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Hi,
Has anyone had experience of integrating their architecture collection into a big, new multi-disciplinary library?
The background here at UEL is that until a couple of years ago, the Architecture department had its own small site library. Then the department moved to a new location here at Docklands and the collection was merged into the existing medium-sized campus library.
This summer, UEL's Barking campus will close down completely and all of the departments there (and library) will move en masse to join us at Docklands. We're getting a new and much bigger library to cope with the changes.
I joined UEL just as the first move was taking place and there were some anxieties in the department about how the move would affect the library service. The site library had allowed a personal, informal service and I have tried to retain elements of this within the constraints of a bigger operation. Now, as the we expand again, these anxieties are surfacing again at Programme Committees, etc.
Mindful of the fact that architecture students use libraries in a different way to say computing students, I'm trying to think of ways of establishing a sort of architectural "space" within the new library. I have in mind an area where the map collection, the RIBA Collection and the API/Avery indexes might be housed together, perhaps combined with a current architectural journals display. The department are keen on this idea, but the library management are less so - particularly any suggestion of "separating" part of the overall collection in any way.
Any thoughts? Should I persevere?
Peter
Peter Williams
Subject Librarian for Architecture and Computing
University of East London
Library and Learning Centre
Docklands Campus: Mon; Thu-Fri
Barking Campus: Tues-Wed
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020 8223 2961