-text journals and reports in the Business subject areas

 

 

 

Access to all University subscribed Sage Journals (in a variety of subjects), along with Sage Research Methods Online and Sage Knowledge Business & Management e-book collection.

 

To access our alumni e-resources you will first need to register with the Alumni Office. Find out more on their alumni benefit webpages.

Electronic Resources via our Walk-in Access machine:

If you live locally you can also access many of the Library’s electronic resources via our walk-in PC facilities in the Forum Library and St Luke’s Library. Find more information here.

Alumni Library Membership and print collection borrowing:

As an Alumni you are also entitled to join the Library and borrow up to four items at a time from our print collections. A one-off registration fee of £35 applies for this service (except for PhD alumni who are entitled to join for free). To apply for alumni membership, or for more information on this scheme, please visit our website.

 

So graduation is only the start of your lifelong learning journey, and we look forward to welcoming many of you back to The Forum Library, Research Commons and St Luke’s as alumni Library members!