The library is running a book availability survey this week – it consists of 5 quick questions and shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes to complete. Your co-operation is really appreciated and the results will be used to help improve our service to you.
Paper survey forms are available in the McClay, Biomedical and Medical Libraries, but you can also complete the survey on-line at: http://goo.gl/caaP1E
Thank you for your help.
Click the image below for details of a new book collection in the Medical & HSC Library.
Following a consultation with the engineering schools during the summer, the Library’s subscription to the Compendex database is ending on Saturday 7 December 2013. This is because the more recent content in Compendex is covered by the Scopus database. Access will still be retained to the Compendex backfile (1884 to 1969) and the Inspec database via the Engineering Village platform.
Please do not hesitate to contact your Subject Librarian if you have any questions.
QUB staff and students have trial access to Mass Observation Online until 24/12/2013. For on-campus access please follow this link and for off-campus access please follow this link.
Mass Observation Online makes available original manuscript and typescript papers created and collected by the Mass Observation organisation, as well as printed publications, photographs and interactive maps.
The library would appreciate it if you let us know what you think of this resource – please follow this link to complete a very quick survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DVL2SNY
QUB staff and students have trial access to Early European Books until 21/12/2013. To
access please follow this link.
Early European Books traces the history of printing in Europe from its origins through to the close of the seventeenth century, offering full-colour, high-resolution facsimile images of rare and hard-to-access printed sources.
The library would appreciate it if you let us know what you think of this resource – please follow this link to complete a very quick survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T5ZZH9P
24 Hour Opening will run from
Sun 1 Dec until Fri 20 Dec and from Thu 2 Jan until Mon 27 Jan
Sun / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu: open overnight
Friday & Saturday nights: open till 2am
Saturday mornings: opens at 6am
Sunday mornings: opens at 8am
The library has taken out a 30 day trial to the electronic version of Mental Measurements Yearbook. This resource provides users with a comprehensive guide to over 2,700 contemporary testing instruments. Designed for an audience ranging from novice test consumers to experienced professionals, the MMY series contains information essential for a complete evaluation of test products within such diverse areas as psychology, education, business, and leadership.
Access is via the library catalogue QCat (link to www.qub.ac.uk/qcat) . Contact Psychology Subject Librarian Carol Dunlop (c.a.dunlop@qub.ac.uk) for more information.
The McClay Library at Queen’s University Belfast has won a national award for its outstanding architectural design and facilities.
The Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) Award is presented every three years to a UK library that best meets the needs of users and staff. The £50 million McClay Library at Queen’s is joint-winner of the 2013 award with The Augustine House Library and Student Services at Canterbury Christ Church University.
Named after the late Sir Allen McClay, one of Queen’s greatest benefactors, the Library opened in 2009, and a major enhancement project has just been completed. It was the most significant building project at Queen’s since the construction of the iconic red-brick Lanyon building in 1849.
Queen’s Acting President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor James McElnay said: “The McClay Library is a landmark building for Queen’s and for Belfast, and reflects the University’s commitment to scholarship, the environment and the future. With 10,000 people passing through its doors each day, the Library is an invaluable resource for all our students, providing a world-class study environment and support. This award is recognition of the building itself and also of the high quality of service delivered by Library staff.”
Hailed as a model of sustainable design, the McClay Library accommodates 2,200 reader spaces and houses 1.2 million volumes. Illuminated by a multi-storey open atrium, the impressive building includes IT training rooms, a Language Centre, Library and Computer support areas and a café, alongside the University’s Special Collections and the impressive CS Lewis Reading Room, which is accessed through a hand-carved ‘wardrobe’ door.
Elizabeth Traynor, Assistant Director of Library Services at Queen’s, said: “The McClay Library has transformed the University’s library service and more than doubled student usage. Students visit more often, stay longer and satisfaction levels have increased. Extended opening hours, an increase in self-service book issue and return, a laptop lending service, group study rooms, full disability access and roving advisors are just some of the highlights of the student support service on offer in the Library, and we are delighted that this has been recognised by the SCONUL judging panel.”
Ann Rossiter, Executive Director at SCONUL, said: “Providing access to knowledge is vital but is only one part of what an academics library does. Libraries are at the heart of their institutions and one of their most important functions is the provision of a place and atmosphere for learning. Our winning libraries offer a blueprint for how libraries can transform learning.”
The McClay Library was designed by Boston-based architects Shepley Bulfinch, who had previously designed and developed major academic libraries at Yale and Harvard, and who worked in association with RPP, Belfast. This is the latest in a number of awards for the building, which received the prestigious Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Award for Sustainability in 2010, defeating other prestigious property projects from around the world.
For more information about Library Services at Queen’s visit www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/InformationServices/TheLibrary/
Media inquiries to Anne-Marie Clarke at Queen’s Communications Office Tel: +44(0)28 9097 5320 or email a.clarke@qub.ac.uk
There will be an electrical shutdown on the main campus for essential maintenance on Friday evening.
Unfortunately this means that the McClay Library will have to close at 10:00pm. (Normally the Ground Floor would remain open till 2 o’clock in the morning).
The Library will be open as normal from 10.00am on Saturday.
If you need to borrow or return material on Friday, please do so before the Borrower Services Desk closes at 8:00pm. All the self service equipment will be switched off in preparation for the electrical shutdown!
However, the computers and printers will be available until 9:30pm.
We apologise for any inconvenience .
Welcome to the University for the 2013-14 academic year. Whether you are a new or a returning student, I am sure you will spend a lot of time in the McClay Library over the months ahead and we want to make sure that your time here is as comfortable and productive as possible.
Below is a summary of our policies in relation to control of noise, food and drink and reserving seats.
Control of Noise The Library is divided into zones (whisper and silent study) and the location of these zones is well signposted. You are asked to respect the needs of fellow students by observing these clearly defined zones and choosing the appropriate one for your study. Mobile phones should routinely be set to silent and used only in stairwells.
Food & Drink While we are happy for you to have drinks with secure lids (both hot and cold) in any area of the Library (except the Special Collections Reading Room), food (including snacks such as crisps and fruit) should only be eaten in the student lounge area on the ground floor.
Reserving Seats To ensure that study and PC spaces are fully utilised at all times, spaces should not be left unoccupied for more than 30 minutes. As there are significant PC and study spaces available, it should not be necessary to tie up spaces and deprive others of the opportunity to use them while you are away. Staff will be happy to help you to find a PC or study space if you experience any difficulty when the building is busy. As well as staffing the enquiry desks on each floor, Library staff operate a roving support service on all floors. They offer help with Library services and resources and will remind you about these policies where necessary. Please support Library staff and help us to create the environment you have asked us to provide.
A significant number of additional study seats and new PC spaces have been made available on the ground floor as a result of a major enhancement project over summer 2013. The atrium has been enlarged and two new silent study rooms created. Two new 6-person group study rooms (Group Study Room 1A and Group Study Room 2A) were made available on the ground floor on Monday 30 September. Both have been added to the group study room booking system on Queen’s Online. The Student Lounge has been significantly extended with the addition of two new water fountains.
Returning Books – New Book Sorter You can now return all your books using our new book sorter on the ground floor. Simply place the books into a return slot one at a time and follow the instructions on screen if you would like a receipt. Please remember to leave the book closed!
Access to the Library Please remember to bring your student card with you when you visit the Library. If you forget your card, you can obtain a temporary card for the day from the kiosk close to Reception. You will only be able to get three temporary cards each year.
Self-Service Book Loans We have also speeded up self-service book loans! You no longer need to open books when checking them out. Simply place the books into the cradle on the self service unit one at a time. Remember that you can use the My Account facility on QCat or Queen’s Online to manage your library account.
If you have any comments or queries on the content of this document or wish to comment on library services more generally, please e-mail: library@qub.ac.uk
