October has mainly been about business as usual. The Library here at Newcastle has been busy but not packed out. There seems to be an average number of UG students using the building and study space. The Library here has 4 floors and, in the current environment and times, enough study space for everyone who needs it. The entrance floor and lower floor are for collaborative work and group work. The two upper floors are for silent study. I have noticed that the students here do tend to be good about noise levels, better than other places I have worked – maybe it is because there is more space…or more peer pressure…common expectations.
The Library is open 24/7 and the Welcome Desk is staffed all the time. The Library Helpdesk is staffed from 8:30am to 8:00pm. When I start work at 8:00am it is still relatively quiet but it’s an opportunity to catch up on anything from the evening before and get set up for the day. I like working mornings. At the weekend, it has been steady.
Welcome week and the start of term went well and Library Welcome packs were given out. Unfortunately, the days of giving out sweets and vouchers are gone and now it is much more sensible stuff such as planners and pens etc. Staff are available in the foyer of the Library during welcome week to engage with students.
A lot of the interactions at the Helpdesk at the beginning of term are about Smartcards (Uni ID). Although students should and do get their cards from Kings Gate Student Services, they often lose them quite quickly and after the initial 2 weeks of registration can come to the Library for their card as long as they are on the system. So there is a lot of checking on SAP and confirming student details.
Other enquiries etc. are the usual ones about finding books – click and collect is still in operation and at the start of term there were a lot of requests / reservations. It has settled down now as students realise that they can go and get the books from the shelves themselves and also the initial rush for baggsying essential reading has passed. Personally, I’m in two minds about click and collect – it’s a good service to offer in theory but in practice, it does use staff resource to do the pick from shelf list and can be more immediate for the student to go and get the book from the shelf themselves, and of course, they can then browse.
Working in a Library etc... 