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Dates for LCCOS Leadership Surgeries November 2023 – Jun 2024

By Rozz Evans, on 17 October 2023

We’re delighted to announce the latest series of dates for our regular LCCOS Leadership Team surgeries.

LCCOS Leadership Group Surgeries

These surgeries are just one of several ways that colleagues are able to engage directly with senior managers if they want to.

You can raise issues and ask questions about any aspect of LCCOS or how it is run.  Suggestions for improvement are also welcome. You might want to share things that have worked really well in your job or team that you would like to see taken up more widely. We are always interested in your ideas!

One of the most important things about working for LCCOS is that no matter what our roles we are united by all wanting to do the very best job we can and provide a service we can all be proud of.

It is also an opportunity to raise problems, but please do make sure that you speak to your Line Manager first if your feedback is of a personal/sensitive nature or relates to another colleague or Library user.

You can attend on your own account, as a representative of a group or team, or come along in small groups.

Surgeries are currently scheduled to run via Teams, but sometimes it will be possible to conduct them face-to-face. Please feel free to request this if you prefer it and we will do our best to accommodate it.

The times and dates below all fall between 9.30am and 4pm, but we are very happy to arrange surgeries for colleagues who work evenings and weekends – please email me directly (rosalind.evans@ucl.ac.uk) and I will arrange it.

Site visits and meeting attendance

Members of the LCCOS Leadership Group are also available to visit sites and join team meetings. You can request this either via your section head, or by directly contacting the relevant member of LCCOS Leadership Group if there is someone specific you’d like to invite.

Online Feedback form

Finally, there is an online feedback form if you prefer. If you put your name on it, you will receive a response, but you can also post anonymously if you are more comfortable with this.

Scheduled dates

Dates are scheduled as below. Please email the named person to book as indicated. I will be sending out a monthly reminder via the lccos-allstaff@ucl.ac.uk mailing list.

  • 20 Nov:  10:00 – 11:00: Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost, UCL LCCOS) & June Hedges (Director of Liaison and Support Services; Deputy Director of Services) – email j.hedges@ucl.ac.uk 
  • 14 Dec:  14:00 – 15:00: Martin Moyle (Director of Services) & Lara Speicher (Head of Publishing, UCL Press) – email l.speicher@ucl.ac.uk
  • 17 Jan:  11:00 – 12:00: Andy Pow (Head of Finance, LCCOS) & Rozz Evans (Head of Collection Strategy) – email rosalind.evans@ucl.ac.uk
  • 16 Feb:  11:00 – 12:00:  Margaret Stone (Director of Digital Services and Service Improvement) & John Maisey (Head of Visitor Services) j.maisey@ucl.ac.uk
  • 19 Mar: 15:00 – 16:00: Karen Jeger (Head of Collection Services) & Peter Dennison (Head of Customer Service) – email p.dennison@ucl.ac.uk 
  • 22 Apr: 11:00 – 12:00: Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost, UCL LCCOS) & Sarah Aitchison (Director of Special Collections) – email s.aitchison@ucl.ac.uk
  • 22 May: 14:00 – 15:00: Martin Moyle (Director of Services) & Kate Cheney (Director of Site Library Services) – email k.cheney@ucl.ac.uk
  • 18 Jun: 14:00 – 15:00: Peter Dennison (Head of Customer Service) & Michelle Wake (Site Libraries Manager and Senior Librarian, UCL School of Pharmacy) – email m.wake@ucl.ac.uk

Do feel free to email me directly if you have any general queries, comments or questions about the LCCOS Leadership Surgeries.

New LCCOS Staff Wellbeing Training Website

By Michelle Wake, on 22 May 2023

On behalf of the LCCOS Staff Wellbeing Committee I am pleased to share with you the LCCOS Staff Wellbeing Training Opportunities website.

This site details a range of training opportunities for use by individuals or in group sessions, e.g.it includes readings or activities that could be used as an item of discussion in team meetings.

This is very much an ongoing project and the LCCOS Wellbeing Committee is keen to have your input.  Please do get in touch and feedback on the resources and/or how you have incorporated them into your training sessions, via the website’s comments boxes or by emailing me at m.wake@ucl.ac.uk.  Additionally, please feel very free to make suggestions of any other resources or subjects which you recommend being added to this skeleton list.

 

Michelle Wake

Site Libraries Manager and Senior Librarian, UCL School of Pharmacy,

UCL Library Services

LCCOS-Library, Culture, Collections & Open Science

m.wake@ucl.ac.uk

Facilities & Projects Team Blog – Change in Procedure – Move to RemedyForce Self Service

By Jay Woodhouse, on 9 June 2022

The Library Facilities & Projects Team are moving to RemedyForce self service from Wednesday 15th June at 8am and all staff should use the RemedyForce system from this date, for all listed requests.

The new Service Request options can be accessed from the RemedyForce Self Service module:

RemedyForce Self Service then select Request SomethingLibrary Facilities from the Categories – from here you will be able to select the service that you require.

The Facilities & Projects Service Level Agreement (F&PSLA) (LibNet Facilities & Projects Page) has been updated to reflect the change in request procedure, but the F&PSLA response times have not been changed. Moving to RemedyForce will allow improved control of requests, ease of essential message content, better customer communication and better reporting on F&PSLA targets.

 

 

 

 

The Facilities & Projects Team joint e-mail address lib-facilities@ucl.ac.uk will remain active for external filming and photography requests.

For everything else please use RemedyForce.

Staff Survey Action Group- “My UCL Experience” Survey

By Grazia Manzotti, on 21 March 2022

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

Staff Survey Action Group poster

Science Library Closure 11th-14th February (inclusive)

By Jay Woodhouse, on 27 January 2022

The Science Library will be closed to both students and library staff on the Friday 11th to Monday 14th February inclusive. The library will reopen on Tuesday 15th February. Library staff will need to make alternative working arrangements for these days.

This closure is required for the commissioning and switch over to the new fire alarm system. As part of this switch over the old fire alarm system will be shut off and for the duration of the closure the building will not have an active fire alarm, therefor it is not safe for students or library staff to be in the building. The fire alarm is a key safety system to allow the building to open. With the old system becoming more unreliable, the new system is need as soon as possible.

It was hoped this switch over could have been done over the Christmas break, but unfortunately the DMS Watson Building is linked to the Petrie and Boiler House and there have been access issues in both these spaces, delaying the completion of the new system installation.

For any queries please contact the Library Facilities Team.

Flexitime Focus Groups: Call for Participants

By Bethan Smith, on 7 July 2021

As we approach the next academic year, and implement new ways and patterns of working, we would like to take the opportunity to examine our current systems for managing flexible working patterns across Library Services.

The current flexitime system has been in suspension since March 2020. Running a local system brings with it limitations and overheads; as we implement new modes of working in the upcoming academic year, it is worth taking the time to examine how we might administer the benefit of flexible working within Library Services going forward, and consider whether we need to reinstate the current MyFlexi system.

With this in mind, Martin Moyle and June Hedges would like to meet colleagues to hear their views on how we might manage flexible working patterns in the near future.

We have arranged five focus groups, which will take place over the next three weeks.

Please note that there is no question of withdrawing the benefit of flexible working patterns from Library Services – conversations in these groups will instead focus on considering the way we administer these:

Friday 9th July, 11:30 – 12:30

Tuesday 13th July 11:00 – 12:00

Thursday 15th July 15:00 – 16:00

Tuesday 27th July 11:00 – 12:00

Thursday 29th July 10:00 – 11:00

Focus groups will take place virtually on MS Teams. Participants will be sent a Teams link prior to the start of the session.

To ensure a constructive conversation, we are aiming for up to 10 colleagues to act as participants per focus group. We aim to ensure an even spread of participants across teams, grades, and work patterns at each meeting to ensure a representative discussion is held.

If you are interested in attending one of the focus groups, please email bethan.smith@ucl.ac.uk with your first and second preference for your slot.

UCL Library Services Staff Summer School – initial programme and some bookings now open

By Angela Young, on 26 May 2021

The UCL Library Services Staff Summer School is a series of training and development sessions, events and online activities aimed at library staff from across UCL Library Services, to support them in answering enquiries and in providing support, training and advocacy to library users and stakeholders.

This year the entire programme will be delivered online throughout June and July, with a mixture of self-directed online learning and live sessions. Here is a taster of what’s on offer, with more sessions to be announced soon:

  • Introduction to digital accessibility (Wednesday 9 June – Wednesday 21 July, self-directed online learning).
  • Creating videos: an introduction (Thursday 10th June, 10.00-12.00)
  • Blended learning by design (Monday 28th June, 10:00-11:00)
  • LibAnswers and LibChat: Developing our online enquiry service (Tuesday 13 July, 11:00-12:00)
  • eXperience eXchange and Feeback from FestivIL (Tuesday 20th July, 10:00-12:00)

Full details are available:

Sessions are open to all UCL Library Services staff, with the permission of your line manager.

Angela Young, Head of Library Skills

Nominate an exceptional colleague or team for a UCL Education Award

By Angela Young, on 11 February 2021

Do you know a colleague or team within Library Services that makes an outstanding contribution to the learning experience and success of our students? Then take a moment to nominate them for this year’s UCL Education Awards.

The UCL Education Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of staff and their contributions to our learning community, with a focus on the work of colleagues that is less visible to students, so work that has enabled excellent practice or facilitated innovation in teaching and learning. Nominations will be judged on evidence of impact and examples demonstrating excellence in various categories, including:

  • Academic support, with a focus on personal tutoring and/or research supervision
  • Assessment and feedback
  • Education success for all
  • Eliminating awarding gaps
  • Outstanding response to teaching and/or support during a pandemic
  • Staff-student partnership

How do nominations work?

Nominations are made within a department and then each UCL department may submit one individual and one team nomination for each category from the nominations they have received.

We are now inviting nominations from across Library Services, from which the Library Skills Steering Group will select the final nominations for Library Services.

To nominate a colleague or team, please download and complete the appropriate form (Word document) for an individual or team in Step 1 on the UCL Education Awards webpage and send by email to Angela Young. Please do NOT complete the ‘Step two’ forms on that page as these are for the final nominations from each department. The deadline for submission of nominations to Library Services is Wednesday 31st March to allow time for the Library Skills Steering Group to decide on final nominations and submit by 12th April.

Why nominate a colleague or team?

This is your chance to ensure your colleague or a library team gets the acknowledgement they deserve, so they can be rewarded and celebrate in their achievements whilst highlighting to the wider UCL community the impact that library staff have on the experience and success of our students.

New support for library staff working towards HEA fellowship awards

By Angela Young, on 17 June 2020

HEA Fellowship awards provide a great opportunity for anyone who wants to demonstrate their commitment to professionalism in supporting learning and teaching in higher education. The UCL Arena Open programme, which is free to UCL staff, provides a route to Higher Education Academy (HEA) / AdvanceHE fellowship and is open to all staff at UCL who teach or support students’ learning, regardless of role or job title, so it’s relevant to all sorts of roles within Library Services. In addition to gaining you post-nominals, the process of applying means you reflect on your teaching and learning support work and develop your skills, identify areas for your future development and enhance your support of students so contributing to the user experience.

UCL Arena are launching a brand new course that is being delivered online this summer, specifically to support Professional Services staff, including Library Services staff. This is a great opportunity for anyone thinking of applying for Associate Fellowship or Fellowship. Details of the course are below.

Contributed by Angela Young.

Professional Services Staff – Pathway to Arena Fellowships

Course description:

Professional Services (PS) Staff make an important contribution to UCL’s mission, by providing training and support for learning. This course is a development pathway for PS Staff, leading (ideally) to the submission of an application for fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

The course will enable you to think creatively about supporting teaching, learning, and assessment in your role. It will guide you in developing a fellowship application in a structured way over four synchronous, interactive sessions and through a variety of tasks. You will also have the opportunity to meet colleagues from different parts of UCL and to discuss how your experience maps to the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF).

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • identify ways in which your role and work experience supports high quality student learning and student outcomes
  • reflect on your professional practice and consider the ways it impacts on the learning of others
  • recognise the importance and value of your work and how it contributes to UCL’s operations and strategy
  • understand what a good UCL Arena fellowship application looks like
  • demonstrate how your experience and knowledge meet the relevant criteria of the UKPSF for the appropriate fellowship category

Dates/times of sessions:

  • Session 1: Thursday, 9 July 2020 (14.00 – 15.30)
  • Session 2: Tuesday, 21 July 2020 (14.00 – 15.30)
  • Session 3: Thursday, 6 August 2020 (10.00 – 11.30)
  • Session 4: Tuesday, 11 August 2020 (14.00 – 15.30) OR Wednesday, 16 September (11.00 – 12.30)

Who should apply:

This course is ideal for PS staff who have worked in higher education for at least two years and provide teaching and student support. It is most suitable for (but not restricted to) PS staff who work in programme/teaching administration, digital education, library services, teaching laboratories, and student wellbeing.

How to register:

Please complete this form by 5pm on Monday, 29 June, if you are interested in participating in this course:

We can only accept a maximum of 20 people for this course and will be confirming places on a “first come, first serve basis”. We will confirm your place on the course by 6 July 2020.

Please be aware that there will be a little bit of preparation to do before the first session and ‘homework’ to do between each session. We’ll be targeting Associate Fellow applications, but with scope for Fellow application development if participants have the appropriate experience.

UCL Library Services Summer School 2020 – bookings now open!

By Angela Young, on 18 May 2020

The UCL Library Services Staff Summer School is a series of training and development sessions, events and online activities aimed at library staff from across UCL Library Services, to support them in answering enquiries and in providing support, training and advocacy to library users and stakeholders.

For the first time this year, the entire programme will be delivered online, with a mixture of self-paced online learning and real-time, ‘live’ sessions.

The programme this year has a variety of sessions, running throughout June and July:

Self-directed online training:

  • Introduction to Open Science (1 June – 10 July, self-directed online training). An introduction to this key area of our library strategy. Each week a new real-world problem will be addressed.

Real-time, ‘live’ online training sessions:

  • Accessible Word and PowerPoint templates training (2 June, 10.30-11.30): Learn how to use Library Services templates developed to help you meet new accessibility regulations.
  • Health librarianship in a pandemic (10 June, 11.00-12.30): Discover what it’s like being a health librarian during the current COVID-19 crisis, with contributions from library staff at Public Health England and colleagues from our libraries which support NHS Trusts.
  • Launch of the Systematic Reviews and Advanced Literature Searching Network (23 June, 11.00-12.00). Are you involved in any aspect of supporting systematic reviews or advanced database searching? Or would you like to develop your professional skills in this area? Join this session to help shape how we support each other.
  • Social Media for Professional Development (29 June, 14.00-15.00). Find out more about social media tools and how they can be used for professional development.
  • Liaison Librarians Panel Session (30 June, 10.00-11.30). Gain an insight into what it is like to be a liaison librarian.
  • Live online training experience (7 July, 10.00-11.30): A chance for participants to take control and experience delivering live online training using Blackboard Collaborate.

Full details of the programme, including how to book, are available on the Library Services Summer School Moodle Course. If you do not already have access, please email libraryskills@ucl.ac.uk for an enrolment key. Sessions are open to all UCL Library Services staff, with the permission of your line manager.

Angela Young, Head of Library Skills