In the next of our series introducing members of staff, #DULibIntroducing welcomes James Bisset from our Library Research Services team.
#DULibIntroducing… James Bisset
From “webinarghghgh!” to “webinaaaaaah…”
Last week the Faculty Librarians presented 3 webinars via Zoom on trial e-resources, one for library staff and a further two for staff and students across all 4 faculties. The aim of the session was twofold: firstly to promote the vast number of resources we currently have on a temporary basis. And secondly, to use this as the first step in delivering a range of webinars across the coming months on other topics. Considering this was our first foray into webinar hosting there was a decent attendance and the feedback received was very encouraging. We also learned a fair bit about the do’s and don’ts of presenting a session like this via Zoom! Continue reading “From “webinarghghgh!” to “webinaaaaaah…””
#DULibIntroducing… Kirsty Barnfather
In the next of our series introducing members of staff, #DULibIntroducing welcomes Kirsty Barnfather who started as the User Experience Officer with University Library and Collections back in April of this year! Recently, we talked a little about her role at the library and what it’s been like starting a new job whilst working from home.
A year of blogging
It’s been 12 months since the launch of the Durham University Library and Collections blog. And I think we can all agree, a lot has happened in those 12 months… Continue reading “A year of blogging”
University Library & Collections Staff @home in Durham, Barnard Castle and other world famous locations.
As with so many of our colleagues across the University, over the last couple of months (has it really been that long??) many University Library & Collections staff have been getting used to saying hello to each other through a computer screen, rather than over a cup of coffee in the staff room or across a desk at the start of the working day.
Whilst we miss our conversations with staff and students within our libraries and museums, and across university sites, we hope you’ve been making use of the range of expanded online services we’ve been able to offer over this period. This post offers a reminder of some of those services we provide, alongside a sneak peak inside some of our working-from-home lives.
#DULibIntroducing… Jen Aspinall
In the next of our series introducing members of staff, #DULibIntroducing welcomes Jen Aspinall, a member of our fantastic Learning and Engagement Team! Earlier this year, before lockdown began, I met with Jen in the wonderful Small Island Coffee in Bill Bryson Library to talk all things Library, and to get to know her over a Flat White and cake.
A Virtual Tour of Norman Cornish: The Sketchbooks #CultureinQuarantineMW
Norman Cornish: The Sketchbooks was an exhibition held at Palace Green Library from 23 November 2019 – 1 March 2020, forming part of the programme to mark the centenary of the birth of the celebrated County Durham artist. Colleagues from the Museums, Galleries and Exhibitions team worked closely with the Cornish family to present a selection of around 60 of the artist’s little-seen sketchbooks, along with carefully chosen finished paintings to provide a rich insight into Cornish’s working practice and development as an artist. The exhibition was designed to offer an intimate look at Cornish’s life and work, touching on his career as a miner, how his family encouraged and inspired his art and the many subjects for drawing and painting provided by the community of his home town of Spennymoor.
Continue reading “A Virtual Tour of Norman Cornish: The Sketchbooks #CultureinQuarantineMW”
Ask DULib: Our Virtual Enquiry Desk
It’s very easy to still think of libraries in purely physical terms. You walk in – (lidded) coffee in hand – tip your hat to the friendly librarians, and pull a beautiful, hard-back tome from the shelves, feeling primed to escape into its milky white, or perhaps slightly yellowing, pages. Delightful.
- Photo from pexels.com
As you can probably tell, I get a lot of joy from working in a place that holds so many physical books, but as a Library intern this year, I have also found it really exciting discovering the joys, practicalities and usefulness of the “virtual library”. Our online resources are constantly expanding and evolving, with new e-books and online access being made available weekly, if not daily, in our catalogue.
A Faculty Librarian working from home
As a librarian with two teenage kids, I usually go to work for a bit of peace and quiet in a considerably less-stressful environment. But, the current situation we all find ourselves in means that compromises must be made, and limited at-home workspaces must be shared. Or so you’d think. Continue reading “A Faculty Librarian working from home”
We are your library… wherever you are right now.
To all of our amazing colleagues across academic and professional support departments, and our wonderful students, whether you’re playing football in the field outside the Bill Bryson Library, or at home caring for family and loved ones, our thoughts and best wishes are with you at a time which many of us are trying to struggle for normalcy as everything is changing rapidly around us.
University Library and Collections colleagues are working flat out (both on campus, and working from home – we’ll be sharing pictures and experiences in the near future!) to try to ensure that our existing collections are made as accessible as possible and we are providing support wherever we can, in challenging times (see our web pages for more details and updates including click & collect services, expanded virtual library help and live chat support).
But we are also working with publishers and library colleagues at other universities to ensure we can ease access online to resources wherever we can, for both students and staff. We have highlighted some of those new developments below:
Continue reading “We are your library… wherever you are right now.”
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