• Funky new Library

    For those of you who’ve been away working really hard on your studies all Summer (or just working really hard) you’ll notice some changes to the University Library at Ormskirk.

    We have put in some snazzy new self issue machines, which are using a new technology called RFID – Radio Frequency Identification. This means that the machines are faster, and we should be able to track lost items down faster than before.

    Rather than placing the barcode of the book under the scanner, you now only need to put the book on the square pad. It’s much easier than before, and students trying it out for the first time today thought it was super quick.

    Come in and have a nosey!

    In addition, returning students will notice that the front door has seen some much needed improvement. New automatic doors have been installed, along with flashy new security gates that turn red when they are set off.  The new doors are set to open on Thursday 3rd September, ready for the new term.

    If you’ve got any questions about RFID or the doors, just ask at the help desk and our friendly staff will be happy to find you the answer.

    Mandy

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  • Why not visit the Woodlands Library?

    Woodlands Library at Chorley tends to be largely unknown to the majority of our students. Many a student will arrive through the door unsure of their rights and privileges, and in many cases that Woodlands even exists. After it is explained to them that they have the same rights as they would at the Ormskirk Library they are usually pleasantly surprised and leave stating what a nice experience it was and that they will visit again.

    We are quieter than the main Ormskirk campus and there are usually PCs available to use. You can reserve any items you need and can get them sent to Woodlands Library from any of the main sites. You can also return any items from the other sites here free of charge.

    We have a full complement of staff that have the time to offer a more one to one service.

    The only thing we currently don’t offer is the Blackwell’s service.

    So if you live in Chorley or the surrounding area, why not visit us, it may be more convenient and if not why not pass on the word that we are here.

    Clare

  • Creating a group of bloggers

    A group session was held yesterday, Friday 13th March (hope that isn’t a bad omen!) which brought together a group of volunteers from Learning Services, who were interested in, wanted to know more about, thought they should be, or already were – blogging.

    As the saying goes, one volunteer is worth a hundred pressed men so the group were engaged, interested, open and willing to find out more, regardless of past experience. Mike Nolan, Acting Head of Web Services and I delivered the workshop which discussed what is a blog?, why should we blog?, what kind of structure should a Learning Services blog take, and how would the blog fit into the wider University picture?

    In just over an hour, the group watched the commoncraft guide to blogging, asked questions, wrote for some their first ever blog post, queried tags and categories and had many more questions than we could answer in this, what will turn out to be, part one.

    I’m writing about it because I want to document the growth of the group, which will be evidenced by the posts that you see here, and can’t be measured in the true sense, but which will be clear as the writers find their blogging voice, and possibly even a wider digital identity.

    We’re going to meet again in three weeks, after the group have had a bit of practice in writing and posting, to further discuss how we move this project forward.

    I should say that this is linked to the overhaul of Learning Services web presence that Martin Baxter, ICT and Media Resource Manager and I have been working on over the last 15 months with a cross service project group, and the blog posts will be directed (using categories) to the most relevant parts of the web site to ensure that the content of the blog, which will be varied, reaches the right audience.

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    Mandy

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