Durham authors: publish Open Access through our publisher deals

Over the last 12 months you may have noticed that there has been a significant increase in the number of publisher agreements that the Library has signed up to.  Deals which cover both the cost of open access for Durham University authors as well as the subscription fees that have long been covered from Library funds.  Terms such as “read & publish”, “transformative” and “transitional” are all used but what does it all mean and what, if anything, is being so markedly changed?

As the joint statement from OA2020 and cOAlition S states, the main aim of these deals is to help us to transition to “new [publication] models that ensure outputs are open and re-usable”.

This step towards an increasingly open and accessible world of scholarly research articles can be funded, it is believed, not by spending even more money but through a re-jigging of the fees that are currently being paid to publishers specifically for subscriptions:

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Graduate intern update: Beth

Graduate intern Beth Hall updates us on what she’s been up to recently…

Hello! It’s Beth, back with another update on my Archives and Special Collections internship. This month I’ve been with the Learning and Engagement team who are based at the Oriental Museum and here at PGL. I’ve seen them around the building and requesting material for their sessions so I’ve been curious to see what they actually get up to – I certainly found out!

Do remember, (for how could we forget) that a lot of what the learning team did while I was with them was adapted to COVID restrictions, i.e. being unable to have large groups in the building or to go out to schools. However, this does mean they’ve fine-tuned their digital learning sessions to adapt to remote teaching and I was lucky to witness how they manage it.

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Behind the scenes – what a catalogue record looks like!

We are about to embark on the process of moving to a new Library Management System, or LMS. This is a lengthy process, as the LMS effectively manages most core functions of a library, such as cataloguing resources, managing the loan/use of those resources and the records of our users. So transferring to a new system is a complex project, and one that we will keep you updated on over the course of the coming months. What we can say with certainty is that a new LMS will represent a significant upgrade, both for us as library staff and you as the user!

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Graduate intern update: Elisabeth

Graduate intern Elisabeth Prestgard updates us on what she’s been up to in the last month or so…

Hello everyone! Since I last updated you there have been many changes that I’d like to tell you about. Now that the new term has started, the library is open for all students, and as a result it has become a lot busier. When I work at the help and information desk, there are a lot more students queuing up and asking questions. Providing frontline customer service is one of my favourite tasks, because I get to assist people while learning more information about the library. With all the students now allowed in the library, I actually get to see what the library was like before the pandemic!  

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The Student Art Prize

The Student Art Prize launched in October 2019 to expand opportunities around creativity and to develop a new permanent student art collection, housed within the university’s wider art collection, but available as a resource for the whole community.

Want to know more about the University’s annual art prize, see works by previous winners, meet other artists, find out more about our ‘Art Prize Art School’ programme and, most importantly, find out how to apply? The launch party for the 2021/22 Student Art Prize will take place on Tuesday 9th November, 5.30pm-7pm at the Oriental Museum. Spaces are limited and booking is essential.

To get you in the mood, here are 3 of the shortlisted works from last year’s prize where the theme was HEROISM, accompanied by some words from the artists:

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Romanesque bindings

A post by Assistant Curator Katie Brew

I have recently been fortunate to attend a five day Romanesque binding course with experienced bookbinder and conservator Arthur Green. It was a largely practical course, attended to gain a deeper understanding of this particular binding style and its construction – to improve my own skills and directly inform the conservation of the early medieval bindings we have here in Special Collections.

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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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Looking forward, glancing backwards

Faculty Librarian Ben Taylorson reflects on the changes brought about by the pandemic as we settle into a new term.

I have to say, it has been nice to see so many students back in Durham for the start of the new academic year. The building in which I work when on-campus – The Bill Bryson Library – has felt very empty with so many of its users studying remotely. As we all begin to move forward into a new normal, things that remind me of the ‘old normal’ bring some comfort. That said, we must accept that some things have changed for good.

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Graduate intern update: Beth

Graduate intern Beth Hall updates us on what she’s been up to recently…

Hello, Beth again here with an update on my Archives and Special Collections internship. This time, I’ve been spending the last month with Visitor Services – an entirely different side to the building I’m used to seeing so far.

In my first week I was introduced to what Durham University has on offer for members of the public to visit. In the Palace Green Library (PGL) building, we currently have two exhibition spaces open to the public – the Museum of Archaeology exhibit and the Durham Light Infantry Collection Gallery upstairs. These are free to access and while they can be booked online via Eventbrite, we do have spaces available to curious visitors who walk in subject to availability. We also have the UNESCO World Heritage Site Visitor Centre that has recently been relocated into the building and is freely open to the public without any booking. We also have the front desk, where visitors can ask for directions or assistance and buy tickets to tour the Castle, tourist information leaflets and a gift shop.

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#DULibIntroducing Tom Henderson

In the next of our series introducing members of staff, #DULibIntroducing welcomes University Library and Collections graduate intern Tom Henderson.

Tom Henderson

Please tell us your name, full job title, and a brief description of what that entails:

My name is Tom Henderson and I work as a ‘Graduate Intern (Ushaw Collections)’. I divide my time between Ushaw College and Palace Green Library, since parts of Ushaw’s collections are held at both. The role involves working in the search rooms at Ushaw and Palace Green, processing reader bookings and requests, and cataloguing collections.

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