Resource Centre celebrates twenty year anniversary

Professor Jane Owen-Lynch (centre) celebrates the anniversary with Julie Walker and Janet Clowery Professor Jane Owen-Lynch (centre) celebrates the anniversary with the Resource Centre team, Julie Walker and Janet Clowery

Mon, 12 Oct 2015 16:37:00 BST

 

Panorama of the Resource Centre as it was in 2004
The Resource Centre as it looked in 2004

 

The old card index based catalogue system Old technology: the card index catalogue

Twenty years ago, the School of Applied Sciences Resource Centre opened for business on the second floor of West Building, or as it was known then, Z-Block.

‌The new Resource Centre replaced smaller facilities in the Geography and Hospitality Management departments, providing a service for students across the School for the first time. There have been plenty of changes over the years, but the basic idea of a quiet study area with access to subject specific resources and support hasn’t changed much in two decades.

Of course the technology has changed, with the original index card catalogue system being computerised at the start of the Millenium. Today’s students are more likely to take advantage of the A0 poster printing facilities than buy display boards to glue their work to and USB sticks have replaced floppy disks and recordable CDs.

Julie Walker, Janet Clowery and Tracie Mullhall pictured with the Charter Mark certificate and a letter from Tony Blair
Resource Centre Manager Janet Clowery(centre), Julie Walker and Tracie Mulhall pictured with the Charter Mark certificate and Tony Blair's letter in 2005

‌The Centre was opened by the then Vice-Chancellor, Sir William Taylor CBE, in 1995 in the area now occupied by the laboratories of IPOS. A hastily arranged relocation followed, after it transpired that the floor of the bridge corridor might not be able to take the weight of all the books, and it’s been there ever since.

2005 saw the Resource Centre become the first area of the University to be awarded the Charter Mark standard for customer service, receiving letters of congratulation from then prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The Resource Centre has been regularly reassessed and still holds the Customer Service Excellence award which replaced Charter Mark.

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