Liverpool Hope University has worked hard over the summer to make its libraries easier to use than ever before - and here’s everything you need to know.
From self-service check-out machines to a new Well-being collection, there are some brand new updates to the exciting Hope library experience.
Jayne Burgess, Deputy Director of Library & Learning Spaces at Hope, says the facilities offer invaluable resources and services to enhance your time at Hope and now is a great time to find out what you can take advantage of.
She explains: “The Library has so much to offer.
“And at the beginning of a new academic year, we want to make people aware of everything students and staff can take advantage of, whether you’re brand new to Hope or you’ve already been with us for some time.”
Here Jayne and Susan Murray, Director of Library and Learning Spaces, get you up to speed.
Library locations
There’s one library on the Hope Park campus - The Sheppard-Worlock Library - and two smaller libraries on the Creative Campus, in the form of the Capstone Library and the Cornerstone Library.
Opening hours
During term the Sheppard-Worlock Library is open from 8:30am until 10pm with a slightly later weekend opening time of 9am-10pm. Whilst weekend opening is ‘Access Only’ with Library Ambassadors on duty, there are some library staff on duty on Sunday afternoons with a member of staff located at the Help Point and a Subject Librarian at the Subject Support Point to help with subject-specific queries.
The Creative Campus libraries are open weekdays 9am-5pm except for Wednesdays when the Cornerstone Library is open 10am-6pm.
Self-service machines
The Sheppard-Worlock Library has new self-service machines in place this year - similar to those already in use at the Creative Campus - which means students can check out resources themselves. To find books in the library, you just need to search the online catalogue, OneSearch, which pinpoints where a book is on the shelf, retrieve the book and issue it to your library account on the self-service machine. And if you’re struggling to find a book whilst browsing, simply ask a member of staff. They’ll be happy to help.
Susan adds: “And remember, you can access OneSearch on your mobile device and OneSearch gives you access to all of the library’s electronic resources too.”
Browsing for books
During the pandemic, the libraries on both campuses ran a ‘Request & Collect’ service as browsing wasn’t possible. However, as services have all but returned to normal, you can now browse the shelves for books yourselves. If you have an LSP and need help with book retrieval please email: askalibrarian@hope.ac.uk
Subject Support Points
Subject Librarians are located at the Subject Support Points (SSP) and can assist you with detailed subject enquiries, research techniques, referencing and much more. Find out who your Subject Librarian is here
Jayne adds: “The staff on the SSP can help you find print and electronic resources for assignments and dissertations and they liaise with each of their Schools to arrange library inductions and sessions for each year and to promote all of the resources that are available. And there’s a massive amount of resources!”
Box of Broadcast (BoB)
If you’ve not met BoB, the library’s Box of Broadcasts service, you really should get yourself acquainted as it’s a fantastic resource.
BoB is an on-demand TV and radio service for higher education. It allows staff and students to watch programmes from over 65 free-to-air channels, and provides access to an archive of over two million broadcasts.
BoB includes everything from CBeebies and Citv to The Horror Channel and the Food Network. And you can watch anything from the archives for free.
All the classics are there - including Game of Thrones, The Wire and Line of Duty.
You can access BoB on or off campus - but the service is only available within the UK.
For full instructions on how to get yourself signed-up and begin creating your playlists, head here needs link.
(Susan Murray, Director of Library and Learning Spaces above)
Academic Skills Mentors:
The Library has recently merged its two peer term-time services (the writing mentors and study skills mentors) into one brand new team, called the Academic Skills Mentors who can help you:
- gain confidence as a writer and develop your skill set
- learn how to navigate technology and Uni systems
- support on critical reading and note-taking skills
- support on essay planning, structure, critical writing, literature reviews and dissertations
- support with referencing and proofreading techniques
- support with presentation and time management skills
- support on revision and exam techniques
- understand feedback from your tutors
- access to free online resources
- access to free online one-to-one appointments & email appointments
- bookable workshops outside of class time and online webinars
Susan explains: “We’ve got an experienced team of Academic Skills Mentors dedicated to both writing and study skills. The team is available Monday to Friday for one-to-one online appointments or email appointments, providing feedback. We also have a range of free online resources and useful workshops on our Moodle page - to find us and more information about the service, sign in to MyHope, click the Moodle tile, select ‘my courses’ and pick ‘STUSKILLSAZ/2021/2’ from the drop down menu. To book an appointment, head over to our website pages: https://www-hope-ac-uk.ezproxy.hope.ac.uk/gateway/library/mentoringservice/.”
Dedicated Study Spaces
There are a number of Private Study Spaces, Postgraduate rooms, Group Study rooms and Specialist rooms in the Library which can be booked via MyHope upto a week in advance.
Staff will check you in at the Library Help Point when you arrive, and please note that bookings will automatically cancel if you haven’t checked-in after 20 minutes of the booking start time, as this releases the space for others to book.
Cleaning materials are provided so please help to keep the library a safe place to study by cleaning the study space before you leave.
Eat & Go
Chapters Cafe in The Sheppard-Worlock library will be open once more for this academic year, so you can get your fill of coffee and cake.
Susan adds: “To keep everyone COVID-safe, the cafe is ‘eat & go’, which means you can come in, sit down and grab something to eat and then you’re kindly asked to depart. We need people to use it whilst considering others and we’d discourage people from coming in and setting up their laptops for an extended study session, for example. If you want to have more of a chat and work in a group whilst you eat, head to the Eden Cafe or Our Place.”
Special Collections Library
Nestled within the Sheppard-Worlock Library, you’ll find the Special Collections unit, containing more than 75,000 manuscripts, rare books, journals, archives, ephemera and artefacts dating back centuries. It is something of a treasure trove the library staff are rightly proud of. You’ll even find a Latin Dictionary in there, owned and signed by J.R.R. Tolkien, the legendary writer of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It’s open to all staff and students. To make an appointment to visit, email specialcollections@hope.ac.uk.
New Well-being Collection
Brand new to the Sheppard-Worlock library is a collection of books dedicated to well-being. Located opposite the new self service machines, the collection covers everything from managing stress and anxiety to yoga and healthy diets.
Jayne: “We want to support students throughout the year. We know that stress levels can increase as we approach exams or dissertation deadlines and this collection is aimed at just that. There are also books dedicated to improving the well-being of children, useful for members of staff who are parents or students with their own children. Take a look at our Well-being webpages too for more resources, activities and ideas that we hope will help you maintain a good study/rest balance.”
https://www-hope-ac-uk.ezproxy.hope.ac.uk/gateway/library/well-being/
Events… and free books!
From Libraries Week to Black History Month, Hope’s libraries get involved in all sorts of national events and campaigns.
And one of the quirky things the Sheppard-Worlock library loves to do is ‘Blind Date with a Book’.
Jayne explains: “Sometimes we’re donated fiction books that we don’t need. So, we wrap them up, put a genre on the cover and invite students to take one away for free. They don’t have a clue what they’re getting but the idea is that they read it or pass it on to someone else to read, or maybe even write a short review on our Instagram page @livhopelibrary.
“We welcome any donation, so if you have any unwanted fiction lying around then just donate it to the library to use in Blind Date with a Book and in terms of book gifting, we do this around Christmas time - so just come and help yourselves. The staff really love to see people getting involved and there’s no obligation to return the book. Consider it part of our recycling strategy.”
Library: Instagram @livhopelibrary
Twitter: @Hope_Library