Provision of online exam desk space within the library

From Monday 26 April until Wednesday 12 May the library will provide a number of designated desk spaces for students sitting online exams. Online exam desk space is bookable from 10am – 5pm, Monday to Sunday, during this period.

Bookable online exam desk space within the library is available under the heading Level 2 (Exam Space) on our Book a study space webpage.

Library additional study space and revised opening hours

In response to Scottish Government guidance regarding the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, the Sir Alex Ferguson Library will introduce the following changes:

With effect Monday 29th March, space will be available on level 4 for students to eat their lunch if they are returning to the library after the lunch time clean that takes places between 1pm and 2pm. These must be booked. You will not be permitted to stay without a valid booking. Users must leave the space via the one way system in operation to check in for afternoon study space bookings at the library entrance. Please note that access to the building is unavailable between 1pm and 2pm. If you leave the building for any reason during the lunch booking, you will be unable to access the building until 2pm. Please ensure you take all personal belongings with you. Food delivery services are not permitted to access the building.

Additionally, from Monday 29th March there will also be 29 spaces on level 2 for silent individual study to meet the growth in demand for spaces. Please note that social distancing guidelines must be observed in both spaces and face coverings are mandatory when not eating or drinking.

Revised opening hours

With effect Tuesday 6th April, the library opening hours will be 10am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 10am – 6pm Saturday and Sunday. The library will continue to be closed between 1pm and 2pm for cleaning purposes.

Please note that that library will open 10am – 1pm and 2pm – 5pm over the Easter weekend (Friday 2nd April – Monday 5th April) for students requiring access to the click and collect service and study spaces

From Monday 26th April space will be available on level 2 for students to sit exams should they have limited space at home.

From Monday 26th April the lunchtime closure will cease.

 

12 Days of Library Christmas: celebrating the achievements of 2020

2020 has proven to be a year of unprecedented challenges. Everyone connected with GCU has worked hard to adapt, delivering key services to the university community online.

The Library has been no different.

With this in mind, we took to Twitter at the beginning of December to celebrate the 12 Days of Library Christmas. From 1-12 December, our daily posts highlighted the volume and scope of work undertaken by Library staff in recent months (mainly from home). Continue reading

Sir Alex Ferguson Library Christmas and New Year opening hours

We are pleased to announce that the Library will be open during the winter holiday period.

Please note, the Library is only open for pre-booked study spaces and to collect books via the click-and-collect system. For further guidance please see our guidance Covid-19 services webpage.

Saturday 19/12/2020 Closed
Sunday 20/12/2020 Closed
Monday 21/12/2020 10am-4pm
Tuesday 22/12/2020 10am-4pm
Wednesday 23/12/2020 10am-4pm
Thursday 24/12/2020 Closed
Friday 25/12/2020 Closed
Saturday 26/12/2020 Closed
Sunday 27/12/2020 Closed
Monday 28/12/2020 10am-4pm
Tuesday 29/12/2020 10am-4pm
Wednesday 30/12/2020 10am-4pm
Thursday 31/12/2020 Closed
Friday 01/01/2021 Closed
Saturday 02/01/2021 Closed
Sunday 03/01/2021 Closed
Monday 04/01/2021 10am-4pm
Tuesday 05/01/2021 Normal hours resume

Please remember to bring your student/staff card for access into the building.

We look forward to welcoming you over the festive period!

Dawson Books in administration; how to save your notes

Dawson Books, one of our main ebook suppliers, has sadly gone into administration. We are currently working to transfer our ebooks on the Dawsonera platform to another provider.

Unfortunately this means that any notes you have made in Dawsonera ebooks will be lost, unless you export them. This must be done by 31 July 2020 at the latest.

To export your notes from the platform, please follow these steps:

  • Search for the book in Dawsonera, or otherwise select My Account, My Bookshelf or Recently Viewed.
  • Select Read Online under the book title.
  • Select the Notes tab in the left-hand bar.
  • Select Export; your notes will be transferred to a Word document.

Alternatively, if you have used referencing software to save books, you can access the title via RefWorks then complete the final two steps above.

If you encounter any issues accessing an ebook please email: ertenq@gcu.ac.uk

Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases Trial

The library is currently running a trial to Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases, available to all users.

With cases from across the fashion industry, from design and sourcing to marketing and retail, Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases will enable students to develop essential business skills required for the next generation of fashion industry professionals to set themselves up for success. Global in focus, cases will present real-world challenges facing the business of fashion around the world and across sectors, tackling important issues such as sustainability, technology, ethics, and leadership.

You can find out more about Bloomsbury Fashion Cases by watching this short video here.

The trial is running until 25th February. You can find Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases by searching the Library’s Database A-Z or by clicking here.

We encourage users to send us feedback on Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases directly via our Twitter or by email at ertenq@gcu.ac.uk

Additional study space – Level 3

Further to positive feedback on additional study spaces on level 2, we are creating more spaces for study on level 3 of the library.

Additional desks and seating will be installed on this floor on 25 and 26 January 2020.

Due the noise that will be generated, the floor will remain closed during this time.

PCs will be available on level 2 with our short-loan laptop vending machine on level 0 for anyone wishing to still use the silent space on level 4.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Upgrades to Pure and Research Online

Pure and the Research Online portal will undergo a major upgrade from Monday 23rd September 2019. Pure will be unavailable to users until 2nd October 2019; Research Online will remain accessible during this period. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The upgraded system will bring the following benefits to users:

  • Pure system now fully supported and maintained with upgrades and new functionality available each month
  • Cloud hosted system provides reliability and scalability
  • Improved functionality and new Pure portal with clean, modern user interface
  • Access Pure directly on and off campus without the need for VPN or remote desktop
  • Access for all academic staff
  • Improved data quality and integration with other University systems
  • New REF and awards management functionality coming soon

For enquiries regarding the upgrade or system downtime please contact librarysystems@gcu.ac.uk

For urgent enquiries relating to REF eligible outputs please contact repository@gcu.ac.uk

Inter-library loan service update

If you need an item to support your research, teaching or coursework and we don’t have it in stock you can request it through our inter-library loan service.  We have now introduced a quicker, easier method of placing requests through Discover and you can track the progress via your library account.

To place a request, either:

  • Carry out your search and select Expand My Results Beyond GCU Library Collections;

choose the Get it tab where available and sign in;

click Inter-library loan request, you will be taken to the request form which will be automatically populated with the information about your chosen item.

or

For a trial period, we are extending this service to all GCU staff and students.

Full information is available on our web pages.

Please let us know what you think of this service by completing our feedback form.