28 | PROMOTION: D-TECH | CAMPUS SERVICES
D-Tech International customer, University of the West of Scotland awarded prestigious SCONUL design award
T
he £200m development, which comprises four campuses in Ayr, Paisley, Dumfries and Hamilton,
has been a customer of D-Tech since 2010 opting for varying models of RFID self- service to complement the differing styles of each campus from free-standing, gloss white in Hamilton to brightly coloured floating Plexiglass desktop designs at Dumfries. Each site has its own unique bespoke look and has been secured using D-Tech’s stunning Plexiglas, illuminated RFID security gates. The Society of College, National
and University Libraries (SCONUL) has recognised the Ayr Campus as the best library under 2000sqm. To get an idea of exactly how the University achieved this, we spoke to Neal Buchanan, UWS Ayr Campus Librarian.
Francesca Reason, D-Tech: What sort of library environment do you seek to create for your students?
Neal Buchanan, UWS : I consider the UWS/SRUC Library at Ayr to be a friendly and comfortable academic environment for our students. The library is at the heart of the campus building, near to the main entrance and social areas, so the vibrancy of student life conveys itself easily into our space. Flexibility is an important aspect too because UWS and SRUC have very different types of students (UWS musicians and SRUC horticulturalists, for example). With this in mind it is vital that there are zones in the library that support different ways of learning. We have group, social and quiet study floors and bookable group study rooms with presentation facilities. This range of options gives our students the opportunity to study in whatever way is appropriate to them at a particular time. Research output is emerging which suggests that there is a correlation between library activity data and student atainment, so it is essential that we as librarians make our spaces welcoming and flexible and our services easy to use.
D-Tech: The University of the West of Scotland has recently won a SCONUL award for the design of its library. What sets the Ayr Campus Library apart from other library designs across the UK?
LEFT: The perfect library has no barriers to its services.
UWS: The first thing to say is that the design of other libraries informed the decisions we made about the UWS/SRUC Library. Our project team (which included Elaine Muir - Head of Library Services, SRUC - and I) visited the libraries at Glasgow Caledonian University, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Stirling to see completed new-build and refurbishment projects and we took inspiration from them. Where our library differs is that it is a shared space for two HE institutions: UWS and SRUC colleagues work side-by-side to provide a seamless service to our users. This concept informed our thinking at every stage of the planning process. We did not want two distinct libraries in our new building and we wanted both sets of students to consider it collectively as 'their' library. To achieve this we have shared staff work areas, PCs that access both institutions’ networks via the same interface, one LMS (Millennium) that serves all users, and our book collections were interfiled to exist as one collection. We are two institutions but the library is for everyone.
D-Tech: What ingredients does one need to create the perfect university library environment?
UWS: The perfect university library has no barriers to it services. Users should be able to use the space as easily as they would any other public building, be it a supermarket or museum. It should have a vibrant atmosphere with flexible zones for quiet study, group work or just meeting with friends. The physical collection should be arranged simply and intuitively and access to electronic resources should require as few clicks and passwords as possible (on fast PCs). The environment should also be, literally, accessible: wheelchair users and people with other mobility problems should be able to use the space without hindrance. Last, but not least, it is important that library staff are motivated to provide a friendly, effective and flexible service. In our connected world, contact time with actual people can be limited, so we need to get face-to-face interactions right first time, every time. Fundamentally, the students should
feel ownership of the library: they need to feel that they belong to achieve their full potential.
D-Tech: When choosing a library RFID supplier what characteristics did the University look for?
UWS: The UWS Dumfries campus used RFID first (of the four UWS campuses) and their supplier decision was made before my time. For Ayr it made sense to use the same supplier and this continued as RFID was subsequently rolled-out to the UWS Hamilton and Paisley campuses. In general terms, value for money and fitness for purpose are important characteristics and, speaking personally, it feels good to be able to send business in the direction of a UK company (although I assume that this wasn’t a requirement in the procurement process!) UB
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