Happy New Year!
2014 was a busy year for the Library, with much going on as ever.
We have continued to develop and improve our online presence, with the introduction of the OIL page on the University’s WebLearn platform, which is now coming up for its first birthday and contains scans of many resources added at the request of the academic staff. We also have the LibraryThing widget on the blog, which enables readers to keep track of our new additions.
March saw the completion of the project to upgrade the Library’s windows, which led to some disruption for a time at the far end of the library and on a related note all the computers were also upgraded to the Windows7 operating system (ha ha).
Later in the spring we began displaying the beautiful merchandise from the Bodleian’s Love and Devotion exhibition – items are still available and are on display at the entrance to the Library. The posters have proved especially popular.
Over the summer we undertook a few alterations. The Apply Staff books were reclassified into the Library of Congress classification to bring them into line with the rest of the library (more of which later), which has happily proven not to be as confusing for anyone as we feared it might, despite items shifting around a bit.
OIL staff were also involved in the reclassification of the books on Open Shelf at the RSL in the Special Collections Reading Room, prior to that collection’s move into the Charles Wendell David Reading Room in the Weston Library, which opened its doors to readers on the 29th September.
Michaelmas Term saw the excitement of the Name the Stapler competition – a winner for which has been nominated but has yet to be presented with their prize, hence the lack of official announcement – and the usual busy period as our new intake found their feet and our more established readership got back into the swing of things.
As soon as Term finished, Kate started moving the books in the Library of Congress sequence into the space vacated by the DS section which she had been reclassifying. The LC section is now all the way round to the first bay by the windows in the nearest corner to the Sackler, and runs under the windows at the side. Labels are in place, but do ask if things have moved a long way from where they were. The total number of books reclassified in 2014 was 2231 items, representing 1635 shelfmarks, and there is still a long way to go!
The move finished just as we were closing for the Christmas break, which was convenient as it means that the reclassification can begin again in earnest now that things are back to normal.
We hope everyone had a relaxing holiday, and wish everyone all the best for 2015!