Library refurbishment

Over the coming months we will be continuing to redevelop parts of the main Stoke (Thompson) library to improve your study spaces.  This page will keep you updated on everything you need to know regarding these improvements so please check it regularly!! 

The refurbishment of Cadman is now well under way and this is resulting in some inevitable disruption to access and services. We will give advance notice to minimise disruption for you wherever possible and thank you for continued co-operation during the summer as this work to improve your library continues.

Saturday 12th May and Sunday 13th May

To enable cabling work to be carried out in the Blackstone area of the Thompson Library, the electricity supply will be off from 8am Saturday 12th May to 4pm Sunday 13th May.

This will mean no access to the Main collection in the high density shelving area on the ground floor (green room), during this time.

However the Law Library will be open from 11am on both these days to access Study and PC facilities.

Thank you again for your continued patience while this work is being carried out, Information Services.

We are now looking at the design of the ground floor study space of the Thompson library and the Cadman building and we would like to have your feedback on the type of furniture you would like to see in this area.

Please have a look at the mood board in the Cadman entrance foyer and pop a post it note on the board with your thoughts and we will get back to you

There have been some new developments in Cadman, D105 is now a study area.  This new space is designed for quiet study (with PCs and laptop plug-in areas) and is available 24/7. It’s on the landing from the main stairwell at the front of the building.

It will eventually become a bookable teaching room (as well as open access study space when not booked) when the Cadman redevelopment is complete, but there will lots of study spaces for you to choose from by then.

To see where all our study spaces are located please our Study areas page.

With the changes we are making in the Cadman Building we realise it may be difficult to find your way around,  with that in mind we have created an interactive resource map of the building, called “Where can I find……?” this interactive screen is located in the reception area of the Cadman Building.

This allows you to select a floor and then check (using the options list to the left) where your chosen resource can be located (or not) on that floor. Animated arrows then indicate in what area on the floor the resources are to be found.

You can also use the  ‘flythrough’ guides shown on this page which illustrate how to get to either the Core or Main book collections from the Cadman Reception area.

New temporary study spaces.

The computers and study areas on the first and second floor of the Blackstone building (where the book stock used to be) are no longer accessible to customers as they are being refurbished.

However there are new temporary study spaces available for you to use in the old John Smith book shop area and more will also be added to other areas of the building over coming weeks – watch this space.

Please check the library catalogue for the location of the book you need, it will be in either "Core" or "Main"collection.

If your book is in the ‘Core Collection’, it is located on the first floor opposite the newspapers, current journals and next to the Flexible Learning Area.

These items are identified by an orange label on the book spine, and they are items which are frequently used or essential reading. 

If your book is in the ‘Main Collection’, it is located in the new high density shelving on the ground floor. 

The items in the main collection are less frequently used or supplementary reading.

Self Issue machine

A self issue machine is now available on the high density shelving floor.

If the Library Catalogue shows that the book you need is in the main collection you will need to use the high density shelving to access this.  These can be slightly daunting the first time you use them, but once you learn a few simple rules you should find using these quite straighforward.

There are some basic instructions on the end of each bay of shelving and we have also created a short video to show you what to do - as well as what not to do! - when accessing a book in the high density shelving.

If you do have any difficulty in finding what you need, please ask a member of staff and they will assist you during staffed opening hours. 

During self service opening hours, you will need to leave your contact details with the security staff at the front reception and we will contact you as soon as we move to staffed opening.

We will continue to add updates on the moves to this page as they happen!!