Buildings Update

Over the next 2 years we will be redeveloping our two smaller campus LRCs at Kingston to bring them in line with the dynamic student focused design of the Nightingale Centre, which opened in 2008 after highly a successful extension and refurbishment project.

At Roehampton Vale, our Engineering campus, we are extending the LRC to provide a more integrated and student orientated service. This will incorporate a Learning café, extra study spaces and PCs, a new Adaptive Technology Resource Centre and an integrated reception area , enabling staff to work together more closely.

Our Art design and Architecture campus at Knights Park will be relocating from the LRC from the first floor to the ground floor in a brand new space set at the heart of the campus. This too is being designed to create a hub for student services, with a natural flow between the various services on offer, including a gallery space, student art shop, the reception area and the café.

Both projects are being designed by Hawkins Brown Architects. Roehampton Vale LRC is due to be completed in September 2009 and Knights Park LRC in September 2010.

AquaBrowser implementation

Kingston has purchased the AquaBrowser search and discovery platform by Medialab Solutions BV to provide a refreshing view on the library catalogue and improved access to resources.  In addition, My Discoveries will be implemented adding a wealth of social features to the library catalog, including tagging, reviews, ratings, lists, and millions of tags from LibraryThing™ users.   AquaBrowser will be released as the main catalogue from September 2009.

Integrated Student Support

Further developments in our Integrated Student Support programme are planned for September.  Student Services and Information Services staff are working together to simplify help and advice for students across a range of student information.  From the start of the new academic year, students will be able to get first line support and help on information such as council tax exemption forms, replacement student ID cards, academic references, and more from information points located at LRC Helpdesks. The current Helpdesk ‘dashboard’ approach using Sharepoint to provide staff with easy access to essential information will be developed further to support this initiative and the existing call logging system will be used to log enquiries and refer to specialist second line support.  This is an exciting collaborative project which will improve the student experience.

Sheridan Morley Theatre Collection

Kingston is delighted to announce that it has become home to the Sheridan Morley Theatre Collection. The collection comprises the personal library of renowned theatre critic and author, Sheridan Morley, and includes some 5,000 books, personal papers and theatrical memorabilia.  Many of the books contain inscriptions by the authors and reflect Sheridan’s fascination with the stage and all aspects of performance.  The majority of items have now been catalogued and can be searched on the main library catalogue.  The collection will be of interest to anyone with an enthusiasm for the theatre and performing arts.  The collection may be visited by appointment.  Further details are available on the Kingston website at: http://www.kingston.ac.uk/library/archives/archives_index.html

Elizabeth Malone
Head of Content Development
Kingston University


Content of M25 e-bulletin Summer 2009 Edition