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Building Team Blog: Year End Review 2016-17

By Collette E M Lawrence, on 18 August 2017

If you have any queries or problems please contact the team by e-mail:

lib-buildings@ucl.ac.uk monitored Mon-Fri 07:15-17:15

Over the last year, we have created an additional 579 study spaces across various locations in UCL to enhance the user experience!

There is a lot to celebrate in the Library Buildings Team Year End Review for 2016-17! Following investment of over £1M, we have been able to make major progress towards the Library’s Sustainable Estate component of the Library Strategy. A further update will document the (nearly) completed PCs for Students project, which has been a significant undertaking this summer. Below are some highlights on projects we have completed in the last 12 months:

  • Creating a new Special Collections reading room in Bloomsbury. Whilst the majority of our Special Collections material is based at The National Archives in Kew, we host a number of visitors on campus to look at some of our treasures. In order to provide facilities befitting our worked-class collections, the former Records Office in the South Junction was converted into a high-quality reading room. With a new reception desk, two well-appointed reading rooms and staff office space, the area feels light and spacious thanks to floor to ceiling glass doors. In order to guarantee an excellent user experience and to ensure the preservation of our rare books and archives, the reading room is fitted with special security systems, regulated temperature, a cloakroom area and lockers for visitors’ storage.

A selection of Special Collections treasures were on show at the event.

  • Cruciform Hub –
    • a new glass partition now provides more privacy (and quiet) for the Library Desk, where staff can assist users with library and IT enquiries a new display area for busts of former professors of UCL was set up in order to provide another nod to the history of UCL Medical School. The busts on display were salvaged from the store in 140 Hampstead Rd and were conserved by UCL. The students seminar rooms were redecorated to ensure that the Hub continues to look and feel like a fresh and innovative learning environment Bench seating was added in the seminar area in order to increase seating capacity in the Hub improved accessibility to the self-service machines in order to allow wheelchair users full access to the equipment
  • IOE Library
    • new reception desk and self service area to create a more accessible student and staff area Level 4 staff office, upgraded furniture, to create a better working environment ensuring the space is used to its full potential.
  • Main Library
    • Art and Economics: created additional study spaces by re-arranging book shelves in Donaldson reading room: installed power to new desks and new lighting on the pillars installed an additional water fountain at the end of the History corridor installed three additional toilet suites, including the first set of male toilets ever in the Main Library
    • The Portico Doors have been refurbished, with new glass doors fitted to enable views of the Flaxman Gallery and the Front Quad.

      New Portico DoorsNew Portico Doors April 2017

  • School of Pharmacy – replaced and upgraded quiet study area, increasing the number of study spaces
  • Science Library
    • Learning Lab: in a 2-phase refurbishment, the space has been transformed following UX principles, based on Customer Journey Mapping work undertaken by the Customer Service Team. The refurbishment created a new access route for membership and unified the Enquiry, ISD, Help Point and Collection Point desks. The project also enabled the installation of a new autosorter, student and staff pods for individual work, group work and for consultation. Three Laptop Loan machines containing 48 laptops in total were introduced for student use.   A Sodexo Café opened within the Learning Lab, which incorporates flexible seating, and is being used this summer to host a research exhibition. Finally, the project replaced carpets and redecorated throughout, and introduced a new LED lighting system.
    • Lighting Project – A full lighting upgrade for the all floors 1st – 4th floors staff and student spaces, they had their lamps changed to low energy LED lamps which give natural feeling lighting. Daylight sensors dim the lights when its bright outside and motion sensors to turn the lights off when no one is present. The project will save 270 tonnes of CO2 per year, about the same produced from powering 40 average households!
    • The first floor toilets were refurbished
    • The Stores and Records Office area were refurbished, creating a combined Stores and Records Office
  • Wickford Stores – repaired and upgraded roller racking

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