Central panel of the stained glass window in the vestibule of Harris Manchester library On a recent trip with other library staff, we had the opportunity to visit Harris Manchester College, part the University of Oxford. We were able to look around not only the library, but also the Special Collections and archive. The history …
Continue reading We visit … Harris Manchester College Library
Our annual Learn and Laugh week is an opportunity for Oxford Brookes library staff to explore new things and new places. On a damp morning in May we were treated to a visit to Oxfordshire County Library. This is the county’s flagship library, and sits at the entrance to the Westgate centre in central Oxford. …
A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a libraryShelby Foote The beginning I’ve always loved libraries, and I’ve always loved learning. I spent much of my childhood in my local library and then in my school one. I didn’t get the internet at home until I was 13 (in 2009) and my …
Face-to face teaching halted overnight, the Easter holidays were brought forward a week and we all became distance learners When I finished my undergraduate degree in 2009 at Brookes, I had little thought of doing any further study. I had been working at Oxford Brookes Library in Circulation and the Audio-visual unit initially and then …
To Colleagues in Learning Resources, I was on leave last week, but alas not on holiday in the Peak District with the children and grandchildren as we usually are at Easter. So we made the most of relaxing at home in Abingdon instead. The weather obviously helped and we enjoyed seeing the cherry blossom in the garden …
I’m really not a blogger. I wouldn’t say I’m particularly shy but I’ve never enjoyed being the centre of attention, and anything that puts me into any resemblance of a public spotlight just makes me want to run for the hills, quite frankly. It’s a long story and probably stems from the days when I …
Continue reading Learning Resources: Still Working For You – Content and Metadata Services
Helping students and academic staff access what they need online is always a big part of what the Academic Liaison teams do, so unsurprisingly we have been busier than ever since our physical campuses closed and we all moved to working from home. Within a few days of universities starting to send students home, big …
Continue reading Learning Resources: Still Working For You – Academic Liaison
As I’m currently researching makerspaces colleagues are often kind enough to share emails on maker activities I might find of interest. I was particularly interested in a recent email from Isabel Virgo - Academic Liaison Librarian for Business, on librarians at Columbia University using the library’s 3D printers to make medical equipment for key workers, …
Our team provides a graphics service for teaching, research and other internal focused projects in the university. We’re continuing to work with staff both in the faculties and the directorates. Recent jobs have included the OCSLD newsletter, a weekly bulletin written by and for staff in Learning Resources and a special Library and LR Update …
Continue reading Learning Resources: Still Working For You – Design and Media Services
Our services for you whilst the university sites are closed due to COVID-19 As soon as the university announced the implementation of additional reading weeks, the Library made the decision to extend all loans to cover this period and remove fines. This was in part due to the numerous queries we received from students self-isolating …
Continue reading Learning Resources: Still Working For You – Customer Services
Not Home Alone So, let’s cover off the domestic situation first: managed to get daughter and granddaughter on the plane to Vancouver before it became almost impossible to do so. Youngest son is home from Liverpool Uni and wondering what his Year 2 exam regime is going to look like. We compare notes on how …
This is the first in a series of blog entries from LR staff, showing we are still open for business, and reflecting on life working at home. The Special Collections reading room may be closed at the moment but whilst we’re working from home work continues on our collections. Where possible we are responding to …
Continue reading Learning Resources: Still Working For You – Special Collections
As anyone with an unusual surname will know, it has its pros and cons. Mine was a real asset recently when my dad was taken into hospital with a serious illness. Everywhere in the health system where my Dad was treated, or my anxious Mum comforted - from paramedics to rehab and all the hospital …
Continue reading A defence of subject specialism in academic librarianship
My recent research visit to the east coast of the US was informative for my Doctorate of Education thesis (on Academic library makerspaces) but also generally in how academic libraries are evolving in North America in terms of their services generally. The two main libraries at the large university (over 35,000 students) I visited offer …
Continue reading The future for academic libraries? Initial observations from my US research.
Can playing games help you learn? What role does gaming have in higher education? A group of staff from Learning Resources went to find out at a workshop about using games for higher education on Monday 18th March. This proved to be a very informative and practical workshop. The workshop was led by Andrew Walsh, …
Today (26 February 2019) is the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Headington Library in the John Henry Brookes Building. The former Headington Library (now totally unrecognisable as the Business School) closed for the final time on the evening of Friday 21 February 2014 and immediately the teams of professional book movers started to …
At this time of year we do get a couple of comments about seat bagging in the Library. Most students find it immensely frustrating trying to find a seat only to discover that many spaces have belongings but no person in them! We have tried a number of things to combat hogging: trialling auto-log out of …
News and information from Oxford Brookes University Library
Making the best use of Library resources
The Scholarly Communications Team @ Oxford Brookes University Library
OXFORD BROOKES LIBRARY NEWS 