Library click and collect service (Photo: Skye Brackpool)

Refurbished lecture theatre

Bramber seminar room before (Photo: Skye Brackpool)

Refurbished Bramber seminar rooms (Photo: Skye Brackpool)

As many staff have been working from home in recent months, you will not had the opportunity to see the changes to some campus spaces.

With Covid-19 meaning students are studying remotely and with the majority of staff working from home, many of the refurbishments of the general teaching spaces (GTS) and essential ground maintenance have been able to be carried out.

As the pictures illustrate, many of the lecture theatres and seminar rooms are much improved following recent works.

Improvements include: study-conducive lighting; ceilings; carpet; painting; improving IT and AV works – for improved provision of Panopto; and LED panels for light fittings.

Robert Hutton, Director of Estates, Facilities and Commercial Services, said: “The absence of people on campus means, while some work has had to be put on hold, we have been able to carry out much-needed maintenance work on our general teaching spaces, our grounds, the tree-survey work, extra road works, roofing, which would normally cause disruption to our students, staff and visitors.

“Not all of the work we have undertaken is visible, but is vital work for the maintenance and sustainability of our campus estates.

“We’re pleased we’ve also been able to improve our carbon ratings and, where possible, we’ve sourced items such as carpet from a local manufacturer to reduce our carbon footprint. And fundamentally, we can provide a good study space.”

The general teaching space improvements have happened in: Arundel – on ground floor; Bramber level 2; Arts; Ashdown; Chichester; Essex; Freeman; Fulton; Genome Centre; the Medical School; and Pevensey.

And since closing the Library buildings in March, the Library staff had been working remotely to provide staff and students with online access to resources and support.

On 22 June they began to reintroduce access to printed materials through a click and collect service. This was carried out in consultation with library staff, University Health & Safety, SEF and campus trade unions to ensure it could be done safely and to ensure the necessary social distancing signage and layout was in place.

In the first week, Library staff have dealt with 409 requests: from 118 different people, including a mix of undergraduate and postgraduate students, staff and three external visitors, with 215 items being issued.

Jane Harvell, Director of Library Services and University Librarian, said: “It has been great to be able to offer our students and staff the chance to access research material through our click and collect service and I am very grateful to everyone who has worked hard to set this up.

“The number of users we have seen reinforces this is a really valuable service and we are continuing to work closely with Health and Safety, SEF, our staff and our unions to ensure changes to the service we provide are done with the health and safety of the staff who work here and the people who use our services as a top priority.”

If you want to use the click and collect service:

• Please use Library Search to locate the item you require and, if it is showing as available, request the item in the normal way.
• You will be able to collect the requested items between 11am and 3pm, Monday to Friday (once you have received a confirmation email).

If you have any queries, please get in touch by emailing the Library team.

The Library continues to offer online services.

Any further reintroduction of services will be communicated to staff and students as soon as more information and new guidance becomes available.