Yesterday, the University Library hosted its first-ever Global Storytime Event. We invited parents and carers to bring their children into the University Library, where two of our talented students read to them from a selection of illustrated children’s books from the Outside In World collection of children’s books in translation. After this, the children were invited to participate in an art activity, colouring and drawing images inspired by the books.

I am so grateful to our talented students Abigail and Santosh, who engaged the children so effectively, and to all the parents and children who participated. A wonderful time was had by all and the artworks created by the children were particularly fun and entertaining.

We are always looking for new ways to make learning more fun and interesting. To that end, one of our resident sci-fi enthusiasts has pulled together a reading list of science fiction books we have in stock that were all written by People of the Global Majority.

Celebrate World Book Day by going on a blind date with a book. All this week in the Library, you can borrow up one of our specially wrapped hand-picked books from the trolley in the Atrium and discover something you might not otherwise have ever read. Where might your date take you?

Anyone can injure themselves and find it difficult to carry books around, and while we make as many books available electronically as possible, a few books remain only available in print, while some people prefer to read from printed books, particularly when they study for extended periods. Often, academic books tend to be the sort of heavy book with which you can prop open a door or build a small bunker.

Happily, between our postal loans, wheeled book trolleys, and click and collect service, both our print and electronic books are easily available to everyone.

One reason ebooks are so popular is that they are always available but since print books renew themselves automatically once borrowed, if you want a print book that is on loan to someone else, you really want to reserve it! 

All books you or anyone else borrow are renewed automatically until someone else reserves them. As soon as you reserve a copy using the Library Catalogue, we will email the person with the book due soonest and ask them to bring it back within one week.  Once they bring it back, we will email you to let you know it is on the reservation shelves in the Atrium, waiting for you to collect.  Since the Library is open 24/7 and you can borrow books online, this means you can collect books 24/7.

As a current student or member of university staff, you are probably pretty attached to your university card. Possibly physically attached by a lanyard. So it is really annoying to make your way to the Library only to find you have left it behind in your office, home or other coat. Not to worry! While external visitors can only sign in during staffed library hours, you can log into the cardless visit kiosk and obtain a printed temporary pass with a printed barcode that will let you scan in and out through the library turnstiles for the next 24 hours.