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.

Page 44 of 48

Meet your Health and Social Care Librarian: Maria King

11/10/2021 / / 1 Comment

Introducing the Subject Librarian for the School of Health and Social Care, Maria King

Photo_of_Maria_King

I joined Edinburgh Napier in May and have worked in similar roles previously supporting health students at both Coventry University and The University of Salford and I’m looking forward to the move up to Edinburgh. I particularly enjoy the teaching and information literacy support aspects of the role.

I have an interest in punk pedagogy, a critical approach to teaching and learning which focuses on questioning and challenging dominant discourses. This influences my practice by increasing my reflection and improvement of my own practice, increasing flexibility of opportunities for engagement in learning, encouraging criticality and ownership of learning in students, and challenging practices of librarianship that dimmish under-represented voices and groups.

My other main area of interest and expertise is in inclusive teaching practices, specifically in relation to supporting neurodivergent students. I have previously delivered training support to other teaching staff to help them improve their own practices for supporting neurodivergent students. I am neurodivergent myself so bring lived experience to this area.

In my personal life, I enjoy discovering new restaurants, craft beer, quiz shows and pub quizzes, and reading – particularly crime! I am looking forward to exploring more of Scotland and increasing my step count!

Find out more information on the resources available in this subject area, and Maria’s contact details here.

You can access the Health and Social Care Libguides on the Library website. This Libguide will direct you to the most useful search tools for finding research-based literature/evidence, academic sources, grey literature, and reliable health statistics, and show you how to get the best out of these tools for your studies and professional practice.

Libraries Week 4-10 October 2021

04/10/2021 / / 0 Comments

Libraries Week Picture for 2021

Taking Action Changing Lives : Libraries Week 4-10 October 2021

It’s Libraries week again and this year we are celebrating the best that libraries have to offer. We are looking at how Libraries are drivers for inclusion, sustainability, social mobility and community cohesion. It’s all about how libraries are “taking action, changing lives”.

Here at Napier University Library, we try to play our part.

We are proud to have run food donation drives for our local food bank, Edinburgh North West Foodbank.

Poster for Food Bank Donations

Furthermore to help support our student’s mental health and wellbeing we have created a relaxation zone where they can escape from studying and take time out. We have produced a green space filled with games, colouring, magazines and books. Similarly, we have also created an online relaxation space here on our blog for you to use when you cannot be in the Library.

Library relaxation space

We also offer many services to help our students study such as offering a postal loans service, and in addition during the Pandemic a click and collect service on books. Not to mention buying thousands of eBooks to help our students study at home.

Staff at the Library are trained to be inclusive and considerate of all the people we come into contact with. We have even held the Customer Service Award for Excellence for over 10 years.

Above all, we try to consistently improve our services to make sure we offer ways to be more inclusive and considerate of all our users.

So Happy Libraries Week to everyone out there! We all hope you continue to love and appreciate Libraries everywhere.

Check out more information on Libraries week at: http://librariesweek.org.uk/ or follow the hashtag #LibrariesWeek on social media. Furthermore don’t forget to support your local Libraries and use them for the fantastic resource they are!

Dyslexia Awareness Week promotional image

Dyslexia Awareness Week

03/10/2021 / / 0 Comments

Dyslexia Awareness Week

It is Dyslexia awareness week in the UK, and we are here to guide and increase visibility to people all over the world!  The theme this year is Breaking Through Barriers.

Dyslexia Awareness Week will take place between 03-09 October 2022.

But what is dyslexia?  

Dyslexia is a lifelong learning difficulty that can affect communication, learning, reading, and writing.  

You may be able to spot signs of this such as inconsistent spelling, sequencing, and order of words. Furthermore, as Dyslexia isn’t visible, individuals with dyslexia can often feel unsupported and may struggle with their mental health.  

What support is there? 

There are many supportive resources for Dyslexia, here are just some examples below: 

 

Post-it-notes

Organising thoughts with post-it notes.

 

You can find more information on Dyslexia in the links below:  

Link to the Offical Dyslexia Awareness Week website

Link to the British Dyslexia Association

Link to Dyslexia Scotland Website

You can find more support and information using the following link to our Shelf Help Guide

Please share your comments and thoughts with us! 

 

Edinburgh in the autumn

27/09/2021 / / 3 Comments

The Autumn Equinox has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, and although this means damper and colder days in Edinburgh, the trees will exhibit amber glows, burnt oranges, and golden browns- perfect for walks and hikes.

 

Dean Village in the Autumn, Edinburgh

Dean Village in the Autumn, Edinburgh

 

It also means salvaging your favourite jumper and putting those boots back on! Be sure to also check out events that are happening during autumn such as:

 

· The Scottish International Storytelling Festival from 15th October-31st October 2021 was originally launched in 1989 to engage people in the magic of storytelling. There are usually live, storytelling performances, songs and tales. This year there will be a series of live and online events! Click here for more information.

· A spooky Halloween Edinburgh Ghost Tour of Old Town, 11.30pm 31st October 2021 at St Giles’ Cathedral steps

· There is also the Samhuinn Fire Festival on October the 31st on the top of Calton Hill, which celebrates the transition of Summer to Winter and a stand-off between the seasonal kings! If you want to see this performance visit Beltain.org

· Bonfire Night 5th November 2021- To get a full view of the display we recommend watching the displays from the top of Calton Hill!

 

 

Bonfire

Bonfire

 

You can find even more events in the link below:

https://www.whatsoninedinburgh.co.uk/events/all-events/2021/10/

 

Don’t let the weather dampen your spirit but remember to take your waterproof with you, wherever your next adventure awaits!

The Wilderness Library: Libraries of The World Edamalakudi

20/09/2021 / / 1 Comment

How far would you travel to borrow a library book? Into town on the bus? One Edinburgh Napier campus to the other? How about trekking 18 kilometers through a forest in which you may or may not stumble across the occasional wild elephant? I’ll be honest – I probably wouldn’t bother. The patrons of the library in the remote Idukki district of Kerala in southern India, however, are prepared to do just that.

The library in Edamalakudi doubles as a teashop, which no doubt comes as a huge relief to the patrons who have climbed uphill through an impenetrable forest to pick up their paperbacks. Kerala is India’s most literate state, and the residents here – while poor and marginalised – are ardent readers. When it was first established in 2010, the library stocked precisely 160 books – all Indian classics – but over the years word of the library’s success has spread, and it has ambitions to collect a thousand more books. The library’s borrowing rate is high. We wish it a thousand books and a thousand more.

Read more about the Library here

Read our Post Libraries Around the World 🌏 for more fascinating information on different world libraries.

By Lesley McRobb

Welcome back to campus

06/09/2021 / / 0 Comments

Picture of Library staff

Welcome back to our returning students. We hope you enjoyed your summer and are ready for the new academic year. You will find there are still some covid-19 precautionary measures in place in the library and here is a short guide to let you know what has changed and what has stayed the same:

The Library opening hours can be viewed here.

Hand sanitisers are still at library entrances, and sanitizing stations are still positioned throughout libraries.

We are still operating social distancing measures, so some study spaces are unavailable. Where spaces are not in use you will see a cross on the desk and the chair will be covered up.

Group study rooms must be booked using Resource Booker, but individual spaces do not need to be booked.

Our Click and collect service continues, and you can still request books from your home campus.

Books and Lapsafe laptops which have been on loan over the summer will be due back by 1st October. After that, books will have a loan period of up to 4 months providing they are not requested by another user. Lapsafe laptops will be 14-day loans.

From 14th September you will be able to make requests for items that are out on loan.

Soft furnishings have been returned to the libraries allowing social spaces and relaxation spaces to be opened up.

The SCONUL access scheme is set to re-start in November.

If you have any questions, you can contact the library at any time.

By Vivienne Hamilton

War Poets Collection: Remembering Siegfried Sassoon

03/09/2021 / / 2 Comments

Siegfried Sassoon

September is the time when we celebrate the acclaimed war poet Siegfried Sassoon.

Siegfried Sassoon was born 8th September 1886, and died in 1967, on September 1st. Sassoon was a talented poet, writer and soldier. He received the Military Cross for bravery during the First World War.

He wrote fervent pieces that spoke of compassion for his fellow soldiers, and his anger towards those he believed could have ended the war sooner but instead prolonged it.

Sassoon continued to write for the rest of his life, publishing many important works such as Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man and Memoirs of an Infantry Officer.

 

Sassoon was sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital (Now our Craiglockhart campus) during World War One. Here he met Wilfred Owen during his convalescence, and together they produced some of the finest war poetry ever written.

Craiglockhart War Hospital (old Hydropathic Hotel) photographs of Staff and patients

Craiglockhart War Hospital

You can visit our permanent exhibition area containing more than 600 unique items. It allows visitors to get an insight into war through the experiences of the poets. Access to the War Poets Collection remains limited due to social distancing, so if you would like to visit please contact us first.

The War Poets collection at Craiglockhart campus

Not only do we have many items in our permanent exhibit, but we also have a treasure trove of exciting new material. It has been loaned to Edinburgh Napier’s War Poets Collection for the period covering the Centenary of the First World War Armistice on November 11th. The new exhibits, which will be available for public viewing, include original photographs of celebrated war poet Siegfried Sassoon, work privately printed by him and an original of his famous war protest letter of July 1917. Read more about it here.

If you would like to read some of his works, here are some sources:

 

For Library Members

Siegfried Sassoon: poet’s pilgrimage

Siegfried Sassoon : (1886-1967)

Dr W. H. R. Rivers: Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves ‘fathering friend’

You can check out Librarysearch.napier.ac.uk for access to many more wonderful University materials

Online

10 Siegfried Sassoon Poems Everyone Should Read

The Siegfried Sassoon Fellowship

 

Thank you for reading.

 

Sources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/sassoon_siegfried.shtml

https://siegfriedsfellowship.wixsite.com/siegfriedsassoon

War Poets Collection

 

 

 

Starting University in September?

30/08/2021 / / 0 Comments

It can be both an exciting and a daunting time in your life… starting university! Perhaps you are moving to a new city or accommodation and feeling a whirlwind of different emotions.

University offers you a specific area of study to help pursue your career goals as well as everyday life independence and networking.

Here are some tips below to plan your next steps:

· Talk to friends, family, and colleagues about any concerns or tips for starting university.

· Pack essentials: kitchen accessories and utensils, food, laundry basket, bedding, stationery, laptop, and any other technological devices.

 

Utensils and Food

Utensils and Food

· Start a group on Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to get to know your flat or course mates! There is also a freshers page on Instagram you can join for 2021 you can keep up to date with https://www.instagram.com/napierfreshers/?hl=en

· You may also want to think about joining a society and finding people who have the same interests as you: https://www.napierstudents.com/

· Discount!? UNiDAYS and Student Beans offer discount on food, clothing and more. You can find this via the links: https://www.myunidays.com/GB/en-GB https://www.studentbeans.com/uk

 

Remember you have got this and you can always contact Napier for support too! https://www.napier.ac.uk/about-us/contact-us

You can find more help on starting at university in the link below: https://www.napier.ac.uk/study-with-us/undergraduate/getting-started-at-uni

 

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Welcome to the Library: Introduction Sessions

16/08/2021 / / 1 Comment

Welcome to the Online Library

welcome sign outside library

This session will give you a quick introduction to using Edinburgh Napier University Library resources online.

We’ll demonstrate how to:

  • Find ebooks using LibrarySearch.
  • Find ejournal articles using LibrarySearch, and where to find specialist academic databases
  • Download the correct citation and permalink for items so that you can reference them in your University work.
  • Use LibrarySearch to organise your reading and search faster.

Welcome to the Library: Introduction Sessions

16/08/2021 / / 4 Comments

Welcome to the Physical Library

This session introduces the Campus Libraries and signposts to further support.

person holding booksWe’ll demonstrate how to:

  • Use the App to book study spaces, check your library account, add print credit and more.
  • Use the machines in libraries, like our printer/scanners, self-service checkouts and laptop loan safes.
  • Find a book on the shelf using the shelfmark number.

« Older posts Newer posts »

Contact Us

Email: library@napier.ac.uk

Telephone: 0131 455 3500

Bluesky: @ENULibrary

Instagram: @ENU_Library​

 

© 2026 The Library Blog

Theme by Anders Norén — Up ↑