Welcome Back

It's great to see the students back in the Library after the Easter break and looking like they are serious about their college work. We'd like to wish good luck to any students who have exams coming up and remind you that the Library has leaflets, books and staff to help with any revision problems you may be having, such as organisation, prioritising workload, retaining information etc. Just ask any member of the Library staff and they will be able to point you in the right direction.

If anyone has any useful exam or revision tips please leave a comment on this post.

New competitions from the Library

We told you they were on the way, and now here they are; two new competitions for students and staff to take part in.

• To celebrate World Book Day (7th March 2013), there is a book quiz, which will run for two weeks




• There is also the annual photography competition, which this year has the subject of 'Northamptonshire'. Deadline 19th April

If you'd like to take part in either one, then pop into any of the libraries to pick up a form.
Good luck!!

We are looking forward to welcoming those students (and staff if they like) to our first Reading Group meeting. For the first meeting we'll have a fun book quiz, with a prize for the winner. Then we'll just have a chat about what sort of books everyone likes or dislikes. It'll be fun and light-hearted, nothing heavy; there may even be refreshments provided! Come along and see you what you think.

Friday 16th November 2012- The Library at Booth Lane 12pm- 1pm

News about reading Groups at Daventry and Lower Mounts will be available soon- watch this space!!

Six Book Challenge Awards Day

Congratulations to all those students who have completed this year's Six Book Challenge. You've done really well. In recognition of that and the large number of particpants we had this year, the Library has decided to have an awards ceremony.
On Monday 28th May at 10am we will be welcoming Genevieve Clark from The Reading Agency (who run the Six Book Challenge) and author Rosie Rushton. They will be here to talk to students and hand out certificates to those who have finished. This is really great news and a wonderful opportunity for students to talk to people directly involved with the Challenge and who want to hear your success stories, and someone who writes for young people.
Tutors have been informed of all details for the ceremony, but other students are welcome in at 11am if they have any questions for either of our guests.

Have a look at Rosie's website to find out more information about her and her stories
http://www.rosierushton.com/



It's time to revise!!

For those students who have exams coming up in the near future the Library staff would like to wish you all good luck and to remind you that we are here to help.
If you are struggling to organise your revision into manageable chunks call into the library and speak to a member of staff. We can help to make this stressful revision time easier by giving you advice and tips.

For AS and A2 students we have a room at Booth Lane which is being dedicated to you for revision time. Ask staff for more details. We also have displays, books and leaflets with lots of handy advice to help you out.

In the spirit of sharing, if any of you have any tips which you think could benefit others who are revising, why not post them on this board. I'll get the ball rolling.

Handy Tip- Don't try to do too much at once. Break your revision down according to priority (ie, which exam comes first) and don't put off the hard topics. They're not going anywhere and will just seem worse the longer you leave them.

Love Libraries Day

Saturday 4th of February is National Love Libraries Day. This is to celebrate and encourage the use of resources from all areas including educational and public libraries. We don't want to see any more of this essential places close down, so why not show your support by visiting your local branch this Saturady and taking part in any activities they have going on. Northampton College Library is joining in the fun by compiling a quiz. These are avaible from any of the library centres and all the questions are library or literary based. The winning entry will receive a fantastic prize, so come on in this week and see how you do!!

Happy New Year!!

The Library would like to wish all students and staff a "Happy New Year". We hope to see you using the library and working towards getting fantastic results in your courses. Remember the Library staff are here to help with any of your resource or assignment questions, so don't hestiate to speak to us when you have any enquiries. Good luck for this year.

Wallace and Gromit Tea Party Results

The libraries across the three sites would like to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed to our annual tea party and open day. We managed, with your help, to raise £465!!! This is a fantastic total and a huge increase from last year. The money goes to help sick children in hospices, so it really is a worthy cause. Thanks once again and we hope to see you this December to try and up the total once more.

Beacon Award ra ra ra!!

Huge well done to all Northampton College Library staff for winning the presigious (and elusive) ColRiC Beacon Award in Effective Integration of Libraries/LRSs in Curriculum Delivery. Loads of hard work and dedication by everyone has resulted in an acknowledgement that is really difficult to achieve. The College now has a Beacon status, which I'm sure all staff and students are pleased about. Good times!!

Study Review Week

Good morning all
Just like to say well done to all the Library staff who've worked hard over this first term. Increased volume of students through the door, extra study skills sessions and new computer system at BL have pushed us but I think we've all done great. Hope the other 2 sites have had a good term too. Roll on SRW.
To the students, hope you've all settled in now and are enjoying your course. Remember to come and ask us questions any time you have a problem with finding resourses for your assignments- we're here to help you. Have a good week off, see you November.

PS. Remember the Libraries at all 3 sites stay open during the holiday: Mon-Fri 10am-4pm. So you can still do some homework, if you want to!!

New Book Club

I thought this might be the perfect place for people to share information about books they have recently read, have always wanted to read or can recommend to others. Once the Six Book Challenge starts in January, library staff (who want to take part) will try to read a book once a month and comment on it, to support the students doing the Challenge. Any other staff or students who would like to do this are most welcome to join in.

So, since this is my idea I will start. I have just finished reading The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. It was very well-written and really made you believe in the character narrating the story. The ordinary details of everyday life within both the narrator's family life and his descriptions of towns and villages are a great contrast with the spooky and supernatural events he witnesses. I found myself completely with the character, experiencing what he does- hearing noises, opening doors into unknown rooms- and hoping for an explanation. Although you do get one, it turns out to be both poignant and horrifying. I highly recommend this book; it's not too long and evokes a really gothic atmosphere. It's apparently being turned into a film with Daniel Radcliffe, which I'll go and see, if only to compare.

Good luck with exams!!

The Library would like to wish all those taking exams good luck. Remember you can always come to the Library for advice on exam and revision techniques, study skills books and for a quiet place to work in.
We also hope that all those students who have now finished their courses at the College go on to achieve great success in the next stage of their life. Well done!!

Study Skills/Assignment help

Don't forget that there are Learning Assistants available if you need some help finishing off assignments at the end of this year. If you are struggling to understand your essay question or can't think of what research to do come into the Library at any of the three sites and there should be someone who can sit down with you and go through your work.
There are also study skills leaflets available covering areas such as IT, Exams and Revision, Assignments and How to Study. Ask a member of Library staff if you would like more information.

Example of one of the study skills leaflets available.