Supporting students and staff with the cost of living

We live in difficult times. The Cost of Living crisis is affecting all members of the UCL Community. Some will be more negatively impacted than others, including many students. An NUS survey found some stark figures: almost a third of students were left with just £50 a month after paying rent and bills and 92% say the crisis is affecting their mental health.

LCCOS is well positioned to support our colleagues and users over the winter months.

We want to encourage sites to do the following five easy things (which are also good for sustainability and wellbeing) over Term 2:

1. Book swaps

Consider setting a book swap up in your library – all you need is a spare trolley and some donations from staff to help get you started. If you want further help or would like some books to launch your book swap, please feel free to contact either SoP or LaSS library.

2. Plant Cuttings

Plant cuttings can be taken from your plants between April and September when plants are growing and active. You will need soil or multi-purpose compost, and a pot to get started. We will share more advice from IOA Library on taking cuttings and finding free compost and pots online in a few weeks. In the meantime, please check out the IOA Plant Book.

3. MFD Hacks

Not all students know how to use MFDs to their full capabilities. Encouraging them to scan and email documents is cheaper for students and better for the environment.

4. Sharing free activities

Librarians are information professionals and are experienced at finding out information. We can use this to share tips on social media like free things to do around Bloomsbury/sites, cheap food or useful hacks.

5. Share more ideas on Teams

If you’ve got more ideas, join the conversation on Teams.