Tag Archives: old college

Did you know…? Study Space Traffic Lights

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We’ve recently heard from students and staff that they would love for some kind of indicator of how busy the Law Library is when it comes to finding a study space. But did you know we’ve already got this information on our website?

If you visit the Law Library Location & Contact page you will find a traffic light panel that will tell you exactly how busy the library is at any time, and this information refreshes every 5 minutes! This is based on anonymised data taken from the swipe entry gates to the library, so while it doesn’t give us a seat-by-seat count of which spaces are available it’s a pretty good indicator of busy periods.

Screenshot of the traffic light occupancy bar which is displayed on the Law Library Locations webpage.

You’ll see above the colour coded lights that the bold text tells us that at 12.15 today the library is NOT BUSY. If you use your cursor to hover over the bar on the website a pop up text box will appear, which currently says “Library is at 20% of occupancy. You will find a choice of spaces in the library.”

If the library is full when you’re trying to visit you can check out the Study Spaces website for suggestions of where else you can go on central campus. You should also be aware that during the lead up to exams we make the MacLaren Stuart and Quad Teaching Rooms open for study. When these are available there will be large signs posted at the entrance to the library directing students to the available rooms.

NOTE: The traffic light sign is usually also displayed on the plasma screens next to the Helpdesk when you visit the Law Library, near the entrance to the Reserve section. At present this is not working properly but we are in the midst of getting it fixed, and will update when it is available again.

Warm wishes from your Law Librarian

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Working in the Law Library today has been like night and day since the study space scramble of last week, and that’s because most students have now finished up for the term and are beginning their winter breaks. The Law Library is still open until 4.50pm tomorrow (Thursday 22nd December), and we will then close our doors until Wednesday 4th January 2022. If you are studying or conducting research over the winter break you will find our online resources remain accessible via the usual channels, but should you run into difficulties we will not be able to respond to any messages until we return in January. Alternatively the Main Library is available during the holidays, you can find out more on their page on the website.

It’s been a bit of a tricky year in the land of Law Libraries as we’ve been short staffed for much of Semester One both on the Helpdesk and in the Academic Support Librarian team. We appreciate your patience while we do what we can in the time available, and look forward to Semester Two where we hope we’ll be back up to a full complement before too long.

We wish you a pleasant and restful winter break and hope for your health and happiness during your time away from the University. See you next Semester!

 – SarahLouise 

Christmas tree on display in the quad at Old College.

 

Law Library: Changes to opening times

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As the end of semester approaches, you may be concerned about the hours the library will be open in the run up to exams. We’ve increased weekend hours as we get closer to the exam period by opening later on Sundays in December:

Monday 29th November 2021 to Monday 20th December 2021

Monday – Thursday 9am – 9:50pm
Friday 9am  – 6:50pm
Saturday 9am – 4:50pm
Sunday 12 noon – 6:50pm

There will also be changes to the opening hours over the winter break, as follows:

Tuesday 21 December 2021 to Sunday 16 January 2022

Tuesday 21 – Thursday 23 December 2021 9am – 4:50pm
Friday 24 December 2021 – Tuesday 4 January 2022 Closed
Wednesday 5 – Friday 7 January 2022 9am – 4:50pm
Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 January 2022 Closed
Monday 10 – Friday 14 January 2022 9am – 4:50pm
Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 January 2022 Closed

Normal semester opening hours will resume on Monday 17th January 2022. 

If you find the times above don’t suit your schedule for study, you may want to look at the Main Library opening hours, or for a complete list of library opening information please check the Library website.  

Visit the Law Library… virtually!

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students exiting the Law Library building in Old College quad

Law Library exterior, Old College

As the semester gets going you may be keen to visit our beautiful Law Library at Old College to find materials, use a study space, or generally just soak up the atmosphere.

However we know that after the past year some students may be anxious about coming on to campus, and may be worried about what to expect. In order to help with that we’ve prepared a short Sway as a guide to the Law Library. It includes information on what’s in the collections, photos of the library, and links to other helpful resources you may want to use. You can find it here:

Law Library Library Orientation Guide

We’ve made different guides for each of our site libraries which you can find on the Library Orientation Guide page on our website. You’ll also find a guide to Using the Library Online, which we think will be helpful for our online or distance students, or those who are self-isolating or in quarantine.

Other preparations for visiting campus may include looking at maps ahead of time. Did you know we’ve got an interactive campus map? If you visit the Maps page and use the key to select the Layers tab, and then click the eye icon to make Libraries and Study Spaces visible, you can see all our locations across the city! We’ve highlighted the Law Library icon in the image below in pink.

Map of the central part of campus, with buildings highlighted in a variety of colours. Several black circles featuring white book icons are visible on the screen, to indicate the location of libraries.

We look forward to seeing you on campus soon!

Note: The Microsoft Sway platform uses moving images in their templates, and each of the above Sways use one moving image at the top of the page. If you require the information in an alternative format please contact us by email: law.librarian@ed.ac.uk.

The Law Library, Old College

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Have you visited the Law Library this year?

This is a really unusual year for staff and students at Edinburgh and it can be disconcerting not knowing which facilities are open on campus, or what to expect when you get there. We want to reassure any students who are keen to visit the Law Library at Old College that there will be a warm welcome for you there. Our Helpdesk Team are working hard to make sure the library service is as safe as possible while still providing the excellent support you need to access the resources and study spaces in the building.

We’ve asked our Helpdesk Manager, Fran, to offer a few words of advice for anyone wishing to visit the library:

Library Helpdesk staff would like to welcome you back to the Library! We are here to help with guiding you to the study space that you have booked, card replacements and general enquiries. We do ask that you follow the guidelines for things that have been put in place to ensure the safety of all library users and staff. This means that you must wear a face covering (unless you have an exemption) at all times, even when you are sat in a study space. We have put a lot of cleaning material and hand sanitiser in the library, if anything is missing please let us know. There is a well marked out one way system which is there for you to follow and ensures that we all can maintain social distancing.

Our Helpdesk staff are ready to assist you in the library.

Fran and her team are ready to greet you during the library’s open hours, which are currently as listed below:

Monday 21 September – Friday 4 December 2020
Days Opening hours
Monday – Thursday 9am – 9.50pm
Friday 9am – 6.50pm
Saturday 9am – 4.50pm
Sunday 12noon – 4.50pm

These hours may change from the 5th December 2020 in preparation for exams. For more information on this and other changes to the service, check the Law Library pages on the university website:

Law Library Information
Law Library Opening Hours
Booking a study space

We hope that you stay safe and know that the Law Library will be ready to welcome you back whenever it is safe for you to be on campus.

Students sit in armchairs on the mezzanine level, visible in the top half of an archway. Students browse books in the library stacks on the ground floor.

View of the mezzanine from the Senate Room