Welcome to the February issue: Library and University Collections

This month’s issue of Teaching Matters puts Library and University Collections firmly in the spotlight. In this introductory post, Christine Love-Rodgers, College Lead for Library Academic Support (CAHSS), provides an overview of Library and University Collections with a regard to learning and teaching…

Library and University Collections supports teaching and learning for all of our students, staff and external users. We provide the core Library services and resources that directly support the teaching and learning which takes place in the University, and we provide new ways for students to creatively engage with library collections and technology.

The Library Academic Support Team works in partnership with teaching staff to embed data and information literacy skills into the curriculum. This team also delivers openly bookable Library and digital skills training for all students, enabling users to access the resources they require to succeed in their studies. Academic Support Librarians work in partnership with academic staff and with the Collections Services teams to collaboratively develop our Library collections, reflecting and driving changes to the curriculum. Collections Services are also active in working to diversify the collections which support learning and research.

The Centre for Research Collections supports teaching through access to our unique heritage collections and archives, working with academic colleagues to provide object‐based learning within the Library. The Museums team use our heritage collections to engage our user groups with the history and culture of our institution and in order to foster a great sense of community. Our heritage collections are used to support all learners, providing skills, spaces and resources to support lifelong learning and widening participation.

The Digital Library team provides and improves access to digital resources for students on campus and worldwide, enabling straightforward access to open digital resources where possible. This team works to make the most of digital innovation to inspire and challenge our students using technology. The Research Support Team provide high quality support and training to students, to ensure they can exhibit core competencies in research data management and scholarly communications, and have an understanding of ethical issues, sustainability and copyright.

Upcoming posts

In the next post, Christine moves on to showcase The University of Edinburgh Library’s first Dissertation Week. Other posts include: an exploration of Open Access library resources, by Lauren Smith; an updated blog post from Angela Laurins on the Resource Lists – the Library’s online reading list service; Fran Baseby reflects on the growth in Object Based Learning as a learning approach in the Centre for Research Collections; and Jenny Nex provides an account of the day in the life of a curator at the Musical Instrument Collection at St Cecilia’s Hall.

Previous Teaching Matters posts have covered related topics, such as:

• The role of the Library Academic Support team, by Christine Love-Rodgers.
• A summary of the CoDI Show: Silence in the archives!, by Rachel Hosker.
• Christine Love-Rodgers’ account of an ERASMUS librarian’s staff training week in the University of Gottingen: Teaching the Library landscape: European perspectives 
• The background of the University’s Digitisation Strategy, by Dr Joseph Marshall.
• Intern Francesca Vavotici’s reflections on keeping a blog during her work at the Centre for Research Collections.

Happy reading…!

Feb 4, 2020