Each May the University campus gets gradually quieter as we approach the end of exams and the beginning of the long summer holiday. The Library is open throughout the break, so what exactly do we do in the Library while many of our students and academic colleagues are away?

We’re still open!

The Library is open seven days a week for most of the holiday period. We’re here to support students and staff who are still on campus or working elsewhere during the break, handling queries about Multi-Factor Authentication, printing, eduroam Wi-Fi and email, as well as questions about the Library, resources and academic skills. We welcome school and nursery visits, and also offer extended opening hours in July and August to help those who are re-taking exams or assessments.

This year we also offered a writing retreat and offered tours specifically for postgraduate researchers (PGRs).

We get work done

Because the Library is open year-round, it can be tricky to schedule maintenance. We try to get most work done during the summer break so that fewer people are disrupted.

The refurbished staircase with new flooring and signs.

A small room set up for study. There is a desk with a large monitor, keyboard and mouse, a seat, an a whiteboard. The walls are freshly painted.

We tidy the bookshelves and colleagues from Estates take advantage of these quieter days to carry out a deep clean of the Library building. Chairs, desks, floors and computers are freshened up ready for our new and returning students.

As well as these regular tasks, this summer we have:

  • refurbished our bookable study rooms
  • updated signage throughout the Library building
  • updated the secure entry system
  • set up our new Calm Spaces
  • carried out repairs to the main staircase, and replaced the flooring and nosings on each stair (we also learned what stair nosings are!)

Our digital services have been given a refresh, too. The computers in the Library were upgraded to Windows 11, and we also moved our EBSCO databases to a new user interface.

An area of the Library where the chairs have been stacked up on tables to allow the floors to be cleaned.

Rows of desktop computers in the Library. The screens show that the machines are being updated with new software.

 

We celebrate student graduations

Graduations are the highlight of the academic year, and we’re always so happy to see our students celebrating their achievements. We offer graduating students the opportunity to complete a short feedback survey and take selfies in the Library using our Graduation Snapshot props.

We go to summer events

New Staff Induction seminars and welcome events for new PGDE students take place during the summer break. We also run our own staff training events and attend University initiatives including the PGR coffee morning, University Learning & Teaching Day and the Staff Mental Health Breakfast.

We get ready for the year ahead

Each summer we do a lot of preparation for the coming academic year. We plan Skills Boost sessions, Library tours, Referencing Week sessions and outreach events. We update the Academic Library Skills module, tidy up our LibGuides and work with the StrathApp team to implement updates.

We recently appointed our two new Library & IT Student Ambassadors and we’ve been getting our colleagues in Student Experience onboard with Fresh, the customer support portal we use in Library & IT services.

We talk a lot about the year ahead and make sure we’re ready for welcome week – planning where we will be during Freshers’ Fair and accommodation move-in events, ordering freebies and making sure we have plenty of sweets to give away!

We go on holiday ourselves!

Of course, Library staff get to enjoy time off and trips away, too! This year our colleagues have been to Tiree, Portugal, Paris and London, amongst others. Did you get to travel this summer, or enjoy time at home? Let us know in the comments.