Oh, happy day!

Monday 24th November - 8.00am - the Medical Library re-opens its doors.

The majority of the redevelopment work is over, and we're proud to welcome you into the library via the "normal" route: into the Clinical School and up the spiral staircase.

There will be a settling in period as we get used to our beautiful new surroundings - please bear with us.

We hope that you'll enjoy our new look!

See you Monday!

The end is nigh: an early Christmas present

Congratulations to you all - you've survived the disruption of our move to the temporary issue desk and the noise of the building works.

Thank you for your tolerance.

The only thing left is to re-open our newly renovated reception area, and open up the new computer room, but this shouldn't take very long - watch this space!

But in view of your patience, we thought you deserved an early Christmas present, so......

Extra long book loans

All books loaned (or that have their loans renewed)

from 17th November till 9th December
will not be due for return till 5th January 2009.

This will allow loans of up to 7 weeks, in comparison with our normal 4 week loan period.

Black Tuesday

Due to circumstances beyond our control, and a desire to keep noise disruption in the library to a minimum, the Medical Library will be closed to readers

8.00am - 1.00pm on Tuesday 23rd September 2008.

Other particularly noisy periods will be 7.00am - 9am on Friday 19th and Monday 22nd September.

We're very sorry for the inconvenience caused, but hope that concentrating noisy building work into specific time slots will reduce disruption at other times.

And relax....

After the "Big Push", we've got the new Issue Desk installed at the new entrance - well done to everyone who's found us!

This route into the library will be in operation till November 2008.

The Big Push

Right - we have quite a lot to do between now and Monday 15th September in order to move to the next stage of our redevelopment:

• build a new door


• install furniture in the new IT room on Level 4


• relocate our library offices into the new IT room on Level 4


• close down the current entrance


• set up a temporary entrance and issue desk

You can imagine that this may have a disruptive effect on the Library Services, and also on the Library as a quite place to work.

But how will it affect you?

• Saturday 6th September: we'll be building a door near the books. This will cause a bit of noise and disruption
  
• Monday 8th & Tuesday 9th September: furniture for the new IT Room on Level 4 will be delivered and installed. Watch out for delivery men.
  
• Tuesday 9th - Friday 12th: Library staff will be moving offices - this might mean that we're a bit distracted, and there might be some noise as we dismantle our current office - please bear with us!
  
• Friday 12th September: We'll be closing the current entrance to the library, and opening a new temporary entrance which will be in operation till mid-November. Look out for the signs directing you to the new entrance.

Changes in the Library - from 1st September onwards

From Monday 1st September, we'll be doing a bit of work preparing for a temporary entrance to the library. While the staff offices and library issue desk area are being worked on, the entrance to the library will be via a side door - this will all be sign posted in due course.

It does mean that we have to get make some alterations which will affect you, the users of the library.

• The study carrells located between the Issue Desk and the books will be taken out of use, to accommodate a temporary Issue Desk and the temporary entrance to the library
  
• The photocopiers will be relocated into the Wolfson Room


• Most of the area which used to be comfortable seating (next to the current journals) will be given over to storage during the refurbishment (though we will try to maintain some of this seating for your use.)
  
• All library staff will re-locate into the room which is being built on Level 4.
  
• By Monday 15th September, the entrance to the library will have re-located (more details in due course.)

Inevitably there will be some disruption, particularly in relation to where you might prefer to sit, but we will try to keep this to a minimum.

Forthcoming Distraction - last minute change

Factors beyond our control mean there's been a last minute change of date for this disruption.

THURSDAY 28TH AUGUST will be the noisy day in the library - particularly after 5.30pm

Forthcoming Distraction: Big Noise

I'm afraid that we're expecting a lot of noise disruption at some point in the week beginning August 25th 2008.

The builders tell us this should be the worst of the noise for the whole redevelopment project.

We don't know which days will be worst affected, but watch this space - we'll update this blog as soon as we know.

We know which day will be worst affected!

We apologise for this inconvenience.

Good bye comfy seats!

Good bye comfortable chairs - for the duration of the library refurbishment, anyway.

If you are used to enjoying the comfortable chairs near the current journal racks, I'm afraid I have some bad news.

In order for us to redevelop the library offices to provide space for the seminar rooms we have planned, we have to move our mobile stacks (currently located in the library offices). They will be relocated on a temporary basis in the area beside the current journals.

From Friday 8th August we will be relocating the contents and the stacks themselves - this means noise and disruption!

Particularly noisy areas: Current journals, study carrolls beside the books.

We apologise for the inevitable disruption, and for the temporary loss of this seating area.

Building work in the week ahead

Wednesday 9th - Friday 18th July

• Scaffolding will be errected outside the library on the wall opposite the new car park.
  
• The empty journal shelves on level 4 will be removed.

Notice of Noise Disruption in the Medical Library

As from Wednesday 9th July 2008, the work for the Library redevelopment will begin in earnest.

This will clearly have noise and access implications for anyone wanting to use the Medical Library. We expect the disruption to continue till late October 2008.

We are very sorry for this disturbance.

We hope that the improved library interior and amenities will make it all worth while.

We'll be updating this blog with work plans for the coming weeks - hopefully this will help you plan your visits to the library around the worst of the disruption.

Start dates for Library Redevelopment

We've cleared the space.
We've re-organised the journal collection.

Now we're ready to begin Phase 1 of the Library redevelopement.

Contractors will be arriving on site from Monday 30th June 2008. This will involve the removal of the empty shelving and the creation of a new IT suite on Level 4 (the upper floor of the Library).

We hope that this will have relatively little impact on our services, but are aware that noise will be an issue, for which we apologise.

Phase 2 will have much more of an impact on the day-to-day working of the library: the entrance will be moved temporarily, staff offices will be evacuated. The only constant will probably be the noise, I'm afraid!
We will continue the deliver services as close to normal as possible, and we'll provide more details nearer the time.

Expected end date of the works is 20th October 2008.

Plans of the library redevelopment

What will it all look like?

Have at look at what will be in store: http://www.medschl.cam.ac.uk/library/redev/plans.htm

Journals Consultation - Library response

The results are in, and your comments have been noted. The response to the Journals Consultation are now available at http://www.medschl.cam.ac.uk/library/redev/journals.htm

Work on removing, redistributing and re-arranging the journals in the Medical Library is due to start on Monday 28th April 2008.

Many thanks again to everyone who contributed.

Upgrade!

Hurrah - the computers in the Wolfson Room are being upgraded on Friday 18th April 2008.

However, this means that there will be no access to computing or printing facilities from 8.00am till 5.00pm on Friday 18th April.

We apologise for any inconvenience, but hope the improved facilities will make it all worth while.

Journal Consultation

These journal consultation surveys are now closed. Thank you very much indeed for your contribution.

We are considering all the comments submitted, and will be announcing our decision in early April 2008.

Journals Consultation - one week to go

Library Redevelopment & Journals Consultation

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to our Journals Consultation so far - your comments have been logged and are much appreciated.

But it's not too late if you haven't taken part already - the lists of journals and the web-survey will be available till 25th March 2008.

If you wish to contribute to this consultation, please go to: http://www.medschl.cam.ac.uk/library/redev/journals&survey.htm

• review the lists of journals we propose to remove
• note any titles that you would like to suggest we retain
• visit the web-based survey form where you will be able to record your view on each title that interests you, and/or make general comments on what is proposed.

More details are available from www.medschl.cam.ac.uk/library/redevelopment.htm

We look forward to hearing from anyone who has yet to comment.

Library Redevelopment & Journals Consultation

Users of the Medical Library will see some big changes in the summer of 2008 when the Library embarks on an extensive £1 million refurbishment project.

It marks a major step towards achieving a core objective in the Library's strategic plan, namely its migration from a print-based collection to a service built principally around e-resources.

Over the next five to ten years the Medical Library is therefore planning the phased removal of all the printed journals housed on its upper floor, concentrating its services and collections (possibly still including a small number of printed journals) on its lower floor. Meanwhile the upper floor will be released for use by the Clinical School to support its educational activities.

The first phase of this conversion programme is now under way.
But we need your input!

Part of the project will be the construction of a new IT area on the upper library floor. To release space for this we need to remove at least 1,000 metres of shelving - about 1/3 of the upper floor's capacity - and journal backsets.

We have identified two categories of selected journals to be removed from the library, but we want to hear your views.

More details are available from www.medschl.cam.ac.uk/library/redevelopment.htm