RFID Self-service installed

Following the award of the contract for supply of RFID self-service at Queen Mary Library Service to Intellident at the end of 2008, the re-tagging of the stock and the installation of the RFID equipment took place during July and August 2009. This was completed successfully and ahead of time, with the libraries beginning to use the new system a week before originally scheduled. Take-up of the self-service system by Library users has been extremely high, with over 90% of issues at the Mile End and Whitechapel Libraries now occurring at the self-service points. The installation of the self-service kiosks also enabled an e-payment system to be implemented for fine payments, utilizing the same payment system Library users already used for photocopying. As a result of the installation of self-service, new Help Points have been set up at the Mile End and Whitechapel Libraries, with more Library staff available to offer help and support to Library users.

Mile End Library refurbishment

The first phase of the refurbishment of the Mile End Library took place during the Summer Vacation 2009. Much of the first phase work was preparatory work for the transformation of the Ground floor which will take place during the Summer Vacation 2010.  A major part of this was the construction of a new Library staff office on the Second floor, and the moving of all staff offices away from the Ground floor. In addition, as a result of the installation of the self-service facilities which also took place during the Summer Vacation, the old Issue Counter was removed and replaced with a temporary Help Point for the 2009/10 session. The short loan collection was also moved and made open-access, and the old Ground floor staff offices have been utilised to provide a number of temporary group study rooms for students, a larger meeting room equipped with a screen and overhead projector, and a spacious new Assistive Technology room. The successful completion of this phase means that we will be able to begin the second phase, the complete transformation of the Ground floor to provide support for the changes in student needs and working patterns that have occurred over recent years, on the first day of the Summer Vacation 2010. Library staff are now working with the Queen Mary Projects Office, and the designer and architects, on the final plans for this second phase of the work, which are looking very exciting.

Whitechapel Library basement refurbishment

Refurbishment of the Whitechapel Library basement to provide more user-friendly spaces took place during the Summer Vacation 2009. There are now several purpose designed rooms instead of the previous open design. These include two training rooms fitted with AV facilities, which are available for private study when not booked for training, as well as a quiet study room fitted with PCs, and a more informal area with soft chairs for relaxing and group study.

Queen Mary Archives News

The Archives opened the new Caroline Skeel Room Archives Reading Room on the Second Floor of the Mile End Library on 2nd October 2009. This was built as part of phase 1 of the Mile End Library redevelopment. The Reading Room is open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.45pm and is supervised by specialist Archives staff, who provide advice on accessing the collections and search the archives catalogue for relevant research material.

Throughout November, the Archives team held Behind the Scenes Tours, which included a visit to the reading room, and the secure storeroom where the collections are held, and provided an opportunity to view some of the pioneering, eccentric and innovative items held in the Archives. The tours proved extremely popular, being attended by 45 students and staff members and received positive feedback.  Additional information on the archives reading room facilities and collections is available at: http://www.library.qmul.ac.uk/archives or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to make an enquiry.  

Endeca IAS NG search

During 2008, Queen Mary Library Service looked at a number of web systems that would allow us to integrate the range of our search services into a single search interface. We entered into a formal procurement at the end of January 2008 and eventually chose the Integrated Access Platform (IAS) from Endeca. Endeca has the virtue of being the application of choice of a number of suppliers across industrial and financial sectors including Ford, IBM, Walmart; Ebsco, Guardian Unlimited and Lexis-Nexis; and the National Cancer Institute. Endeca has also been introduced by other academic libraries, including McMaster University, Triangle Research Libraries of North Carolina, the State University Libraries of Florida, and Toronto University Library. Queen Mary is on stream to become the first library outside North America and only the sixth library in the world to implement Endeca. Work on implementing the Endeca system has proceeded through 2009, and the pilot site should be available to users early in the new year.

Cath McLeod
Marketing and Communications Officer
Queen Mary, University of London