Customer feedback is very important to us. It helps us to keep the customer at the heart of everything we do. We can adapt our services and facilities in line with customer needs and preferences.
This page details some of the improvements we've made based on customer feedback. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve our services, please complete our feedback form.
There are no ritual washing facilities in the Library, but the toilets closest to the Reflection Room in the foyer of the Curran Building have facilities.
We signpost the way to these toilets and the Reflection Room throughout the year, and especially during religious events including Ramadan.
We’ve put chairs at the top of the entrance staircase and next to the self service kiosks.
Our Equality & Diversity Committee is investigating setting up a specific focus group to look at accessibility within the Library building.
Working with staff from Disability & Wellbeing, we organised tours for students with disabilities. We introduced them to the building. We also told them about services and facilities that would be useful to them. This also gave us valuable feedback on their experience of the Library.
We've had discussions with Strath Union about how we can diversify our collection. We have developed a procedure to deal with reports of problematic content in our collection. We're also undertaking a project to buy texts that will diversify our collection.
At the start of the academic year 2021-22 we opened our redeveloped area of Level 3. This area includes a brand-new Family Study room. This is set up to support students who need a place to study whilst also having to supervise a child aged 0–12.
We now send reminder emails to subscription members four weeks before their membership is due to expire.
The noise reporting function was redeveloped and reintroduced to StrathApp this year. We also created an online form, accessible by URL and QR code promoted on silent floors in the Library.
We reported sightings of a mouse in the Library to colleagues in Estates. We also used social media to remind Library users to dispose of rubbish, especially food waste, properly.
This seemed to be a fault with some printed Library cards. We contacted our supplier about the issue and they provided us with replacements.
We had large new windows installed on Levels 3, 4 and 5 of the Library building. We also upgraded older strip lighting to new LED lighting panels on these floors.
We also recently:
We have bought and made available for all students:
We also had 30 of our existing chairs reupholstered.
We have had all windows upgraded to energy-efficient triple glazing and have had new air-handling units installed. We worked with Estates to resolve this problem and bring the temperature up/down to more comfortable levels in the areas affected.
We have added puzzles and games to the Library Nook and are in the process of acquiring more.
Every year we install more power sockets in the Library. 132 new sockets were added in 2022 alone.
We've added links to location maps in catalogue records. When you find an item in SUPrimo, click on the locate link. This allows you to see a map of where that item is on the relevant floor of the Library.
The Library works with colleagues from Estates to improve our study spaces. This year all the windows are being replaced with triple glazing. Some larger windows are being created to provide spaces with more natural light.
As more students bring their own devices with them to the Library, the demand for power sockets continues to increase.
We installed more than 370 new power sockets on Levels 3, 4, and 5 of the Library this summer.
All registered students can now use the Interlibrary Loans service, not just postgraduates and final year undergraduates.
98% of priority print items are now available within 1 working day, exceeding our target of 96%.
We've created a Reading for Pleasure reading list.
When the SCONUL Access scheme re-opened in November 2021 we prioritised study space for our own students, who needed a place to undertake formal assessments. After reviewing capacity and occupancy in the building during Semester 1 we rejoined the scheme in January 2022.
Since 2020, we have worked to make more content available online.
We have purchased a lot of new services offering a wide variety of content. This ranges from the educational TV and radio streaming service, Box of Broadcasts, to the Sage Research Methods suite. We also have backfiles of e-journals and more eBook collections.
Our staff expanded their programme of training and engagement sessions to help students working on and off campus. Sessions now take place online and include but aren’t limited to:
We reviewed our Inter-Library Loans (ILL) policy. We decided to remove the renewals charge for ILLs borrowed from the British Library.
We discussed this issue with our external security partner. We confirmed the proper procedure for closing the Library. There have been no further reported instances.
We have extended our Sunday opening over the Summer Vacation for an extra four weeks this year.
This year we extended our Sunday opening from the exam resit period onwards. This improved access for PGDEs and students whose assessments continued over the summer period.
With the relaxation of COVID–19 restrictions, we reinstated our standard semester opening hours during the 2021-22 academic year.
We also extended our on-campus enquiry service to run until 19:00 on weekday evenings.
Additionally, we increased our maximum capacity from 560 in 2020 to 900 in 2021.
We ran a trial during summer vacation offering room booking slots of up to 6 hours. Library management will now consider whether to offer these extended slots again in future.
During the pandemic, we extended room booking slots. This was to allow students to use them to undertake formal assessments. This academic year we have gone back to having short 1 or 2-hour booking slots.
We moved the VLE to new infrastructure. Page response times has improved. It is now 5x faster than the previous version.
After successful trials, we're rolling out Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to student accounts in 2021-22.
Our Learning Spaces Team has upgraded facilities in the Royal College and John Anderson Buildings and set up spaces in the new Learning & Teaching Building.
A new technology recently introduced focuses on collaboration, accessibility, and inclusivity. It includes:
We installed 40 learning and Teaching rooms with hybrid technology to allow remote participants in learning events.
We installed the AV in the new Students' Association.
We installed 40 learning and Teaching rooms with hybrid technology to allow remote participants in learning events.
We updated the Virtual Desktop to the latest versions of all software.
We implemented 1.3Pbytes of storage for researchers, including research students.
In the Strathclyde app, we:
We trialled quiet keyboards in silent areas of the Library and asked students to vote on their preferred keyboard.
Quiet keyboards won the vote (by 58% to the existing keyboards’ 42%). As Library computers and keyboards require replacement, we will buy and install quiet keyboards.
We replaced almost 500 of the near 600 computers in the Library. The remaining computers have been fitted with new monitors and upgraded memory to aid performance.
We identified some computers in the Library which had not been replaced for a long time. We fitted them with new drives to speed up performance and prioritised them for replacement during the Summer Vacation.
A new drive was fitted to the Family Study Room computer which speeded up performance.
We delivered the best University Wi-Fi experience in Scotland and the third best in the UK.
We asked the StrathApp team to add new Library & IT functionality to StrathApp.
You can now see live Library occupancy and that day’s opening times on the Library landing page in the app. You can also see opening times for the day and week ahead on the Library card feature in StrathApp.
We have recently made updates to the Library computer lab listings in the app so that they are ordered more logically.
We started to send out daily push notifications at the start of term.
We engaged with more than 1,100 students during Freshers’ Fair, gathering requirements and hearing your opinions on StrathApp.
We’re always developing the mobile app. We add and improve features to support you during your time at Strathclyde.
The StrathReps service is now in its second year. This will be the first it has run in full since the pandemic. Nominations and elections opened in the app on 27 September with voting taking place the following week.
The latest version of the App (v3.2) includes a new digital student card.
We've installed a noticeboard in the main entrance area of the Library.
We now regularly publicise the Reflection Room in the Library entrance foyer, as well as other spaces on campus. Additionally, we have passed on feedback about this to colleagues in the University Chaplaincy.
We have hosted various information stalls/sessions throughout the year, such as Time To Talk in February, Mental Health Day in March, exam wellbeing and resit wellbeing, and exam wellbeing breakfasts. We add to our online and physical Wellbeing Collection.
We created a Digital student card and stored it securely in your StrathApp.
Virtual Study Sessions are scheduled twice a week and now run continuously throughout the whole year.
We've held two Writers’ Retreats in the Library so far. We've also supported Writers’ Retreats held elsewhere in the University and online via Zoom. We have done this by attending to help with any Library type questions.
The new Resource Booker system was launched, allowing students to book rooms in the new Learning and Teaching Building. More areas will be added in the future.
We promoted services more widely on social media, participating in takeovers of the University’s Instagram account in order to reach more people.
We created our ‘Get started’ homepage. This has links to expert-led sessions. These include Skills Boost, Referencing Week, Database Training, and our Academic Library Skills. module.
Our Professional Services Helpdesk now buys laptop packs in bulk orders. This means we have the standard equipment in stock, ready for agile working teams. It also means any supplier delivery issues are alleviated.
We supported the Distance Aware scheme by issuing lanyards. We also promoted it on digital signage and across social media. We also continue to have perspex screens at each of our enquiry points. We also provide sanitising equipment in the Library.
Library inductions have taken place on campus on request. Some are being provided at weekends or after 17:00 for part-time courses. Skills Boost sessions are taking place online and on campus.
We waived the majority of fines and charges during lockdowns. We automatically renewed books throughout the lockdown when restrictions first began to ease. This was to ensure customers did not have to return books unless another borrower had asked for them. We set up a Freepost returns service, so customers could post books back to us free of charge from anywhere within the UK.
We have installed webcams onto all the usable computers in the Eaton Room. There are 25 machines, due to physical distancing requirements. This will help student participation in online classes.
Signage in the area advises users that webcams may be in use.
We will collect data on how many of the cameras are used, how often, and for how long. We have identified other spaces in the building that may also be suitable for webcam installation, should more be required in the future.
We worked with the Strathclyde mobile app team to develop the 'Library Card' feature. This enables students to display their student barcodes on their phones.
We upgraded the scanners at our entrance gates and on each of our 19 bookable rooms so that they are able to read barcodes from phones. We have installed these upgraded scanners in our new bookable rooms in the redeveloped area of Level 3.
The temporary pass kiosk remains in place for users who cannot or do not want to use the mobile app.
Library staff patrol study areas regularly and remind customers of COVID-19 regulations where necessary.
We display COVID-19 information on our digital signage in the Library, and on our social channels and website.