Category: Study Spaces

Valentine’s Day feedback: you said, we did

You may remember back in February, we had a stand in the Billy B asking you “Tell us how you feel this Valentine’s Day.” You could write a note to us to tell us about something we’re doing that you love, or if you would like us to make some changes.

We loved hearing from everyone and got some great feedback from the people we spoke to; with both things you really like and things you want us to improve. We’ve gone through all the feedback and just wanted to share a brief update with where we’re up to with addressing some of the improvements.

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All change at the ISC Library

In addition to the Bill Bryson Library and the Barker Research Library up in Durham, there is also a ‘branch’ of the University Library down in Stockton-on-Tees.

The International Study Centre (ISC) Library is for use by ISC students and staff at Queen’s Campus, Stockton, and can be found on level 2 of the Ebsworth Building. There specifically to support the foundation programmes which run at the ISC (although Durham University staff and students who live in the area can also access study spaces within the library), it houses a few thousand print books and a range of study spaces.

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SafePod

Durham University recently became part of the SafePod Network – an exciting innovative research network that significantly improves access to secure data. The University’s Safepod is coordinated by three ULC staff members and we asked two of them, Katie and Sarah, to tell us more…

In January this year, the University’s SafePod went live, and we started taking bookings from our academic community and beyond. 

Now we should admit that, prior to 2022, neither of us had come across a Safepod before and we were somewhat ignorant about what it could possibly be. So when James Bisset, Senior Manager for Library Research Services, announced the Library would be installing one, Katie will openly say that she initially imagined Safepod as some sort of panic room … and we can both admit to thinking that perhaps it was even a portal for accessing the dark web (!)

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To book, or not to book…

If you’ve visited the Library over the past year or so, you’ll have no doubt become quite familiar with our Space Booking system.

This is still playing an important role for our libraries, ensuring that users can have the opportunity to book in advance and ensure they have any resources they need, such as a PC or an individual study room. However, since Welcome and Orientation Week at the end of September, we have also been offering study spaces in Bill Bryson Library that don’t require a booking. For the more spontaneous users, I’m sure this will be good news. It means you don’t need a booking to just browse the shelves, pop in for a coffee, or come in to use the printers.

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Easter Term at University Library and Collections

Easter Term, also known as the exams and assessment period (we’re sure there are plenty of other names for it too!) can be stressful at the best of times, let alone in the middle of a global pandemic. The way in which teaching and exams are being done is different; we’re all still affected by the lockdown restrictions (although happily easing in line with the Government’s roadmap) and all of us, students and staff, are getting to grips with these changes in the way we operate and study on or off campus.

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The Bill Bryson comes back to life

As the country moves slowly back to normal, and pubs, shops, and hairdressers reopens their doors – so has the Bill Bryson Library building! A small team of staff  have been working hard onsite to provide users with the resources they need through Scan and Deliver. If, however, you would like more than one chapter of a book then over July we launched three new and alliterative services: Click and Collect, Browse and Borrow, and Stay and Study.

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The Bill Bryson Library’s First Steps into UX

If students were brave enough make it past the terrifying dragons we had set up in the library during induction week, they may have experienced the library’s first foray into UX research.  UX stands for User Experience, and in a library context it basically means that users are put at the centre of all our decision-making, from the big to the small. UX research puts an emphasis on using creative and intuitive methods with participants, rather than standard surveys that can be uninspiring, boring, and often cannot get to the heart of how users feel, as well as what they think.

We wanted to find out what new students felt as soon as they walked into the library, and whether the expectations of returning and postgraduate students were being met, so induction week felt like the perfect time to conduct our research.

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Looking for a seat?

Durham Teaching & Learning Centre

A shh of Librarians from Durham University Library have this week been getting a sneak preview of the soon to be opened Teaching and Learning Centre. Just 2 minutes walk from the Bill Bryson Library, the centre will offer a range of spaces including a cafe, a range of group quiet study areas, group study rooms (they’re sound-proof – we checked!), flexible teaching rooms, lecture theatres and (after our tour guide got temporarily disorientated and took us into it), at least one walk-in cupboard!

We’ve included some pictures here so you can see the spaces before they’re teeming with staff and students. Enjoy!

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