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LIBRARIES
COLLEGE LIBRARY. As the College Library moves into the last year in its current location in the Pepys Building, we are pleased to report that our biennial library survey demonstrated increases both in the number of our students using the Library on a daily basis and in the numbers who consider the collection ‘good’ or ‘very good’. This is supported by another year of increased borrowing. Improving the collection across all subjects has been a core priority over the last two years, so this feedback is particularly satisfying for Library staff. We are always very grateful to our users for being so generous with their time and thoughts in filling in the survey; it has again proved a great source of encouragement, ideas and constructive criticism. We have also had a great response to our newly introduced feedback walls, which have given us the chance to respond quickly to issues and suggestions raised on a daily basis. Preparations for the move to the new library in 2020 have continued throughout this year. In anticipation of potential noise disruption (Left Cloister is a stone’s throw from the building site) we converted Ramsay Hall into a study room. The Ramsay Hall study room was very popular, providing not just additional desks with plenty of power points, (Photo: Tom Sykes) but also a different type of study space in the form of sofas, armchairs and beanbags. In April, the Deputy Librarian (College) co-organised a workshop at the Oxford and Cambridge College Library Conference on the topic of building and refurbishing libraries, which was a good opportunity to share some of the experiences we have had so far, and to gather ideas as we continue planning for the new library. Our project to improve the classification scheme has also continued this year, with the European History section being reclassified over the summer months. Preparations for a large scale reclassification of over 5,000 books spread across several sections planned for the summer of 2019 has also been ongoing all year. The College Library’s collection has been enriched by a number of donations from alumni and friends of the College. Tom Sykes 29
