Category Archives: Catalogue

Have Your Say! Library Focus Group

Posted on by

At the Library we pride ourselves on our openness to feedback, comments, and, when necessary, criticism. And thanks to you, we’ve made a number of changes to the ways we can help you get the best out of your studies.

From improvements to wifi coverage and IT facilities to loan recalls during vacations, to extended opening hours, you’ve told us what you’d like – and we’ve listened.

We’d like your help to help us help you again! We’re running a Library Focus Group on Wednesday 13th March at 12.15pm in Library Seminar Room 1 to get your feedback about how we’re doing. We’re open to discussion on any subject related to the Library – our resources, study spaces, skills support, anything you like.

By way of an added incentive, we’re throwing in a free lunch as well!

If you are interested in attending, please email library@lboro.ac.uk to register.

We look forward to seeing you – and hearing your ideas.

All IT Services Unavailable on Wednesday 11th July, 3pm to Midnight

Posted on by

The University is investing £1.3M on upgrading essential IT infrastructure, resulting in temporary downtime of all IT facilities across campus from 3pm on Wednesday 11th July. All University IT Systems will be unavailable during this upgrade, including telephones and printers.

The upgrade has an expected finish time of midnight, though services should also be considered as at risk the following day.

This upgrade will effect the Library considerably, as it will mean that there will be no IT access or provision at all once the work begins. As well as the printer and telephone networks across campus, the Library housekeeping system and Library Catalogue Plus will be unavailable as well.

In light of this, we have taken the decision to close the Library at 5.30pm on Wednesday July 11th instead of our usual later 8pm closing time. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

For further information, help and advice about the upgrade, please visit the IT Services website – http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/it/staff/status/ – or alternatively contact the IT Service Desk via IT.Services@lboro.ac.uk.

Temporary Removal of Workstations on Levels 1 & 2 from 25th June

Posted on by

On Monday 25th June and Tuesday 26th June work begins on replacing the workstation desks on Levels 1 & 2. This will necessitate the temporary removal of all of the PC workstations from these floors, including the Catalogue and Short Stay PCs.

All of these machines will placed into storage in Group Study Rooms 1A and 2A, which will mean that these rooms will be unavailable for booking while this work is carried out.

Week beginning Monday 2nd July the old desks will be removed from Levels 1 & 2 for removal by University Facilities Management – this may involve some noise and disruption, and the lift may be unavailable to visitors while the desks are being moved.

The new furniture should be delivered during the following week – again, this will involve some noise and disruption. Once this is completed, IT Services will remove the PCs from storage and begin setting them up on the new desks.

Access to the shelving and other facilities on Levels 1 & 2 will remain unaffected, however there will be no PC workstations available to use on either floor while this work is completed. Workstations are still available on Levels 3 & 4, and staff are available to assist with catalogue searching at our Enquiry Desks.

We apologise in advance for any inconvenience.

Check In, Check Out Email Notifications

Posted on by

New system, new features! We’ve recently rolled out a different – to say nothing of sustainable! – method of informing users of their daily check out – check in activity.

From now on, users will receive an email overnight that summarises all the books that they have borrowed and/or returned during the day. Not only will this help users to keep a record of their borrowing (and hopeful resolve a lot more of the queries we get at the desk!), but it will also help the environment, as it means users no longer have to print out receipts for transactions at the machines. We did a ballpark estimate that this facility would save us at least 150,000 feet of paper receipt roll every year!

Printed receipts are still available for those who want them, and a receipt will always be printed for any financial transactions done at the self issue machines.

Help Us Test the Library Website – *All Volunteer Slots Now Taken*

Posted on by

We’d love to know how you use the Library website, to test if it is structured in the most helpful way, and you are able to access the information you need effectively.

We’re running some user testing on the Library website in the Pilkington Library on Tuesday 27th February and Wednesday 1st March.

  • Tuesday 27th February at 11am or 12pm
  • Thursday 1st March at 1pm or 2pm

Thank you to everyone who has offered their time to help us – all volunteer slots have now been taken.

Important Notice for Library Catalogue e-Shelf Users

Posted on by

If you have stored records on your e-Shelf in our previous catalogue you will still be able to access them for a short time. If you continue to need these references you will need to download them or move them into a reference management system such as Mendeley. You will no longer be able to access your references after 27th February.

 To find your eShelf references please visit the previous Library catalogue via this link, login to your account, and select eShelf. Please see our video (above) with instructions on how to do this and if you have any questions please email us via library@lboro.ac.uk or contact your Academic Librarian for advice.

New Semester, New Library Catalogue (Plus Borrowing Changes)

Posted on by

In the switch over between semesters, the Library introduced its new Library Catalogue and library management system.  This has brought a few changes, which are detailed below.

New Library Catalogue Plus:

1. Clearer search tabs:

As well as having a cleaner interface (as appreciated by students in our pre-launch user testing), there are now only two search tabs – Catalogue and Articles Plus.

 

Catalogue searches for books, journal titles, DVDs and other material held by the Library and all items from the Loughborough University Institutional Repository.

Articles Plus provides access to online full-text journal articles and conference papers accessible at Loughborough University.

2. Better filtering

When you get your results, you can now specify whether you want results from the Loughborough or London libraries and can even narrow down to just e-resources.

 

3. Access to subject specific databases:

Subject guides provide access to the key databases for your subject area and can be found from the Library Catalogue Plus screen (see below) or directly from: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/students/subjectguides/  

Borrowing Changes

1. Longer high demand loan periods
These will now issue until 23.55 on the next working day instead of 2.30pm (e.g. if you issue a book on Friday, it will be due in at 23.55 on Monday). It is no longer possible to book high demand items for a specific date but users can request them on the catalogue if they are on loan to other users. The fine for high demand books is now £3 per day rather than 50p per hour.

2. High demand books now renewable

As long as no-one else has requested them, high demand books are now renewable.

3. More renewals
Following user feedback, these have been raised. Week loan, long loan and high demand items can all be renewed 10 times by users. Staff/researchers can now renew long loans 3 times and week loan/high demand items 10 times. You can renew books on the catalogue by logging into the My Account section or on the self-service machines in the Library.

4. Courtesy notice emails

We will send out the usual courtesy notice 4 days before a book is due for return and a second reminder email on the actual due date. Because of this, we are not fining on the day a book is due for return – the fine would start the following day. The emails are now called “Library books due for return” as some users had problems with the reminders going into spam folders because they contained the word “loan” in the title.

5. Weekends

Books are no longer due on any weekend. If a week loan is issued on a Sat/Sun it will be due in on the Monday after a week has passed e.g. if a week loan was issued  on Sunday 4th Feb it would be due on Monday 12th Feb not Sunday 11th.

Further information and feedback

If you need any help using the new system or have any feedback– simply email library@lboro.ac.uk, pop into the Library to talk to the staff on the Information Desks or contact your Academic Librarian.

New Library Catalogue

Posted on by

At the beginning of Semester 2, the Library plans to launch our new and improved Library Catalogue Plus interface. User testing has been positive, with people really liking the clear screens and updated results page. As an added bonus, the new interface will soon be available on the myLboro app, so users will be able to access their accounts and renew books easily while on the go.

During the switchover which is planned to occur between 31st January and 5th February you will still be able to search for and access library materials in print and online and Library staff will be available to help. You can return books at the help desk but borrower accounts won’t be updating until after the new catalogue has gone live. All long loan books have been extended until 18th February and we won’t be charging fines on any overdue items whilst the system is being updated.

The new catalogue should be available on 5th February and we would welcome any feedback.

FAQs

Do I need to return my books?

You can check your library account now to see what items you have on loan and be sure of return dates. Any long loan book that is currently issued to you won’t be due until 18th February. Please keep an eye on your University email address for any communication from the Library.

I’ve got items saved on my e-Shelf, will they still be there after the upgrade?

If you have stored records on your e-Shelf in the current catalogue we would encourage you to download them or export them into Mendeley as they won’t be carried over to the new system. You can find further information about Mendeley on our website pages or contact your Academic Librarian for advice.

Do I need to update my bookmarks?

If you have bookmarked the current catalogue http://lcp.lboro.ac.uk this will redirect you to the new interface. Any links to individual items or particular searches won’t be saved. Please contact your Academic Librarian for any advice.

I’m an academic, will the change affect my reading list?

The new catalogue won’t affect your reading list and all links to books and online articles will continue to work as normal. Contact your Academic Librarian or email us if you have any queries about reading lists.

I’m at the London campus, will this change affect me?

The new catalogue will be available to all staff and students in Loughborough and London. During the switchover you can still return books to the London Library but not take out any items until the help desk opens on Monday 5th February. Please email library@lboro.ac.uk if you have any queries.

I’ve got feedback on the new catalogue where can I send it?

We’re happy to receive feedback and any suggestions you have so please email library@lboro.ac.uk or tweet us @lborolibrary

More information and quick guides will be available from the Library’s website soon.

Library Catalogue Plus Server Switchover, Monday 3rd April

Posted on by

On Monday, 3rd April we will be moving our Library Catalogue Plus system to a new authentication server. It is anticipated that this work will be completed during the morning, but during this time people may experience difficulties with accessing and logging in to LCP.

We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.