Top e-books in November

Business once again hold onto top spot in the pages viewed chart for last month. Beauty Therapy are also holding onto their chart positions and we have behavioural ecology books in the top ten for the first time this year.  In our downloads chart Early Childhood have claimed top spot this time round.

Here's November's chart:

3786   BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 1
1957   BTEC Level 3 Business Book 2
359     Behavioural ecology
333     An introduction to behavioural ecology
262     Beauty therapy. - 3rd ed.
226     Aromatherapy : therapy basics
200     Research methods for business
186     Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice
176     Doing research in the real world
172     Business information management : improving performance using 
           information systems   

The top downloaded books for November were:

8   Child development for early childhood studies
5   Construction technology
4   Special educational needs, inclusion and diversity
4   Managing behaviour in the early years
4   BTEC First Business: Level 2
4   An introduction to behavioural ecology
4   Advanced construction technology

Six Book Challenge 2013

FC LRC & GC LRC are pleased to announce the launch of the Six Book Challenge 2013!

Do you want to improve your reading and literacy skills? Do you want to get back into reading but don't know where to start?

If the answer is yes, then get them involved in the Six Book Challenge!

We had a trial run of the challenge last year with two ESOL groups at Guildford and 15 students at Farnham with some success but we are now opening it up to any students that want to improve their reading skills and/or get back into reading.

The challenge is for students to read six books before the end of June 2013.

Well not just books... poetry, newspapers,  magazines and e-books count too! All you need to do is pop along to the LRC and sign up. It doesn't take long, just a minute or two to fill out a little form. Then we give you a reading diary so you can record what you read and rate it out of 5. Once you have read something and recorded it in your diary pop back into the LRC to get it stamped by a member of the LRC team.

When you have filled up your diary and read all six books you have completed the challenge and you will receive your certificate and get entered into a National Prize Draw. First prize is a theatre trip to London for 2 and three runners up will get a Kobo e-reader.

Don't worry if you don't know where to start or what to read the LRC staff can help you and you can also check out this useful website to help you find your next read. There will also be freebies and incentives throughout the challenge to keep you motivated! :)

Over 23 students have signed up already! Why not join them and give it a go?!?

Top e-books in October

Well done to Business in holding onto top spot in the pages viewed chart for October. Beauty Therapy are holding onto their chart positions this month and Tourism have broken into the top ten.  In our downloads chart IT have claimed top spot this time round.

Here's October's chart:

11801   BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 1
1656     BTEC Level 3 Business Book 2
1227     Beauty Therapy (3rd ed.)
870       Travel & Tourism for BTEC Level 3 National Book 2
750       Beauty Therapy (2nd ed.)
750       BTEC Level 2 First Business
599       Official Guide to Body Massage
473       Travel & Tourism for BTEC Level 3 National Book 1
434       Teaching Today
343       Making Sense of Change Management

The top downloaded books for October were:

10   BTEC Level 3 National in IT
9     Movement and Dance in Early Childhood
8     A Manager's Guide to Self Development
8     Making Sense of Change Management
6     BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 1

PINs Week at GC LRC

Last week was PINs week at Guildford College LRC and you may have noticed staff wearing the badges in the picture to the right.

We were using to week to promote that students and staff can use our Online Catalogue Heritage to renew, reserve and even review books. This can help you to manage your loans and avoid having to pay fines for overdue books.

Just pop along to the Heritage website and enter your student number and PIN in the log in box:

If you haven’t got a Heritage PIN just ask a member of LRC staff and they can set you one up.

Have you found a book really useful or enjoyable? Why not check out our previous blog post 'Reviewing resources on Heritage' and write a review. If you are a tutor, you can use this facility to recommend useful books to your students.

Top ten e-books in September

At the end of the first month of the new academic year we find out who's got going the quickest using our e-books.  Did your subject make the top 10?

Here's the first chart based on pages viewed:

1941   BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 1
900     BTEC Level 3 Business Book 2
503     Beauty Therapy
280     Science of Beauty Therapy
200     Official Guide to Body Massage
199     Beauty Therapy Study Skills
192     Doing Your Research Project
146     Becoming a Therapist
143     Special Educational Needs, Inclusion and Diversity
137     Travel & Tourism for BTEC Level 3 National Book 1

The top downloaded books for September were:

15   BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 1
3     Supporting Drama and Imaginative Play in the Early Years
2     Carpentry and Joinery Level 1

Half Term Opening Hours

The LRC will be open at the following times over half term.

Guildford College

Monday - Friday   9.30 - 4.30

Please note: All three LRCs will be CLOSED on Monday 5 November for staff training.

iSkills comes online

Our iSkills section on Moodle is beginning to take shape and we're busy putting together information and activities that we hope will help you to make the most of the resources we have to offer.

We're pleased to launch our first item - 'Referencing: a guide to the basics'.  

The mix of information and activities provides an introduction to the basic Harvard style and will give you a good start in developing your knowledge. Don't forget to check with your tutor to make sure you're using the correct format.

Please take a look and let us know if you like it!

We've got lots of plans for more content so watch out for what's coming up - and don't forget you can also follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with what's happening in the LRCs.