The book was placed on the shelf in the research reserve, the lower ground floor area which will be home to some 50km of the University’s heritage and low use print collection.

This area is the realisation of a desire to bring more of the University’s collections into a single space, and make it more accessible to Library users. Knowledgeable staff will be available to facilitate access to this research material, with a small consultation area within the space for those who need access to the collections in situ.  There will also be a dedicated research space on the first floor of the new Library, which will include both a quiet reading room and a breakout space for improved researcher networking and collaboration.

The task of moving over 62km of books and journals from old library to new got underway this week as Guild President Jack Mably placed the first book on the shelf.

The work to start moving the books and journals on the open access shelving will not start until after exams have finished to ensure students still have access to the texts they require to revise. All the books are expected to be moved by early July.

In the new library, the shelving is arranged is a far more intuitive layout to make it easier for everyone to find the books they want. In addition, the shelving is in the middle of the building, leaving the spaces near to the windows for study desks, to allow people working in the library to benefit from views across campus.

The new library will open in early August.