New resources

We are pleased to have subscribed to Box of Broadcasts, known familiarly as BoB.  After Bournemouth and Portsmouth universities, we are one of the first institutions to subscribe to this web-based television and radio archiving service which is already proving popular among students and academics.

BoB allows users to watch, record and archive TV and radio programmes from selected free-view channels (including BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, ITV, Channel4, Five, BBC Radio3, BBC Radio 4 and others). Users can stream archived TV and radio programmes; they can view archived programmes, make clips from them and create personal or shared playlists; they can link clips into Moodle courses and online reading lists; and they can also make additions to the BoB archive, requesting up to three programmes to be added to the archive each day.

Merger: Royal Holloway and St George’s

Discussions and planning continue on the proposed merger of Royal Holloway and St. George’s. The target date for completion remains the beginning of the academic year 2010/11. The librarians and libraries of Royal Holloway and St George’s are beginning to work more closely together through workshops, attendance at each other’s management meetings and a forthcoming awayday on the theme of the merger and a single, integrated library service.

Surveys

A `Question-time’-style Library debate took place in January under the heading `Your Library: love it or loathe it’. Quoting from the student newspaper, The Founder’ `the Students’ Union hosted an informative debate on the state of Royal Holloway’s libraries. The panel, presided over by Union Chair Morgan Hamilton-Griffiths, was composed of Geoff Ward (Vice-Principal for Planning & Resources), John Tuck (Director of Library Services) and Adam Cadoo (SU Vice President for Education and Welfare). During the two-hour debate, many topics were discussed including the inevitable subject of sushi in Bedford Library and the college’s official position on the Senate House Library proposals’.

Space

Despite the debate about sushi, the Library’s social learning space (tlc@bedford) has proved to be a great success. Occupancy levels have increased considerably during the year and the group study space has been heavily used. Funding has been made available to refurbish Level 3 of the Bedford Library during the summer with the focus on maximising seats and providing more silent study space.  Some money has also been made available to improve access for the disabled to the 19th-century Founder’s Library building. This work will also take place over the summer.

Staffing

Recent recruitments have included an e-resources manager and an additional systems officer, both of whom take up their posts in June. Following the move of Damyanti Patel to the post of E-library manager at Birmingham City University (and who remains a star in the tlc film at http://tinyurl.com/apd9av), we are in the process of recruiting to the post of Head of Academic Liaison.

John Tuck
June 2009

Content of M25 e-bulletin Summer 2009 Edition