IN DEPTH
Alternative Ulster: transformative design and delivery
Ulster University Librarian Janet Peden has led the design and delivery of a project to transform how the library service is delivered, through new buildings and a new driving principle of One Library Service to unite the multi-cam- pus university. Here she talks about how that change to the service is helping to deliver for students, academics, researchers and library staff.
ULSTER University is a geographically dispersed institution with over 30,000 students based at its three campus loca- tions in Belfast, Coleraine, and Derry/ Londonderry. In addition, Ulster has national and international partnerships and delivers programmes to students based in London, Birmingham, and Qatar along with a sizable number of distance learners.
The library service at Ulster is committed to providing an optimal experience for all stu- dents regardless of location or mode of study. As Director of Library Services and University Librarian, I provide strategic leadership for the delivery of a values-led Library Service at Ulster University.
When I was appointed in 2013, Ulster Uni- versity was already committed to a significant programme of change, the most ambitious of which was a new 75,000m2 campus develop- ment in Belfast City Centre to replace its ageing estate at the nearby Jordanstown campus. The new campus was conceived as a catalyst for change with space to accommodate over 15,500 staff and students.
As University Librarian, it was my respon- sibility to lead on the design and delivery of an innovative, transformative, library learn- ing environment to stimulate, inspire and add value to the University’s core business of
20 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL Janet Peden, University Librarian, Ulster University.
learning, teaching, and research. The campus development was one of the largest higher edu- cation capital builds in Europe and was hugely significant in the context of the social, cultural, economic, and educational opportunities that would flow to and from the institution’s location at the heart of the local community.
Drivers for change
In tandem with the work to develop a new campus in Belfast , a change process was also underway to inform the planning and design of innovative student-centred learning spaces to enhance learning and teaching at Ulster. This process was closely aligned to an enabling aim of the Institutional Learning and
September 2024
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