Have Your Say! Library Focus Group

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.

Exam Support Resources On Campus

Worrying about your exams? Don’t panic – there are a wide range of resources available on campus to help you through the stresses and strains of the exam period, ranging from a wide variety of study spaces (that’s right, not just us!), IT help and personal and medical advice if things are getting on top of you. Visit the University’s one-stop exam support page here – https://www.lboro.ac.uk/students/exam-support/ – for more info.

IT Services Start of Term Survey – Help Them to Help You!

Fancy £30 to spend on Amazon for just a few minutes of your time – and help fellow and future students into the bargain?

IT Services are running a Start of Term Survey 2018, and it’s a golden opportunity for you to give them feedback on your experience here at Loughborough University and to ultimately help them improve their services.

The survey will take a few minutes to complete. And! For a chance to win a £30 Amazon Gift Card simply enter your student ID and follow IT Services on Twitter via @LboroITServices (assuming you haven’t already!)

To complete the survey visit the link below:

https://lboro.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/start-of-term-survey-2018

PC Clinic and Software Downloads Module page on LEARN

Want to keep track of the latest IT developments across campus, as well as news about software and hardware upgrades? Self-Enrol onto the PC Clinic and Software Downloads Module page on LEARN.

The PC Clinic page features essential information while highlighting the key IT services available to students such as printing and computer lab availability. Including tutorials for Printing and connecting devices to the Wi-FI.

The Software Downloads page features download links to a range of different software with FREE access to Microsoft Office 2016 also, including specialist software such as MatLab and SPSS.

Welcome to the Library

So, you’ve made it to Loughborough – congratulations! At the University Library we take great pride in how we support all our new users – if you ever have a question about how we can support you, ask one of our friendly staff.

As a new student you are automatically enrolled as a member of the Library. your student ID card is also your Library card. Don’t lose it as you need to swipe in through the barriers to enter the Library and to use our self-service machines to borrow your books.

Getting the most of out of your Library

Academic Librarians will be out in the schools during induction week – look out for the Library session in your timetable. You don’t have to wait for the session to use us though – feel free to pop in when you arrive and have a look round, or just come along to one of the quick library tours & induction sessions we’re running over the first week of term.

We’ve also set up a dedicated web page for new starters full of handy tips about how to use the library and get the best out of us. Check it out here – http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/students/about/welcome/

Get the Know How Library workshops

During the autumn term Library staff will be running workshops offering helpful guidance on a wide variety of academic practices including essay writing, note taking, time management and presentation skills. You can find more information about these workshops on our webpages.

Using the Library

Enquiry Desks

The Library offers an Enquiry Desk Service across all levels of the Library during standard office hours (Monday – Friday 9AM to 5:30PM).  User Services staff will be able to help you with most of your enquiries and if necessary will refer you to a colleague with more specialist knowledge.

The Enquiry Desks are staffed by a smaller team of Library staff until 10pm on weekdays, and throughout opening hours on Saturday and Sunday. The staff will be able to help you with most of your enquiries but may need to refer you to a daytime member of staff for detailed assistance.

Finding Information

For specialised help in finding information in your subject area, each School has its own Academic Librarian to offer support and guidance.

Academic librarians are available to assist all University staff and students to find and use information resources effectively, develop library collections to meet your needs and to be your contact point for any information related enquiry.  They have all developed expertise in the subject areas of their Schools and are very happy to help.

Study Spaces

The Library has a range of different study spaces, from silent and quiet spaces to group and social areas. There are also a number of spaces that you can book online including grpup study rooms, bookable booths on Level 4 and individual study carrels on Levels 1 & 2 . Ask at the Enquiry Desk to be shown how to book these rooms yourself.

IT Facilities

There are 250 PCs (excluding those dedicated to accessing Library Catalogue Plus) available in the Library with the majority of these located on Levels 3 & 4. The Library also has a wireless network throughout the building, enabling users to connect to the University’s network from their laptops.

The Library provides basic A4/A3 monochrome and colour printing/copying facilities. Before being able to print or copy you will need to purchase printer credits. You can pay for this at the main Enquiry Desk on Level 3 of the Library.

PC Clinic

The Student PC Clinic is now situated on Level 3 of the Library and is available to help with any IT queries you may have. It is staffed during standard office hours through until 6PM (Monday – Friday) and is open 12pm-2pm at weekends.

Library Café & Shop

We have a café situated on Level 3 which is one of the most popular on campus, not least of all because of their amazing breakfast cobs – as Library staff will testify! We also have a small shop situated near the entrance which sells a variety of snacks, stationary and basic essentials.

Leisure Reading

Here at the Library we’re championing leisure reading! Why? Well, not only is reading for pleasure a great mood enhancer, it’s also strongly linked to academic achievement. So, if you want to give your grades a boost, why not come and browse our dedicated Leisure Reading Collection? The Collection comprises a broad range of genres including contemporary fiction, graphic novel, biography, memoir, crime, fantasy, horror and science fiction – something to suit all tastes!

… And of course, look out for our favorite feline, Charlie the Cat. Your Loughborough experience isn’t truly complete until you’ve had a selfie with him!

Library Opening Times During Summer Vacation

As term officially ends this Wednesday it’s an opportune time to remind people that from next Monday, 25th June, the Library will be switching to its vacation opening times schedule. This is:

  • Monday 9am-5.30pm
  • Tuesday 9am-5.30pm
  • Wednesday 9am-8pm
  • Thursday 9am-5.30pm
  • Friday 9am-5.30pm
  • Saturday CLOSED
  • Sunday CLOSED

Please note that, as usual, our only late(ish) evening opening is on Wednesday nights, and that we are closed entirely at weekends for the duration of the vacation. Also, please remember that last entry to the Library is ten minutes before closing time, in order to allow staff to clear the building.

The IT Services PC Clinic in the Library is open throughout the summer, but only during the hours 11am-3pm. Outside these times the IT Services Help Desk can be contacted 8.30am-5pm (week days only).

The Library Shop will be closed for the summer, but the Library Café will remain open, 9am-4pm daily.

As usual during the vacation we will be catching up with a few out-of-season maintenance jobs around the building; we will keep everyone posted here and on our usual social media channels of when & where these will be taking place to minimise any potential disruption to visitors.

Additional Study Space During the Bank Holiday

As this Bank Holiday weekend is traditionally one of the busiest times of the Academic calendar (not least in the Library!), University Facilities Management are opening up some extra study spaces over the weekend.

These are:

  • Saturday 26th May 8.00am – 6.00pm: All of James France – CC rooms and Exhibition area, all of West Park Teaching Hub
  • Sunday 27th May 8.00am – 6.00pm: All of James France – CC rooms and Exhibition area, all of West Park Teaching Hub
  • Monday 28th May 8.00am – 6.00pm: All of James France – CC rooms and Exhibition area, all of West Park Teaching Hub

These are addition to the D-Rooms in James France and the YY-Rooms in John Cooper.

The Library will still be open 24-7 over the weekend, albeit with a skeleton service on Bank Holiday Monday. Unfortunately the PC Clinic will be closed on Monday.

Library Opening Hours During the Easter Vacation

After term ends on Friday, from next Monday 19th March the Library will be switching to a vacation opening hours schedule until the start of the Summer term on Monday 16th April. 

Our opening hours will be as follows:

Sunday: Closed

Monday: 9.00 – 8.00

Tuesday: 9.00 – 8.00

Wednesday: 9.00 – 8.00

Thursday: 9.00 – 8.00

Friday: 9.00 – 8.00

Saturday: Closed

The Library will be closed along with the rest of the University over the Easter Bank Holiday period for six days days from 8pm on Thursday 29th March, through until 9am on the following Wednesday, 4th April. Do please note our later opening time – 9am instead 8.30am – plus the fact that we are closed every weekend during the vacation until Saturday 14th April, when we revert to our usual term time opening.

Additionally, the PC Clinic will be switching to its vacation opening schedule as well, which is Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm. Out of these hours, you can contact the IT Services Help Desk, which is staffed 8.30am-5.30pm Monday-Friday.

Looking slightly further ahead, our Summer Term 24-7 exam period opening begins on Monday 21st May.

Have a good holiday!

Phishing via Spam Emails

IT Services would like to advise all users that several university accounts are receiving Phishing attacks via email. The emails can be seemingly sent from student or staff accounts reporting to share files, obtain exam results, or confirm your email is active, by following a link.

IT Services encourage you to please beware of links sent via emails, even those sent by people you trust as if they are compromised your account is at risk of being compromised too.

If you have received a phishing email, please delete it now, if you have not done so already.

If you have received a phishing email, clicked on the link, and provided your university credentials (username and password), please contact the IT Service Desk (it.services@lboro.ac.uk or 01509 222333) so we can check your university mailbox and take recovery action. If you receive anything of this nature in the future or are unsure if an email is genuine or not, please do not hesitate to contact our service desk who will be able to advise.

More information can be found at: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/it/student/security/phishing/

*Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

Remote Working Service Upgrade (Off-Campus Access)

IT Services will be carrying out an upgrade to improve security on the Remote Working Service – also known as the VPN service – a service that provides staff and students with secure access to resources when working away from campus.

As part of this change, IT Services will:

  1. Upgrade the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client service2
  2. Retire the web link Remote Working Portal (https://vpn.lboro.ac.uk) service

These changes are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 11th April 2018.

Remote Working Service (VPN)

  • There will be a brief outage to users connected to the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client service (between 7am – 8am) while the upgrade occurs.

Remote Working Portal

  • IT Services will be contacting users of the web link Remote Working Portal service (https://vpn.lboro.ac.uk) to recommend they move to the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client service.

For further information please visit Staff / Students or alternatively contact the IT Service desk at it.services@lboro.ac.uk, or visit the PC Clinic based in the Pilkington Library.