Study facilities
Library
The Martial Rose Library, named after a previous Principal, is housed in a modern three-storey building which includes a substantial extension which was opened in 2000 by HRH The Duke of Kent. The Library extension received an architectural design award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The Library houses a collection of almost 200,000 books, videos and sound recordings and receives some 600 journals. This stock covers all the subjects offered by the University, as well as many fields of general interest.
There are study spaces for more than 450 readers, of which 150 are equipped with computers linked to the University network. These PCs offer access to the Internet and other electronic information services, as well as a range of standard software packages.
The Library collection is supplemented by the Inter-Library Loan system, through which students can obtain books and periodical articles at a nominal charge.
IT facilities
Information Technology and the practical use of computers is now an important part of many courses. The University is continually extending its IT installations and currently offers around 400 networked PCs for student use. The majority of these are located in IT Centres and in the Library, and staff are available to provide assistance if needed.
Applications available include word-processing, desktop publishing, individual email, spreadsheets and graphic manipulation as well as access to Library networked information sources and the internet.
All students are provided with basic IT training to familiarise them with the systems and applications. A dedicated IT trainer supports students’ IT skills throughout the year. There is a rolling programme of courses and an ’IT Surgery’ for one-to-one or small group sessions.