Library highlights for 2018-2019

As the academic year draws to a close and preparations are being made for graduation ceremonies, we look back at how we have made a difference.

Here are just a few of the Library’s highlights.

We began collaborating with the University of Cambridge Library on a digital image viewer that allows enhanced viewing and manipulation of items held in our Special Collections. This is a significant strategic partnership for both Universities and will be of great benefit to researchers.

The Library launched Open Access +, a premium service to support researchers find new audiences. The service helps researchers by navigating them through Twitter to find people with an interest in their field and creating media interest with press releases. The service has received fantastic feedback and is going from strength to strength.

Further improvements were made to our book loaning service. Students told us that they sometimes find it difficult to find books, in response we launched our ‘find a book’ feature. When using Library Search, if the book is housed in Main Library the location information now features a ‘locate book’ function that displays the exact location of the book being searched for.

We also extended our loan periods so students can keep hold of books for a year, taking the pressure off worrying about returning books.

We are always looking for sustainable ways to reduce waste. This year we launched paperless reservations, trialling ‘request from shelf’. Instead of books being marked with paper, students were sent an email.

Have a brilliant summer and here is to an exciting new academic year.