Supporting Your Teaching

Academic Staff

The Drill Hall Library relies on its links with academic staff to:

  • help build and maintain a collection and to ensure that we provide information skills training appropriate to the teaching and research currently taking place within the Universities at Medway
  • enable both students and staff to obtain maximum benefit from the Drill Hall Library and the services that we provide

Your Contacts in the Library: Academic Support Librarians and Academic Support Assistants

Your key contact in the library is your Academic Support Librarian (ASL) who is responsible for library services to your department. Each Academic Support Librarian is supported by an Academic Support Assistant.

Academic Support Services

The library offers a variety of services that specifically aim to support your teaching and research needs such as:

  • Inductions and tours of the Drill Hall for new staff and students
  • Reading list checking and book ordering service: purchase of specific resources to support your students' learning (books, journals, training/educational DVD's, training manuals, databases, electronic materials etc.)
  • Library skills workshops available on request for all students. Workshops can be tailored to your requirements and time frames, however examples of what we can offer include:
    • Library research skills
    • Using E- Journals
    • Using the Internet for research
    • Subject specific database training such as EBSCO Host, JSTOR, Westlaw, Lexis Nexis, Butterworths, Social Care Online
    • Finding Statistical Information
    • Research sessions prior to student assessment deadlines

    If you would like us to provide library skills training for your students please contact your Academic Support Librarian.

  • IT Skills Training: Group or one to one sessions available on MS PowerPoint; MS Excel; MS Word and MS Access

    • For IT skills booking arrangements please refer your students to our Academic Support Assistant responsible for training, .

  • Enquiry desk service: opportunity for students to obtain one to one support from our duty Academic Support Librarian within the Drill Hall Library with their research requirements.
  • Subject Guides: subject specific online information for your students on selected resources available from the Drill Hall Library service and other reputable agencies and organisations.
  • Library representation at your school / departmental meetings to discuss any issues relating to the Library and to keep you up to date with what is available to support your research and students' learning
  • Work with you to support course development and to ensure that collections of relevant and up to date resources are maintained for you and your students.
  • User Group: a forum for academic staff students and UMSA representatives to discuss developments and services with Senior Library and Information Services Managers from the partner institutions which make up the Universities at Medway

How can you help us?

There are various ways in which you can help us to ensure that we provide a service which meets your teaching needs:

  • Help make sure your recommended books are in the Library: please send your module guides to your Academic Support Librarian as soon as possible. Your librarian will check them and arrange for any items not already in the library to be ordered if available. We will also add your reading list to the Library catalogue.
  • Involve us in your students' learning by inviting us to deliver induction tours and training sessions on library and information retrieval skills.
  • Invite us to your meetings so we can discuss any library issues and keep you up to date with new developments.
  • Promote our IT skills training sessions to your students.
  • Come to our briefings and training sessions on new services and facilities.
  • Consult with your Academic Service Librarian at an early stage in the planning of new modules and programmes.
  • Poster Printing: if you set an assignment which requires your students to produce a poster please contact your Academic Support Librarian in advance to discuss printing arrangements.