-
5 ways your visit to Catalyst will be different….
1. New opening hours
We are now open 8am–8pm (Monday–Friday) and 10am–6pm (Saturday and Sunday). Be sure to plan your visit around these times. We’ll be reviewing opening times in future months, so be sure to check our webpages for the latest.
2. Swipe entry
Before you visit, please bring your UniCard or staff card – you’ll need this to get in and out! To enter, just hover your card over the scanner inside the main entrance. Even if you’re entering with friends or colleagues, everyone needs to swipe in individually so we know how many people are in the building and can keep occupancy to a safe level. Please be sure to swipe out individually too so we know when you have left the building.3. Face coverings and social distancing
Following University advice, we require that everyone wears a mask or face covering when moving through Catalyst. You won’t need to wear one when sitting at a desk or PC though.There’s lots of signage throughout the building, helping everyone maintain social distancing. The furniture has been rearranged with this in mind, and the building is available for individual study only. This means there are no group rooms available, but you can book study space on the third floor. This is a silent study area with PCs and large desks. Book a study space here: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/services/study-room-bookings/
4. Click and Collect and Return!
You might just be popping in briefly to collect a book or five.Our Click and Collect Desk is just to the right-hand side as you enter the building. Using Discover More, your Reading List, or the Library Catalogue, you can request up to five items in advance and we will retrieve them for you. We’ll send an email when they’re ready for collection, and your items will be waiting for you in a handy book bag.We are accepting books back and you can place these on the trolleys next to the Click and Collect desk. All returned book stock will be quarantined for 72 hours, after this the books will come off your account.
5 . 53.3 Degrees
The coffee shop in Catalyst will be reopening on 21st September. Social distancing measures will be in place and things may take a little longer but you’ll be able to grab a hot drink to fuel your study!Tips for your visit
- bring your Unicard or staff card and check our opening hours
- wear a mask or face covering when moving around the building
- allow plenty of time – you might have to queue, and simple things like using the lift can now take much longer
-
eTextbooks: what’s all the fuss about?
Challenges for academic colleagues and libraries
You submit a request to the library to buy an eBook for your reading list. It seems straightforward enough as you’ve found one available on the publisher website so the library will be able to purchase that.
Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple, and the Covid-19 pandemic has only highlighted the barriers academic libraries face in sourcing content digitally. Whilst the availability and affordability of eBooks is generally improving, we still face huge issues sourcing certain content, notably those books categorised by the publisher as a “textbook”. Definitions of exactly what constitutes a textbook vary, but they usually form a core part of a student’s reading for a specific module or topic and are almost always in high demand.
To meet this demand libraries buy multiple copies in print and students may even buy their own copy of the text. This has created a lucrative print textbook industry and it is a desire to protect revenue that leads publishers to restrict digital access or make it so expensive that for most institutions it is simply unaffordable. Consequently, providing eTextbook access to students on an institutional licence can run into thousands of pounds for a single title for one year. An average print book costs £30 so it is easy to see why scaling up access to eTextbooks has been so challenging.
So, what are the obstacles to us getting eBooks? Well here are some of the main ones:
- The publisher only sells the eBook to an individual. This explains why finding an eBook for sale on the publisher platform doesn’t mean it will be sold under an institutional licence (the type we need to provide access to students)
- The publisher only sells the eBook direct to students
- The eBook is part of a collection of eBooks and we need to subscribe to the whole package to get access, some of which we might not want or need
- The eBook is available but it falls in the “textbook” category and so the cost runs into thousands of pounds
- The eBook is available, but access is limited to 1 user which means If a second student tries to read it at the same time, they will be blocked
It isn’t all bad news. The pandemic has triggered a collective call to action from academic libraries, led by national consortia Jisc, to put pressure on publishers and suppliers for increased affordability and availability of eTextbook content and it feels like the tide may be slowly beginning to turn in the favour of libraries. Edge Hill are in the process of signing an agreement with the eTextbook aggregator BibliU to provide us with digital access to some of the most in demand print items for the 2020/21 academic year and Jisc are leading on negotiations that are trying to leverage national spend on textbooks to provide libraries with further discounts. It won’t happen overnight, but the hope is that we will gradually see prices fall to more affordable levels in the years to come.
In the meantime, there are plenty of eBooks available that we already subscribe to or that we can buy from our main suppliers under an institutional licence at reasonable cost. We are constantly adding to our collections and if you are not sure if an eBook is available, we encourage academic colleagues to talk to your Academic Engagement Specialist and consider if there are suitable alternatives.
-
PGCE Students: Welcome to Library and Learning Services!
Hello and a massive welcome to all our PGCE students, we look forward to meeting you and getting to know you all. We are the Student Engagement team and we are here to provide support with all aspects of academic skills. Although this year may feel a little different please be reassured that we are here to support you!
Induction
Head over to the Learning and Support Services Induction pages to find out more information about who lives in Catalyst, what they do and how they can support you. There’s an interactive induction toolkit that you can work through at your own pace, which will introduce you to Library and Learning Services, Student Services and Careers, or you can even watch an induction video if you prefer.
UniSkills
The best place to find out more about how we can support you is to head over to the UniSkills web pages where there’s a vast wealth of information around academic writing and research skills. Here you’ll find our interactive online UniSkills Toolkits which contain loads of tips and tricks to help you with assignment planning, critical thinking, punctuation, proofreading and much more. There’s also some handy guides and videos too!
You can also check out what Uniskills Webinars we have on offer throughout the year or if you require more specific support you can also book a 1-2-1 virtual appointment with an Academic Skills Advisor who can work with you on a piece of work or research.
Finding Your Resources
Once you start your tutor will provide with your reading list and I’m sure many of you will be keen to get started! To find your resources the Library Catalogue is a great place to start. From here you can access your Reading List online and, by clicking on the book titles, you can jump straight through to the catalogue where you will find details on the items location and availability.
You can collect items directly from the shelves and check them out on the self-issue machines located around the building or you can currently reserve items straight from the shelves using our temporary Click and Collect’ service. All you need to do to use this service is place a reservation on the book you want, we’ll grab if from the shelves for you and let you know when it’s ready to collect.
As well as the academic textbooks, which you’ll need for writing your assignments, there’s also a dedicated Education Resource Collection which has lots of resources that you can borrow. There are Key Stage 1 and 2 children’s books, larger picture books for whole class reading sessions, phonics resources, subject packs and interactive kits which are available on longer loan, so ideal for using in the classroom while you’re on placement.
As an Edge Hill student you also have access to thousands of high quality academic e-resources which are particularly useful whilst on placement as they can all be accessed off campus. The Subject Resource web pages contain all the relevant journals and databases for your course or you can browse the e-resource collections using the Discover More search tool.
On the Subject Resource web pages you will also find links to newspaper collections, classroom resources, useful websites and the Times Higher Education, so you can keep up to date with current affairs and recent developments in the education sector. If you need any help finding your academic information or navigating your online resources don’t forget we have lots of handy UniSkills Toolkits, videos and guides on the UniSkills web pages – all available 24/7!
And, if there is ever a book or journal article that we don’t have in our collection you can ask us add a copy by using the You Want It, We Get it service. Just fill in the details on the form and we’ll do our best to get it in for you – how cool is that?
Further Help & Support
If you have any general enquiries about resources for your study, IT related enquiries or academic skills support you can contact the Catalyst Helpdesk Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm and Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 6pm.
We wish you all the best for this coming academic year and look forward to supporting you soon!
