Fire Alarm Testing re-commencing

Our team information can be found at the following link Facilities & Project Team

Following the ending of Covid procedures, UCL is re-introducing weekly fire alarm testing into all buildings. The decision has been taken to reschedule these tests to be conducted on weekdays only and between the hours of 08-00 -11:30hrs. This applies to all UCL managed buildings, if you are an NHS Trust building, or one not managed by UCL, there will be local arrangements for fire alarm testing.

The new Fire Alarm Test schedule will come into effect from Monday, 6^th of June 2022. The decision to testing the alarms “in-hours” has been approved by the Estates Health and Safety Committee. One of the reasons is to ensure that students and staff know what the bell sounds like.

The fire alarm test will last no longer than 60 seconds, so students and staff should wait up to 60 seconds before evacuating the space.

Please see list below for Library Services testing schedule and link to the Fire Safety Technical Note – TN062:

UCLFire_TN_062 (WeeklyFireAlarmTesting)-06Jun22.pdf

• Monday – 0800-1130hrs – DMS Watson Library
• Monday – 0800-1130hrs – Foster Court
• Monday – 0800-0930hrs – Institute of Child Health
• Tuesday – 0800-1130hrs – Institute of Education
• Tuesday – 0800-1130hrs – Language & Speech Science
• Tuesday – 0800-1130hrs – Institute of Neurology
• Tuesday – 0800-1130hrs – School of Pharmacy
• Wednesday – 0800-1130hrs – Bartlett
• Wednesday – 0800-1130hrs – Institute of Archaeology
• Wednesday – 0800-1130hrs – School of Slavonic and East European Studies
• Thursday – 0800-1130hrs – Main Library/Special Collections(B06)/Graduate Hub
• Friday – 0730hrs – Ophthalmology
• Friday – 0800-1130hrs – Student Centre
• Saturday & Sunday – 0800-0900hrs – Cruciform

If you have any issues or queries regarding this, please contact the Library Facilities & Projects Team at lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk

Fire Alarm Testing & Ceiling work – DMS Watson

Our team information can be found at the following link Facilities & Project Team

We have now received confirmation from the contractor working on Fire Alarm upgrades, testing and ceiling works in DMS Watson. CESB will be putting up signage in and around the site.

Saturday 21st May 2022 & Sunday 22nd May 2022 – All Day The Ground Floor bookable student pods will be unavailable this weekend due to snagging work with Fire Alarm, some additional sounders will be fitted in this area to ensure within the pods the legal minimal decibel level is met.

Monday, 23^rd May 2022 – 07:00 to 09:00 – The Fire Alarms will be tested for 2 hours, floor by floor, This is to tally with the usual fire alarm testing that takes place on Monday’s, so hopefully will be a familiar sound to students and staff.

Monday, 6^th June 2022 (early morning) – Investigative works to the 1^st floor ceiling will be carried out to plan the works and equipment needed for the weekend, but that will not impact too much, as it will be just a member of the install team and a step ladder assessing the ceilings.

Saturday, 11^th, Sunday 12^th and Monday, 13^th June 2022 – Ceiling works on the 1^st floor will be taking place. The area will be barriered off for the duration, so will affect the Accessibility entrance and the use of the 1^st floor toilet over this period.

If you have any issues or queries regarding this, please contact the Library Facilities & Projects Team at lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk

SSEES Lighting Upgrade

Our team information can be found at the following link Facilities & Project Team

We have now received confirmation from the contractor working on SSEES Lighting Upgrade.

Due to essential electrical work, which forms part of a lighting upgrade in collaboration with Library Services, Estates and Sustainability, the Lower Ground floor of SSEES Library will be CLOSED to users all day on Saturday 30^th April 2022. Unfortunately, it will not be possible for staff to offer a fetching service for material and journals during the closure, as there will be no lighting in that area.

Other floors of the Library are not affected and will be open as normal, on Saturday.

If you have any issues or queries regarding this, please contact the Library Facilities & Projects Team at lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk

Our team information can be found at the following link Facilities & Project Team

We have now received confirmation from the contractor working on the DMS Watson, 3 Room Refurbishment Project.

The installation of 3 Fire Doors will be taking place, tomorrow and part of next week, between the 22^nd and 27^th April 2022. Due to this work taking place, the installation may impact on the corridors by B12, B12a and B13, for short periods, so please be aware of this when walking in these areas.

If you have any issues or queries regarding this, please contact the Library Facilities & Projects Team at lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk

Dear Colleagues, I am writing on behalf of the Staff Survey Action group. The Staff Survey Action Group is made up of colleagues working across the service, who were nominated and volunteered to take part. Representing a variety of roles and grades, the group also includes union representation. We would like to encourage you all to fill the “My UCL Experience” Survey. The results of the survey will identify new areas of focus for us to work on as well as signposting our progress so far. Your feedback will be acted on. Fewer than half of the members of RIGE (45%) have completed the survey and we are keen to hear feedback from as many colleagues as possible to make sure we target the areas which will make the most difference to colleagues.

We are aware that the question relating to time worked on campus asks whether 40% of time on site is an appropriate balance with working from home. This question is poorly phrased and does not reflect the fact that a large number of Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science staff in fact work on site full-time given the nature of the work. Ben Meunier conveyed feedback on this question on behalf of LCCOS and HR have acknowledged this feedback and will revise the question in future iterations.

If you haven’t responded to the survey yet, please do so before the deadline this Friday 25th March. If you are unhappy about responding to the question about time worked on campus, you can use the final free-text version of the survey to make your voice heard. For instance, some colleagues have noted that UCL needs to remember that it has a large number of vitally important staff who work on site 100% the time and who have kept UCL open during the pandemic, and that the question whether 40% is a suitable time to spend on site does not apply to them.

Please see the poster we shared at the Library staff conference as a reminder of the work of the group

Facilities & Projects Team Blog – Science Library Fire Alarm Upgrade – Stripping out and making good

Our team information can be found at the following link Facilities & Project Team

Apologies for the short notice we have just received the updated programme.

The new fire alarm system is now commissioned and working, we are now moving to the strip out of the old system,

From Wednesday 2^nd March 2022 W Portsmouth will undertake the strip out and making good of the existing redundant fire alarm systems on nights commencing as per the below schedule, during these time the floors will not be accessible:

• Fourth Floor – Wednesday 2nd March – 9PM-7AM
• Fourth Floor – Thursday 3rd March – 9PM – 7AM
• Third Floor – Friday 4th March – 9PM-7AM
• Third Floor – Monday 7th March – 9PM-7AM
• Second Floor – Tuesday 8th March – 9PM – 7AM
• Second Floor – Wednesday 9th March – 9PM – 7AM
• First Floor – Thursday 10th March – 9PM – 7PM
• First Floor – Friday 11th March – 9PM – 7PM
• Ground Floor – TBC – Provisionally – Saturday 5th March – 6PM – 10.30AM

If you have any issues or queries regarding this please contact the Library Facilities & Projects Team at lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk

Updates about comms from across Library Services. 

Comms Calendar 

We are continuing to coordinate our ”locally-delivered, centrally-coordinated communications model” through the annual communications calendar.  

Please check it and get in touch if there is anything coming up in your sections this term.  

Big campaigns in Term 2 

Library Loves Valentines 

The Campaigns group have coordinated a library wide feedback campaign across all the different sites this term. There’s been some great photos of stalls shared on social media: 

• Science Library  
• Student Centre  
• Main Library  
• Cruciform Hub  
• LaSS Library   
• IOE Library  
• Queen Square  
• Stanmore  

We received 150 pieces of feedback, of which 62% was positive, 22% was negative and 16% was both. The negative feedback is valuable as it allows us to improve our services or respond to customers’ issues. We will collate and follow up on this feedback. 

LGBTQ+ History Month 

The Library Liberating the Collections Group sought book recommendations from across the UCL Community to create an article. Some sites, like the Main Library, created book displays. 

We’ve also commissioned a great article from a student journalist LGBTQ+ History Month: Be inspired by UCL library’s collection. 

We have had positive feedback from colleagues across UCL for this work to support EDI values. 

International Women’s Day 

We are seeking book recommendations from across UCL through a libwizard form which we will compile into an article. We’ve also commissioned an article from a Student Journalist. 

Teams from across Library Services also supported the Stand with Hope campaign (led by colleagues in RIGE). Professor David Price has complimented this collaborative work saying it “exemplifies the collaborative spirit embodied not only within RIGE […] but across the university and beyond.” 

Save your searches 

The Comms Team have worked with Bethan Smith to raise awareness of Explore updates and to ensure users make a record of their saved searches. Assets have been shared on social media, OneLan screens and on the library website. The impact of this campaign will be measured following the implementation of changes in March. 

If you missed it? 

Teams from across Library Services supported a week of activities on social media celebrating UCL Foundation Day, Library Lovers’ Day, Jeremy Bentham’s birthday and the Student Centre’s birthday. This work raises the profile of Library Services with our users and also with other comms colleagues across the university. 

The impetus to celebrate Foundation Day came from Library Services. We shared the World of UCL (published by UCL Press), a blog post from Special Collections and other images (including the Deed of Settlement)  

Colleagues from across the library shared photos from their sites with the UCL Social Media team to celebrate Library Lovers Day which garnered some great comments from students.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by University College London (@ucl)

 Coming up in March and April 

• UCL Sustainability Month 
• Promoting Dissertation and Research Support  
• Exams / Assessments Comms  

 

Updates from the sub-groups 

Three sub-groups will help coordinate comms activities across Library Services. 

Open Days Group 

• Created a Prospective Students subpage on library website. Beginning to look at how other libraries support recruitment work. 

Campaigns Group 

• Agreed approach and rationale for supporting communications campaigns. Supported Library Valentines campaign, LGTBQ+ History Month and International Women’s Day. 

Social Media group 

• Identified a series of discrete projects which can improve library’s social media offering and empower staff across the team tasked with delivering comms. Workstreams include looking at metrics, writing a paper on TikTok and working with the UCL’s Chinese Social Media team. 

 

At a glance updates from Term 1 (2021-22) 

Most read ‘Library News’ articles 

1. Library Services During Winter Break 
2. Books to celebrate Black History Month  
3. Elsevier Negotiations  

 UCL Libraries in numbers 

• 88 Tweets sent  
• 68890 Total impressions  
• 783 Impressions per tweet 

Top Tweet 

 

The Duchess of Cambridge visited UCL Special Collections this week to meet researchers from the Centre for Longitudinal Studies to discuss a landmark early years study https://t.co/B27xBSen87

— UCL Libraries (@UCLLibraries) October 8, 2021

If you have any questions about comms, please get in touch with Simon Bralee. 

 

Our team information can be found at the following link Facilities & Project Team

 

SMT have recognised the issues staff are having regarding the heating problems within the Main library and are working with the Library Facilities and Projects team to press Campus Infrastructure and Operations for a swift resolution. It is expected that the temporary heating solution will  be operational throughout the building by the end of the week.

 

1st floor main library:

 

Temporary heating will be provided by means of 2.8kw electric heaters.  We are still in the process of installing supplementary power to all areas that will enable us to fully deploy these heaters. Survey work is being undertaken tonight and tomorrow, with the intention of installing 2 X 60-amp supplementary power circuits: one for either end of the library. Works are expected to be complete by the end of this week. In the meantime, we have plugged in as many lower powered heaters as possible to mitigate the cold temps.

 

2nd floor

 

The 2nd floor temp heating solution will be provided by means of 20 stand only A/C split units, that will be secured in the window bays. These units only take a small amount of energy compared to the 2.8kw heaters. We also have supplementary power on the roof that we will use to feed these units. Works expected to be complete by the end of this week.

 

If you experience any concerns during the duration of this project, please do contact the Facilities and Projects team on: lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk

Our team information can be found at the following link Facilities & Project Team

This is just a gentle reminder that the temporary heating install in the Main Library will be commencing tonight, Friday 3^rd December 2021.

The project will be taking place, between Friday 3^rd December and Friday the 17^th December 2021, all works will take place out of hours, when the Main Library is closed, and will be a welcome solution to the current heating issues in the Main Library.

If you experience any concerns during the duration of this project, please do contact the Facilities and Projects team on: lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk

For further details please refer to the blog communications sent on the 26^th November, here: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/libnet/2021/11/26/facilities-projects-team-blog-installation-of-temporary-heating-in-main-library-wilkins-building/”

Our team information can be found at the following link Facilities & Projects Team

With effect from Monday 29^th November 2021 – Couriers and individual deliveries are no longer allowed to go straight to the building for the central block of campus. For the Library this covers Main, Science and Student Centre only. All deliveries must go via the UCL Post Room at 20 Bedford Way and then be delivered with the post by the Logistics Team. This is a safety measure to reduce the vehicular traffic on central campus. New arrangements have been agreed with Logistics and signed off by the Library Operational Oversight Group.

Please note:

• For teams that get large, regular deliveries to their offices, these will continue to be delivered to offices as usual. The below applies to normal post, stationery orders and courier deliveries. If you are concerned about deliveries to your team, please contact the Facilities & Projects Team through  lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk
• For large or one off deliveries that need to go directly to one of these buildings, such as large equipment or book collections, the organiser must ensure the delivering vehicle is booked in via Logistics beforehand, this can be done by the requestor or the company providing the delivery. Any un-booked deliveries will be turned away.

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/estates/our-services/security-ucl/parking-ucl/booking-vehicle-access

Main library: All deliveries will go to the autosorter room (113C) and be placed on the table provided. Signed for items will be placed on the table and photographed as proof of delivery. The outgoing post sack will also be in this location. The Customer Services Team will sort the post daily and deliver to the correct location within the building. Please note that the pigeonholes will remain in the Kitchen (204) on the second floor.

Science Library: All deliveries will go to the ground floor cupboard (G97A) near the staff lift. The pigeonholes will be moved to this location along with the outgoing post sack. Signed for items will be placed on the table or shelf and photographed as proof of delivery. The cupboard has the same lock as the staff kitchen, so staff will be expected to check their pigeonhole as normal.

Student Centre: All deliveries will go to the staff office (1.02) on the first floor.

If you have any issues or queries regarding this please contact the Library Facilities & Projects Team at lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk