Towards the end of 2023, I visited the University Library with the SU Sabbatical Officers. We were really interested to find out more about the support on offer from the Library, and to see the fantastic new Sensory Room on Level 3.
We had a warm welcome from University Librarian Kate Robinson and colleagues. Kate explained that the new Sensory Room provides a quiet space for any student who might need it (the Student Disability Support team provides access). Various seating options are provided, with sensory items including colour changing mood cubes, soft flooring, and large oversized cushions. Two floor lamps give soft lighting if needed. Two smaller adjoining bookable rooms are intended for 1:1 support sessions.
The new room continues successful collaboration between the Library, students, Student Support and the Students’ Union, adding to the existing assistive technology rooms on Library Level 2 and the quiet individual study room on Library Level 4. The helpful Library ‘Support for Students with Disabilities’ guide details the rooms’ impressive facilities and additional Library support for students with disabilities such as access to materials in alternative formats including audio, e-books and digital Braille.
Behind the scenes on Library Level 2, we were given a demonstration of the Library’s dedicated scanner. This cutting-edge piece of kit can produce OCR (optical character recognition) scans for students who need them for use with screen readers. It’s also heavily used to widen access to printed books and journals, via the Bath Copies Service and the Scanning Service for Teaching Staff. We also heard about the Library’s new and improved Rapid Interlibrary Loan Service which provides our community at Bath with exceptionally speedy access to materials beyond our own Library shelves and subscriptions.
Touring the building, we saw how the Library’s 1400+ study spaces are effectively organised into a range of zones to suit learning styles - quiet, collaborative or group. 500 have PCs, and every seat has power for ‘bring your own device’. Group rooms are bookable, whilst other spaces are drop-in, with information and online booking for Library and other University Study spaces handily summarised on dedicated webpages . Venturing down to Level 1, we found the 150 seater quiet study area - a real hidden gem. Its colour scheme is inspired by original 1970s designer (Conran) curtains, with artwork showcasing archive images of campus including the arrival of our first books delivered by students from their Departments!
Talking to Library colleagues, it was clear how much support the Library offers to students and staff. Subject and Faculty Librarians told me about their 1:1 research, literature searching and referencing support and tailored teaching on advanced literature searching and specialist databases. Colleagues in the Library Research Services team meanwhile explained their support and training for our researchers in Open Access, data management, improving citations, preparing for publication, and digital identity management. There was just time to pause to meet the University Archivist and to admire the range and depth of the collections in her care.
The Library is at the heart of campus, and it was clear that student wellbeing is at the heart of the Library service. Every exam season the Library runs a ‘take a break’ campaign to encourage students through providing envelopes containing message bugs, pens, tea or coffee sachets and suggestions for different ways to take a break. A number of curated reading for pleasure books, film lists and links with EDI initiatives broaden horizons for staff and students alike, showing how the Library offers much more than course and research materials.
Most of us use the Library on a regular basis, whether physically or digitally, but our visit highlighted that there may well be services and support that you didn’t know about! There’s a wealth of information on the Library webpages, and a team of Library staff who are really passionate about their work. Do get in touch with them via online chat, emailing library@bath.ac.uk or using the ‘Ask a Librarian’ service and take advantage of the support on offer.
Thanks again to Kate and the whole Library team for a really insightful visit!
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