The Library Blog

Edinburgh Napier University Library blog. Filled with useful and fun blog articles on using the Library, the University, Edinburgh and many other fun topics.

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Craiglockhart Library in the Summer

Our Library over Summer

13/06/2022 / / 1 Comment

Our Library over Summer

The exams may be over, but our campus libraries are still open and offering a full range of services. That means that you still have access to laptop loans, printing, study space, and group study rooms. Also, Click and Collect and Inter Library Loans services are still operational. During staffed hours you can still contact us or come to the helpdesk for assistance.

Although you have finished your studies for the summer the library may still have something to offer:

Merchiston library has a wide selection of novels, poetry and photography books.

Craiglockhart Library has French, German and Spanish textbooks if you are interested in learning another language.

Sighthill library has books about birds, animals and plants for nature lovers.

Use Librarysearch to check out what is available!

You can also still access our relaxation spaces to take some time out or have some quiet time.

Don’t forget our online services where you are able to access electronic books and journals throughout the summer break. Also, Box of Broadcasts has lots of summer themed programmes to enjoy:

Countryfile Summer Diaries​

Secret Scotland​

Roads Less Travelled​

Britain’s Best Walks with Julia Bradbury​

Iain Robertson Rambles​

All Aboard! The Canal Trip​

Nature’s Calendar (Summer)​

Travel Man (48 hours in….)​

The Great British Seaside Holiday-Timeshift

And when the weather permits, why not visit the extensive grounds around Craiglockhart campus where you can take a walk or relax and take in the fantastic views of Edinburgh.

We hope you decide to use the library this summer, but if you don’t have a great summer and we will see you again in September!

By Vivienne Hamilton

For more Summer Ideas why not read our Summer Escapes article here!

 

 

World Ocean Day logo, blue

World Ocean Day Wednesday 8th of June 2022

08/06/2022 / / 1 Comment

World Ocean Day Wednesday 8th of June 2022

World Ocean Day was recognised by the United Nations in 2008. It advocates for protecting, restoring, and learning more about the blue planet. The ocean connects us all and we want to create a better and more sustainable future, as well as conserve marine ecosystems and life.

Did you know that the ocean covers over 70% of the planet? Also, 70% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by oceans?

It is home to most of the biodiversity and sadly due to pollution levels, coral reefs and marine life are diminishing. Therefore, as humans, we can take action to protect and understand our relationship with the ocean and its habitat.

 

Turtle

Turtle

But how can we help?

  • You can support the campaign, whether this is online, a physical event, or sharing information around the world! Here is how you can help below:
  • Use educational materials found on the website.
  • Connect with your local aquarium, and schools, and amplify the event through blogging (like this one for example), signage, podcasts, and social media!
  • If you feel brave, you could deliver presentations (interactive alongside the ocean creatures), or if you live near the oceans, you could even host a guided walk.
  • Organise competitions around writing articles, books, or poems on saving our oceans.
  • Get creative and upcycle any materials found on the beaches that contribute to ocean pollution. · Sign the petition Conservation Action Focus – World Ocean Day – World Ocean Day
  • Spread the word and access promotional resources to engage communities on social media.

 

Protect World Ocean Day Beach Scene

Protect World Ocean Day Beach Scene

 

The marine conservation society in Scotland has a responsibility to ban any damaged activity such as trawling and dredging. You can find more information https://www.mcsuk.org/about-us/where-we-work/our-focus-in-scotland/

 

There are also links on the library’s Box of Broadcasts to understand more about Oceans and the incredible creatures that live in them:

https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/125AA041?bcast=127865111 https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/118B147A?bcast=127040971

Search the library catalogue for books on Oceans.

Take action here 

Edward Clarke Collection Image

The Edward Clark Collection

30/05/2022 / / 0 Comments

Hidden treasures: The Edward Clark Collection

The Edward Clark Collection, housed in the library at the Merchiston campus, is not as well-known as it should be. It is one of the only two surviving examples of what was once a widespread phenomenon in Britain: printers’ libraries. The other survivor is St Brides Library in London.

The Edward Clark Collection consists of around 5,000 items illustrating the development of the book from the 15th century. More specifically, it concentrates on the development of typography, the techniques of printing illustrations, and fine bindings. The collection is located within the Campus Library at the University’s Merchiston Campus.

Printers’ Libraries

The first Edinburgh printers’ library was established in 1858. The technical and reference collections continued to be used up until the end of the 19th century, afterwich it is not clear what happened to them. Formal educational requirements for printing apprentices were established after World War I. The Clark Collection was put together as a teaching resource, mainly in the 1930s, to illustrate printing technologies, type design and book production from the 15th century to the present day. As well as the treasures highlighted on the Collection website it is a treasure trove for the historian of print.

Over the last 2 years, whenever access was possible, I have consulted type specimens, trade journals, company histories, technical manuals and books about print production and the design and making of books. These included James Watson’s History of Printing in Scotland (1713), Caleb Stower’s Printer’s Grammar (1808) and T.C. Hansard’s Typographia (1825), and looked again at a long-standing favourite of mine – John McCreery’s poem The Press, printed in Liverpool as a type specimen in 1802.

It is a privilege to work with this collection, and I am very grateful to all the library staff who have made this possible.

Dr Helen S Williams

Honorary Edward Clark Fellow

h.williams@napier.ac.uk

Biscuits

National Biscuit Day

29/05/2022 / / 0 Comments

Today is the day: National Biscuit Day

Since 2014, we have been honouring May 29th as National Biscuit day

Biscuits can be dated back as long as there were baked goods, dating all the way back to Ancient Egypt but perhaps they would have been seen as more dried breads. The sugar trade in the eighteenth century changed and by the nineteenth century, we were seeing McVities, Crawford and Carr began setting up (daysoftheyear.com)

In Britain, we consumed the most biscuits of any other country (ScotsmanFoodandDrink). In fact, Brits eat roughly 52 biscuits per second! Now that’s a lot of biscuits. And now we all want to know what biscuit reigns supreme, the to go, the absolute fave. Well, it’s of course the humble yet delicious chocolate digestive. A third of the British population rank chocolate digestives as their favourites (ScotsmanFoodandDrink). This is followed by the chocolate hobnob then the Jammie Dodger, fourth favourite is the custard crème and in finishing off the top five is shortbread. Do you agree with the top five biscuit list or disagree, what’s your favourite biscuit. And most controversial is a Jaffa Cake a biscuit or a cake? So many questions to ponder about this national biscuit, mull them over with your favourite biscuit.

Read more about biscuits through Librarysearch.napier.ac.uk

 

By Maya Green

 

Meet your Subject Librarian: Rob O’Brien

23/05/2022 / / 0 Comments

Photo of Rob O’Brien and Tess Dalton (the woof), Rob’s fellow monster movie fan at home.

Meet your Subject Librarian Rob O’Brien

Rob is the subject Librarian supporting the School of Applied Sciences and the Department for Learning and Teaching Enhancement.

“I joined the Library at Edinburgh Napier in March, having worked in a similar role at Leeds Beckett University for the last few years, and I’m enjoying settling into my new team and life in Scotland.

The best part of working in a university library for me is getting to meet such a diversity of students and staff and learning about their learning and research interests. Not many jobs give you an opportunity to learn and have new thoughts every day. Also, I still can’t believe my luck in having constant access to a university library with all its space and collections. When I was boy, growing up in a seaside town in Ireland, my local library was about the size of a corner shop and I wasn’t allowed to borrow from the “grown-ups collection” (no matter how many varieties of fake moustache/beard combinations I wore to the service desk).

When not working, I like to read (forgive the librarian cliché), play guitar (terribly), cycle (well, pretend cycling on an e-bike), play badminton (if anyone can recommend a club in Edinburgh who might have room for a surprisingly bad player that would be most appreciated), and hang out with my four-legged friend, Tess (the most fun by far).

I’m looking forward to meeting all my new colleagues outside a computer screen very soon and introducing myself to the confectionery counter at Sighthill Café (which I have heard good things about).”

By your Subject Librarian Rob O’Brien

Check out Rob’s fantastic Libguide here for resources

Meet Another of our New Subject Librarian’s Maria here.

 

 

Keep your heid and read logo

Keep the Heid and Read!

11/05/2022 / / 0 Comments

Keep the Heid and Read!

Scotland’s Reading Moment 2022

We all know the pleasure of becoming absorbed in the plot of a really good book! That feeling of being unable to put it down as you are desperate to find out what happens next. Reading provides us with magical encounters, opens doors to different worlds and gives us the opportunity to experience other cultures and communities.

To celebrate the joy reading can bring and the benefits it can have on our mental health and wellbeing, the Scottish Information and Library Council (SLIC) have partnered with mental health charities, publishers, booksellers, and authors to bring us the ’The Reading Moment’, a public libraries initiative.

As part of this initiative, SLIC is asking people across Scotland to dedicate SIX minutes of their time on Wednesday 11th May 2022 to read a book.

See the Keep the Heid and Read! website if you’d like to find out more about Scotland’s Reading Moment 2022 and would like to pledge SIX minutes of your time to join people all over Scotland reading on 11th May 2022.

https://www.keeptheheid.scot/

You can also borrow fiction books from all our Libraries, including eBooks. Check out librarysearch.napier.ac.uk to see what we have. Need a quick guide to Librarysearch? Read one here on our blog!

Also, don’t forget your local libraries. Edinburgh city libraries are a rich, free resource for books and they have all the latest best sellers so why not visit one today.

By Sarah Jeffcott

Mental Health Awareness Week 9th-15th May 2022

09/05/2022 / / 1 Comment

 

 

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

 

Mental Health Awareness week is an annual campaign to focus on achieving good mental health. It is part of the Mental Health Foundation that was established 21 years ago.

This year the campaign explores loneliness, the effect it has on our mental health and how we can reduce loneliness. Loneliness is a subjective feeling experienced when the need for social contact and relationships are not met. Although, loneliness doesn’t necessarily always mean it is the same as ‘being alone’.

Throughout the pandemic, many of us have faced isolation under the lockdown rules creating separation from friends and family.

 

Libraries and Mental Health 

Libraries can play an important role in bringing people together, fostering connections and communities. The Shelf Help collection at Edinburgh Napier University Library has been created to help students cope with different aspects of life such as starting university, managing finances, and eating healthily on a student budget. There are a wide range of books in Shelf Help aimed to help students understand and manage their health and wellbeing. These include books on topics such as dealing with stress and anxiety, specific learning difficulties including dyslexia and dyspraxia, and sexuality and relationships. Within Shelf Help there is also a loneliness section where you can find links to books on Library Search which can be borrowed or browsed in the library including:

 

Navigating Loneliness by Cheryl Rickman

The Cure for Loneliness by Bill Howatt

 

There is also a link to the ‘The Lonely Hour’ podcast where Julia Bainbridge aims to de-stigmatize loneliness by discussing the importance of finding joy in solitude and connecting with yourself. https://libguides.napier.ac.uk/c.php?g=653422&p=4968443

During Mental Health Awareness Week there will be displays in each ENU Library promoting the Shelf Help collection where you will be able to find books related to loneliness and other mental health topics. Please feel free to borrow the books from the displays!

 

Picture of books on a library shelf

Picture of books on a library shelf

 

 

Here are other ways that can help to tackle loneliness:

· There are group study rooms available for collaborative study at resourcebooker.napier.ac.uk. Studying together can help gain fresh insights into sharing knowledge!

· Join a club, class or even a society! This provides a sense of belonging and awakens that creative spirit. Edinburgh Napier’s Student Association holds societies to meet new people with similar interests. Find more information about the different societies at https://www.napierstudents.com/teamnapiersocieties/atozsocieties/

· Self-care, such as exercise, meeting friends and family, sleep and eating nutritiously have physical and emotional benefits to improving your well-being. You can check out resources

on the library blog for further support and building resistance https://blogs.napier.ac.uk/library/virtual-relaxation-space/

 

Group Study

Group Study

 

See the My Napier webpages for more information on Counselling and Wellbeing Support provided by the University.

 

Edinburgh Napier University support:

Counsellors and Mental Health Advisers

9am-5pm, Monday-Friday

0131 455 2459 counselling@napier.ac.uk

Emergency and Out of Hours Contacts

http://breathingspace.scot/

https://edinburghcrisiscentre.org.uk/

https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

https://ednightline.com/

See the My Napier webpages for a full list of useful emergency & out of hours contacts.

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week/event-map

 

By Jemma Lidgard and Sarah Jeffcott

Graduation heart picture

Graduating this year? This article is for you!

02/05/2022 / / 0 Comments

Congratulations!

You’ve reached the end of your course, you’ve passed all your exams and so onto Graduation!

It’s that time of year when we say Love Your Library, please clear your library record before you leave!  Unsure whether your record is clear? Sign into LibrarySearch and select Library Card, you’ll find any loans and fines detailed here.

It’s very easy to return items, just scan them through our self-service kiosks and pop them into the returns box.  Laptops can be returned to a Lapsafe or Library Help Desk.   If you’ve fines to clear these can be paid through LibrarySearch or appealed if there’s been extenuating circumstances.  You can also post books back to us if that’s easier for you.  Here’s our contact details if you need to get in touch library@napier.ac.uk or 0131 455 3500.  Don’t forget we’re also open as normal over the Summer!

Anyway, we’d just like to say we’re sorry to see you go and would like to wish you all the very best with your future career or studies!

May day spring cherry blossom

May Day The Beginning of Spring

01/05/2022 / / 0 Comments

Springtime

Is there anything that gladdens the heart of the city-dweller more than the glorious pink of cherry- and the wondrous white of apple blossom lining the grimy streets? Personally, I feel my spirits soar every time I wander along an avenue of blossom and turn up my face to the delicate petals raining down like confetti. Laburnum, too, delights with its brief but brilliant burst of yellow. (Okay, so it’s poisonous, but nobody was planning to eat it!) May really must be the most beautiful and optimistic month, as the light stretches and the air starts to warm up after those nippy April mornings.

The History of May Day

Maybe it’s this abundance of light, colour and new growth that inspired our pagan ancestors to celebrate the beginning of the month. They’d elect a May Queen and a Jack-in-the-Green to lead the festivities which included dancing around the maypole (every village had one), painting faces green and dressing up a local person in a caricature of a horse. The fun continued after the Christian church was established until those killjoy C16th Puritans banned maypole dancing as a heathen activity of drunken wickedness (which to be fair, it probably was).

Recent Times

In recent times, May 1st has become synonymous with something much less frivolous and decidedly more serious: work. Labour movements across the world have inspired action since the earliest days of industrialisation, but official commemoration of May 1st as International Workers’ Day began in Chicago when, in 1886, the American Federation of Labor implemented an 8-hour working day as a new standard of fair practice. In 1904 it was adopted around the world, and now May 1st is recognised by many as a workers’ holiday.

Scotland

Closer to home, Beltane is a Gaelic festival of fire that is traditionally celebrated on May 1st to mark the beginning of, um, summer. In Edinburgh, revellers usually make their way up Calton Hill before celebrating en masse. If you want to take part in the organised event, you’ll have to set off the night before.  See https://beltane.org/

You may be familiar with the old proverb “ne’er cast a cloot til the May be oot.” You’d be forgiven for believing that the May in this case refers to the month, but in fact, it specifically refers to the May tree, an old name for hawthorn, that beloved staple of hedgerows across the land that produces a gorgeous white blossom in May. Hawthorn is the only plant in UK vernacular to be named after the month in which it blooms.

We hope you enjoy this Mayday, whether you’re working, strolling through a garden of cherry blossom, dancing around a maypole or warming yourself against a roaring communal fire. Bring on the summer!

By Lesley McRobb

Read more articles on celebrations here on our blog:

St Patricks Day

Chinese New Year

Scottish traditions

Wild Animals of Scotland Update. Image of an Osprey

Osprey update for 2022

25/04/2022 / / 0 Comments

If you followed the ospreys at Loch of the Lowes last year, you may be interested to know that LM12 has already returned! You can watch his return to the nest here.

More Information


Staff and volunteers at the reserve, as well as a global audience of webcam watchers, are now eagerly watching for the return of LM12’s mate, the female osprey NC0. The pair successfully fledged three chicks in their first two seasons together (in 2020 and 2021).

Loch Arkaig osprey webcam will go live soon.

By Vivienne Hamilton

Read our earlier article on the Ospreys here.

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