Off the Shelf

03 February 2015

Half term opening hours

All three LRCs will be CLOSED on Friday 13 February for the staff training day

Guildford College

Monday - Friday 9.30 - 4.30

Closed for lunch 12.30 - 1.30 everyday

Farnham College

Monday - Tuesday 9.00 - 5.00
Wednesday - Friday Closed

Merrist Wood College

Monday 9.00 - 4.00
Tuesday 9.00 - 4.00
Wednesday Closed
Thursday 9.00 - 4.00
Friday 9.00 - 4.00

Closed for lunch 12.30 - 1.30 everyday

20 January 2015

LRC First Impressions Survey 2014 Results

Farnham, Guildford, and Merrist Wood LRCs

Thank you to everyone who took park in our First Impressions Survey in November 2014. All three LRCs were involved and we got some really great feedback.

Our Survey Said - Our Response

STAFF:

100% of students overall rate the LRC staff 'Good' or 'Satisfactory'

We aim to... continue to develop a helpful and supportive service for students.

COMPUTERS:

86% of students overall consider the computers to be 'Good' or 'Satisfactory'

13% overall said the computers 'Could Be Better'

We aim to... continue to work with IT staff to help reduce the problems experienced in the LRCs in the first term.

BOOKS:

82% of students overall consider the books to be 'Good' or 'Satisfactory'

We aim to... continue to liaise with tutors to ensure key texts are available, including e-books.

DECOR / ENVIRONMENT:

88% of students overall consider the LRC decor and environment to be 'Good' or 'Satisfactory'

11% of respondents overall said the decor 'Could Be Better'

We aim to... continue to improve the environment and general décor at all LRCs to ensure that we provide an environment that is comfortable and suitable for study and learning.

02 December 2014

What happened during Banned Books Week

The Banned Books displays in all three LRCs last week raised lots of interesting questions about why books might be banned and led to further discussions on topics ranging from Hitler to Martin Luther King, to the Qur'an and the Bible. Students couldn't believe the range of books that have been banned over time.

Some students were brave enough to 'liberate' (borrow) books from the LRC displays. We look forward to hearing their views.

Class visit to Banned Books display at Farnham College

At Farnham College four English classes came to see the displays and do the quizzes. This included two A level classes studying political correctness in language, so the theme of banned books tied in well.

Quiz results:

At Farnham College Deni Wither won the main Banned Book quiz
Also at Farnham Lily Bohling won the word hunt, finding an amazing 88 words in 'Banned Books'! Although even more amazing was that adding together all words found by students and library staff, the total was 179! (there may even be more...)
At Guildford College Musaed AlFoudari correctly identified the 10 banned books from the 15 pictured in the quiz (and wins a £10 print voucher)

For those still wondering, the correct answers to the Guildford College quiz were:

Banned:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J K Rowling)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
Wild Swans (Jung Chang)
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
And Tango Makes Three (Justin Richardson)
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)

Not Banned:

The Brutal Art (Jesse Kellerman)
Women in Love (D H Lawrence)
Hairy-Scary Monster (Roderick Hunt)
Birdsong (Sebastian Faulks)
The Godfather (Mario Puzo)

26 November 2014

December opening hours at GCLRC

As some of you may know we are losing two members of the LRC team at Guildford College very soon, leaving us with three members of staff!

The good news is we will have some temporary staff working with us for the last three weeks of term so please be nice to them and bear with us if things take a little longer than usual.

The bad news is that we won't have any cover for evenings so from Wednesday 3 December the LRC will close at 5.00 pm Monday to Thursday. Friday opening hours remain unchanged and we will close at 4.30 pm as per normal.

We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause but once we have new staff in place in the New Year normal opening hours will resume.

24 November 2014

Warning - Banned Books

As part of Diversity Week, the LRCs are highlighting Banned Books

Come to the LRCs this week (24-28 November) and be amazed at some of the books which have been banned not just in the distant past but also in the present time. Governments, local authorities, schools (and even libraries) in some countries ban books because they are considered to be dangerous from a moral, political or religious viewpoint.

Banned books have ranged from Madame Bovary, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Heart of Darkness, to Lord of the Flies, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Captain Underpants!

However history shows that banning a book is the perfect way to get people reading and discussing it!

Things to do in the LRCs this week: