Category: student experience

customer service, libraries, library, student experience, studyspaces, update, warm spacesLeave a comment

Libraries and Warm Spaces – the despair and the delight…

C Donlan

I’ve hesitated to write about Libraries and warm spaces because it is so important and because I feel very conflicted about it. My first read about it when it was tweeted by Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert and then CILIP produced and circulated information about it A Warm welcome to the Warm Spaces Scheme. A report was produced ‘Setting Up a Warm Space in Your Community” Since then there has been lots of information and publicity from local authorities, councils, libraries, leisure centres, charities, including the Libraries Connected Cost-of-living crisis: how libraries plan to support the vulnerable this winter … Continue reading Libraries and Warm Spaces – the despair and the delight…

books, customer services, information services, libraries, library, Library Help, student experienceLeave a comment

Working with books…or not

C Donlan

Working in a Library is often not about books especially in an academic library. In fact, you can go for a few days without picking up a book. It depends which area of the Library you work in and what your job role is. If you are a shelver, then the majority of your work is with books. Some library teams have separate teams of shelvers or library aides so their job is to return books to the shelves or fulfil requests and reservations or put books in transit to other branches or sites. Some library teams have their customer … Continue reading Working with books…or not

books, customer services, libraries, library, student experience, studyspacesLeave a comment

December – the difference in Library usage depending on exam times and format.

C Donlan

There is definitely a difference in the use of academic libraries depending on when exam take place. This may be stating the obvious but I think it is one of the most important factors influencing study space management and availability. In Scotland, it is usual for exams to take place in December at the end of Semester 1. Therefore the last 2 weeks in November and first two weeks of December at Heriot-Watt were the busiest time of the year. Semester 1 was often busier than Semester 2, as the exams were scheduled for a two week slot rather than … Continue reading December – the difference in Library usage depending on exam times and format.

books, Click and Collect, customer service, library, Library Help, student experience, studyspaces, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Day to day October 2022

C Donlan

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 … Continue reading Day to day October 2022

books, Click and Collect, customer services, libraries, library, student experience, studyspaces, Uncategorized, updateLeave a comment

Back blogging – September 2020 and 2021 to 2022

C Donlan

I didn’t blog between April 2020 and February 2022 as explained in a previous post Blogging again…since 2020 . I did however take photos, post to Twitter and Facebook and write blogs on the Heriot-Watt InformS blog. I’m going to … Continue reading Back blogging – September 2020 and 2021 to 2022