Tag: Edinburgh (Page 4 of 5)

Staying on Campus over Christmas?

15/12/2021 / jemmalidgard / 0 Comments

Christmas is a period of relaxation and spending time with family and friends. However, some students may be staying on campus over Christmas due to living far away and this can be an opportunity to explore festive activities or take some time to relax.

There are advantages to staying on campus over Christmas like having more space, peace, and quiet! The library even has Ebooks to get you in the mood for Christmas for example the classic, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Activities include the Christmas Market, Edinburgh Napier University’s Carol Service, and Hogmanay 2022. There is even a Christmas Tree Maze you can get lost in and the Santa Fun Run & Walk at Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh is open to registration to help fundraise for Children in Scotland who live with threatening illnesses:

Edinburgh Christmas Market

https://www.whenyouwishuponastar.org.uk/events/2021-12-05-edinburgh-santa-fun-run-walk-2021

https://www.napier.ac.uk/about-us/term-dates/christmas-arrangements/whats-on-in-edinburgh

https://you-well.co.uk/edinburgh-christmas-market/

https://www.edinburghshogmanay.com/

Perhaps you may want to visit and check-in with your friends, which also opens opportunities to explore more of the United Kingdom. Or even hike the wonderful mountains and hills of the Scottish Highlands, where you may even find patches of Snow- the Cairngorm Mountain near Aviemore is best known for Skiing and Snowboarding in Scotland!

Snowy mountain Highlands

The University is here if you need a little extra support over the holidays:

https://www.napier.ac.uk/study-with-us/undergraduate/student-support

Support and Wellbeing Over The Exam Period

06/12/2021 / julietkinsey / 0 Comments

stressed student needing Support and Wellbeing

Source

During exam time, it’s important to look after yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. The library is here to support you and your wellbeing over the exam period.

Relaxation Spaces

Each campus library has a relaxation space where you can take a break and relax on comfy furniture or try a mindful activity like colouring or doing a jigsaw puzzle. Check out our virtual relaxation space here on the Library Blog for some excellent wellbeing resources.

Shelf Help

We also have Shelf Help which is a collection of resources aimed at supporting your wellbeing. There are print and ebooks, tv shows, podcasts and more which we’ve organised into themes. You can find resources to help tackle stress, insomnia, anxiety and low self-esteem as well as cookery books to help you eat well on a budget and ways to deal with procrastination and increase your productivity.

Spotify

If you are looking for some relaxing music to listen to while you study, the Library has some Spotify playlists for you here.

Get Outside

One of the best things you can do is to get outside and have a walk in the fresh air. Although don’t forget to wrap up warm in the cold Scottish winter. Nature is proven to help us feel better. Read more on this with our article on “thriving in nature”

Contact

Library opening hours can be found here You can also contact the library 24/7 by phone and email on 0131 455 3500 and library@napier.ac.uk

The university is here to support your wellbeing and you can find out more about the services they offer here

By Julie McGregor

Book Week Scotland (15th- 21st November 2021)

15/11/2021 / julietkinsey / 0 Comments

As the nights draw in and winter approaches you might be thinking about the pleasure of cosying up on the sofa with a good book and, if you’re wondering what to read next, look no further!

Book Week Scotland is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and between 15^th and 21^st of November, there are events taking place across the country to celebrate books and the joy of reading. This annual celebration is organised by the Scottish Book Trust (SBT) working in partnership with libraries and organisations throughout Scotland. They organise digital or in-person events including workshops, author readings, film showings or the spoken word, to reach a wide range of audiences across all age groups. Check the website for events taking place online or near you.

Every year, the SBT hosts Your Stories, a writing project which aims to encourage members of the public to reflect upon and share aspects of their lives inspired by a theme. The theme this year was Celebration. Anyone can submit a piece of writing and each story submitted is published on the website. A selection of these stories has been published in a book, Celebration, which is freely available in venues up and down the country during Book Week Scotland. The book is also available as a PDF or to download from the SBT website. If you’ve ever considered writing but haven’t known where to begin, the SBT website provides a range of resources to help you get started.

We are pleased to let you know there will be copies of Celebration available (for free!) to collect in all three Edinburgh Napier University Libraries and in the three student residences during Book Week Scotland (while stocks last). Pick up your copy before it’s too late!

Enjoy Book Week Scotland; whether you go to an event, pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read for so long, or simply take a moment to reflect on a celebration meaningful to you.

You can join Book Week Scotland on Facebook at facebook.com/BookWeekScotland

You can follow Book Week Scotland’s Twitter updates at twitter.com/BookWeekScot, and using the hashtag #BookWeekScotland

scottishbooktrust.com

By Sarah Jeffcott

Meet your Health and Social Care Librarian: Maria King

11/10/2021 / julietkinsey / 1 Comment

Introducing the Subject Librarian for the School of Health and Social Care, 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 / julietkinsey / 0 Comments

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.

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.

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!

Edinburgh in the autumn

27/09/2021 / jemmalidgard / 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

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

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!

Welcome back to campus

06/09/2021 / julietkinsey / 0 Comments

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 1^st 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 14^th 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 / julietkinsey / 2 Comments

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

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.

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 / jemmalidgard / 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

· 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

🏳‍🌈 Celebrating Pride Month at Edinburgh Napier University

01/06/2021 / julietkinsey / 5 Comments

Source

The month of June is Pride Month and here at the Library we “pride” ourselves on being an inclusive and welcoming place to visit. We thought it might be interesting to share with you some history about Pride Month and show you some resources for learning more about LGBTQ+ culture.

The reason that Pride occurs in June is because it marks the date of the Stonewall riots in America. This was a significant turning point in LGBTQ+ rights, galvanising movement towards greater equality. The first Pride parade occurred a year later on the anniversary of the riot, and parades around the world have marked the occasion ever since.

Pride Month is a celebration of how far LGBTQ+ rights have come and about bringing attention to work that still needs to be done. It’s also about having a lot of fun and some truly fabulous parades!

If you are an LGBTQ+ student you can join Edinburgh Napier’s LGBTQ+ Society or find out more about the student LGBTQ+ community on the Queer Napier site. Staff can join the University’s thriving LGBTQ+ Network or visit our web pages to learn more about becoming an ally.

The Library has a wealth of books and articles on the subject. From the history of LGBTQ+ rights to current Legal information to keep you informed. Use LibrarySearch to find what you are looking for, or contact us for help with any of your research needs.

Here are some items available through the Library to get you started:

Same-sex, different politics: success and failure in the struggles over gay rights

Lgbt Activism and the Making of Europe A Rainbow Europe

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people (LGBT) and the criminal justice system

Happy Pride Month 2021! 🏳‍🌈🌈🏳‍🌈

Tag: Edinburgh (Page 4 of 5)

Staying on Campus over Christmas?

Like this:

Support and Wellbeing Over The Exam Period

Relaxation Spaces