Category Archives: Library Space

Take a Break

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Here at the SSL we would like to encourage all readers to take regular breaks and study in healthy balance and moderation.

Here are our top tips for taking a break!

WALK

A walk can help to stimulate your brain, allowing you to study far more effectively. Exercise is proven to improve your mood through the release of endorphins, helping to relieve stress.

The SSL is surrounded by so many green spaces.

From the University Parks, to the Magdalen College Deer Park, to even Holywell Cemetery, there are plenty of nearby green spaces to explore!

We’ve created a map of our favourite lunchtime walks.

Feel free to pick up a map and discover somewhere new during your break.

Or why not recommend your favourite walk to us?

CHANGE SEATS

Working at the same desk on the same seat all day can sometimes hinder effective study, so why not switch it up? You’d be surprised how physical perception can affect your perspective on work. Even something as simple as moving to a different desk, or seat, can help!

There are a variety of different study spaces in the SSL.

Why not try the comfy seating area, located to the right of the Issue Desk?

Or why not use your break to travel to a new library? Library hopping is a great way to break up your work and refresh your mind with a new location.

 

Coordinating breaks with your friends allows for social interaction which will break your own internal monologue and give you a chance to relax and focus on something outside of work.

If you want to chat with your friends and not leave the Manor Road Building, why not use the Manor Road Common Room, located on the first floor just past the Manor Road Cafe?

You can even eat in the Common Room.

FOOD & DRINK

Studying while hungry or dehydrated can make it much more difficult to focus and process information. Luckily there are spaces nearby to eat and drink.

Manor Road Café 

Open Monday to Friday 8:00-17:00

Missing Bean Café

(St Cross Building) 

Open Monday to Friday 8:00-16:00

Don’t forget if you use your KeepCup you can bring your drink into the library!

How do you take breaks? Give us your suggestions!

Welfare and Wellbeing

At Oxford we are committed to the mental health and wellbeing of all our students.There are a number of services available which provide support to readers during their studies at the University. Advice is available from your college, department, central University services, fellow students and the Student Union.

Click here to find out more about the support available.

Library PC and WiFi Access Points Upgrade: Work taking place in the Library the week of Mon 9th December

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We are planning some improvements to our library PCs and Wi-Fi access points. For the PCs, increased memory and processing power will result in faster loading times and the ability to better handle our diverse range of programmes. They will also be sustainably built, take up less space and have an ergonomic design. New Wi-Fi access points will be mounted on our ceilings to improve the reliability and strength of our Wi-Fi signal.

The PCs in our main computer area will be replaced on Monday 9 to Tuesday 10 December. Work will be carried out to each desk in turn, so there will always be some PCs available for use in this area. Additional PCs can be found in our our Information Skills Training Room.

During this period we will also be replacing the 2 Quick Search PCs in our library entrance area and the 4 adjacent to our journal and statistics shelving.

Also on the week of 9 December, work will be carried out in the library to add new access points to our ceilings to improve the Wi-Fi signal. The work is scheduled to take place from Monday 9th to Wednesday 11th. Disruption should be kept to a minimum as the noisy work will take place outside of library opening hours.

 

Lighting Testing and PC Upgrade: Work taking place in the Library on Thurs 5 December

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Our lighting is being tested on Thursday 5 December from approximately 4.30pm onwards. The work will involve switching off sections of lights for 2-3 minutes at a time. These areas will remain illuminated by emergency lighting at all times, so disruption will be minimal.

The PCs in our Information Skills Training Room will be replaced on 5 December with upgraded models. The room will be inaccessible during the period of work. Alternative PCs can be found in our main computer area (behind our Self Issue machines).

 

Library PC and WiFi Router Upgrade (December 2019)

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We are planning some improvements to our library PCs and Wi-Fi routers. For the PCs, increased memory and processing power will result in faster loading times and the ability to better handle our diverse range of programmes. They will also be sustainably built, take up less space and have an ergonomic design. New Wi-Fi routers will be mounted on our ceilings to improve the reliability and strength of our Wi-Fi signal.

The work will be taking place in December, full details are as follows:

The PCs in the Information Skills Training Room will be replaced on 5 December. The room will be inaccessible during the period of work. Alternative PCs can be found in our main computer area (behind our Self Issue machines).

The PCs in our main computer area will be replaced (except for the Bloomberg and Eikon PC in our Data Area) on Monday 9 to Tuesday 10 December. Work will be carried out to each desk in turn, so there will always be some PCs available for use in this area. Additional PCs can be found in our our Information Skills Training Room.

Also on the week of 9 December, work will be carried out in the library to add new routers to our ceilings to improve the Wi-Fi signal. The work is scheduled to take place from Monday 9th to Wednesday 11th. Disruption should be kept to a minimum as the noisy work will take place outside of library opening hours.

 

Not sure where to study in the SSL? Find out more about our study spaces

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Not sure where to study in the SSL? We have a variety of study spaces/seating for you to choose from. We also have different volume levels assigned to our study spaces, so you can easily find a silent space or somewhere you can talk. Read on below to discover the different options and then all you have to do is decide what suits you best.

Prefer to study with your friends? Does being surrounded by other people studying help you get down to work?

Our open plan seating might be your best choice. We have 2 options available:

A large open plan seating area on the south side of the library. Floor to ceiling windows ensure lots of natural light. The desks are roomy which means you can spread out your study materials. Desks are equipped with devices to lock your laptops to, ethernet and power sockets (either above or below the desks). This area of the library is designated a Silent Zone (silent study, no conversations)

Our second area of open plan seating is located on the east side of the library. These desks are partitioned, to allow for a degree of privacy. Again there is plenty of natural light from the windows adjacent to the seating. Desks are equipped with power and ethernet sockets. This area of the library is also designated a Silent Zone (silent study, no conversations)

Is being surrounded by others distracting for you? Do you prefer a space where you can be completely on your own or with only a few people nearby?

Our study carrels, individual partitioned seating or individual study desks will be your best choice:

We have 10 study carrels. Two are double carrels and the rest are single. All are sound proofed, have power sockets and Wi-Fi. All have over head lighting and are equipped with desk lamps. The carrels designated for general use operate on a first-come, first served basis. See our guide to study carrel etiquette.

If the study carrels are all in use, there are individual desks situated on the west perimeter of the Library, overlooking the car-park, which are also helpfully removed from distractions and noise (turn right at the end of the Issue Desk and then go left past the Discussion Rooms to reach this area). Note that these desks do not have power sockets. This area of the library is designated a Silent Zone (silent study, no conversations)

photo (c) John Cairns

The alternative is the study area at the back (north) of the library (running along from in front of the Central Graduate Study Room towards the East Graduate Study Room) this is a partitioned seating area for quiet individual study. Half of these seats have been designated a laptop free zone. We request that readers do not use a laptop or a device with an external keyboard at these seats. Tablets and other devices with silent keyboards may still be used. The seats in this area are clearly labelled. All desks in this area have power and ethernet sockets. This area of the library is designated a Silent Zone (silent study, no conversations)

Looking for a space to have a discussion, give a presentation or engage in group work? Our Discussion Rooms will suit your needs.

photo (c) John Cairns

The small room comfortably seats 8 and the larger room seats 16.  Both rooms are equipped with whiteboards and projectors. Marker pens, board rubbers and remote controls for the projectors can be borrowed from the issue desk. Ethernet and power sockets are also available. Both rooms are equipped with dimmer switches, so you can choose the light level you require. These rooms can be booked in advance by members of the departments in the Social Sciences Division for academic-related purposes. If they are not booked, please feel free to go in and use them. These 2 rooms have been designated a Discussion Zone: Discussions, presentations, group work and conversations are permitted

Are you a Social Science Graduate student and want a dedicated area to study? Do you want plenty of desk space to spread out? Our 2 Graduate Study Rooms will be a good choice for you.

The Central Graduate Study Room is equipped with white boards and all desks have power and ethernet sockets. A Manor Road IT printer is also located in it. The room contains two electronic and one manual height-adjustable desk. Windows along the back wall provide natural light. This room has been designated a Quiet Zone where brief, low volume conversations are permitted.

The East Graduate Study Room contains desks with partitioned seating and power and ethernet socks. The room contains a standing desk and an electronic height-adjustable desk. Widows on 2 sides provide natural light. This room has been designated a silent zone (silent study, no conversations).

An alternative space is the Q-Step Centre Teaching Lab. The room is used for teaching Quantitative Methods from 1pm – 6.15pm every weekday of the teaching term (Weeks 1 – 8). Outside of these hours the room is accessible to all Social Sciences graduate students. Undergraduate students who attend Q-Step sessions and who wish to practice on these PCs may be registered to use the room on request: ask a member of Library staff.

Forgotten your laptop or would prefer to work on a proper computer with desk space? Our computer area or Information Skills Training Room will be a good choice.

Our main computer area is equipped with 23 PCs, this includes a dedicated Data Area with PCs containing specialist software.

The Information Skills Training Room offers 20 PCs, LCD projector and screen. It is occasionally booked for training sessions but if it is free, you are welcome to use it. This area is normally less busy than our main computer area. All the monitors and keyboard are housed within the desk, so lift the covers of the desks to access them. This room is equipped with a dimmer switch, so you can choose the light level you require.

Prefer to be more relaxed and sit in individual comfortable seating? Our comfortable seating area will suit your needs.

There are 8 blue comfortable chairs on the south side of the library next to the open plan study area. There is plenty of natural daylight and a power socket available under the coffee table in this area.This area of the library is designated a Silent Zone (silent study, no conversations)

We also have a range of ergonomic furniture for you to use:

The Library has 7 height-adjustable desks (5 electronic, 2 manual) and 6 fixed height standing desks in the following locations:

 

Electronic Height-Adjustable Desks

  • 1 at the end of the Reader PCs Area (also equipped with a PC)
  • 2 in the study area on the east side of the Library
  • 1 in the Central Graduate Study Room
  • 1 in the East Graduate Study Room

 

Fixed-Height Standing Desks

  • 3 in the study area on the east side of the Library
  • 1 at the end of the partitioned searing area outside the East Graduate Study Room
  • 1 in the quiet study area on the west side of the Library, outside the Q-Step teaching lab
  • 1 in the East Graduate Study Room

Manual Height-Adjustable Desks

  • 2 in the Central Graduate Study Room

Ergonomic Chairs

The Library also has 10 RH Logic ergonomic chairs in the following locations:

  • 2 in the study area on the south/southwest side of the Library
  • 2 in the Laptop-free zone / partitioned seating area
  • 5 in the study area on the east side of the Library
  • 1 in the Reader PC area (with the height-adjustable desk)

Standard adjustable chairs are available in the Graduate Study Rooms and at desks equipped with PCs. Library staff will fetch or move these on request.

Look out for signage indicating the volume level for a zone:

 

Silent Zone: Silent study, no conversations

Main seating areas & East Graduate Study Room

 

 

Quiet Zone: Brief, low volume conversations permitted.

Central Graduate Study Room

 

 

Discussion Zone: Discussions, presentations, group work and conversations are permitted

Large Discussion Room and Small Discussion Room

 

 

 

Feeling lost in the Library? Look out for our maps, guides and signs

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If you are struggling to find a book, room or service in the Social Science Library, look out for these sources of help:

Library map – consult the large map in the Library entrance area or pick up a map from the Issue Desk to use in the library.  You will also find the map on the ends of the shelves in the main aisle of the library and as a PDF on our website.

Signs – look out for these signs to point you to the different rooms in the library.

Plan of the bookshelves – use this to find the general location of your book (and see how far you need to walk…)

Stack end signs – these tell you the range of shelfmarks on that side of the shelves.

How to…Understand shelfmarks poster – if you have ever wondered what the letters and numbers in the shelfmark of your book actually mean, then take a look at this poster.  It also explains how books are ordered on the shelf, eg the first line of numbers are whole numbers and so the order is 1, 2, 10, 15, 150, 1200 …

Library staff – we are always happy to help.  You can find us at the Issue Desk, or out and about in the library replacing books on the shelves.

 

 

 

 

Maintenance work taking place in the Central and East Graduate Study Rooms on Thurs 8 and Fri 9 August

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The Central Graduate Study Room and East Gradate Study Room will be unavailable for use on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 August 2019.

The furniture in this room is being upgraded to provide better power sockets, and it will be out of use while the work is completed.

Please contact Manor Road IT for an alternative Manor Road networked printer.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Online journals now displayed alongside our latest print journals

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We have redesigned our Current Journals Display, located in the main aisle of the library – not only is it more colourful but we have also added a selection of our online journals.

Open Access journals are clearly identifiable and popular weeklies received in print (New Statesman, The Economist) are easy to find.

Our Current Journals Display provides a flavour of the titles received across the subject areas supported by the Social Science Library.  To check if we subscribe to a particular journal please search SOLO.

If there is a journal title that you would like to see on our Current Journals Display, or that you would like us to subscribe to, please tell us.

Work taking place to replace lighting in the library (18 March to 12 April)

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Over the Easter vacation, work will be continuing to replace our fluorescent ceiling lights in the SSL with energy efficient LED lights. This will take place from Monday 18th March to Friday 12th April. The area the work will be carried out in is the section of books located to the rear of the library (between the two Discussion Rooms and the Q-Step Teaching Lab). See red outlined section below:

While the work takes place, this section of the library will be unavailable to readers. This will also include the individual study desks adjacent to the book shelves along the west wall (see blue block within the red outline section above).

Note that sections of this overall area will be made available again as the work progresses.

Library staff will operate a fetching service for books located in the above area. Readers should go to the Library Issue Desk to request material.

The work will involve some noise disturbance at times. However, we are hoping to restrict this to between 9am – 10am each morning. There may be some additional noise disturbance between 1pm – 2pm.

The LED light fittings use less than half the amount of electricity of the old fitting. This is part of a University of Oxford Estates Services project to improve lighting efficiency throughout the Manor Road Building.

With such a positive outcome for the library we appreciate your understanding while the work takes place.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to email us.