Never be afraid to ask a Librarian!

Library Central

2012- 2013

Information on…

Library services at Mid Cheshire College

Books and other resources for your

course

Help to find the information and support

you need to get top marks

Full of surprises

Never be afraid to ask a Librarian!

Library Central at Mid-Cheshire College

Welcome!

You can be sure of a warm welcome in our Libraries from all of the Library

team. We are here to help you to find information from books, journals or

online so that you can get the best marks you can. We can also help you

to use any of the resources in the library.

Please remember always bring your student card in with you - you may

want to borrow something from the library

When?

Hartford library is open half term breaks, Easter and summer

vacations. (Closed bank holidays).

Please ask for details of the opening times

Hartford opening times Term time

Winsford Campus library opening times

Term time

Monday & Tuesday Monday, Thursday & - Friday 8.30am - 4.45pm 9am – 4pm

Wednesday & Thursday Tuesday & Wednesday

8.30am - 7pm 9am – 7pm

Friday 8.30am - 4.15pm

Never be afraid to ask a Librarian! Page 3 of 10

Where is Library Central?

At Hartford the Library is on the top floor of the main block. Take the

stairs from reception and follow the signs

The Learning Zone is on the first floor just along from the middle

staircase

At Winsford Campus we are on the first floor, room 101

Students are welcome to use any of our centres regardless of

which campus they are based at.

How?

You can email us on library@midchesh.ac.uk

At Hartford our phone number is 01606 720646

At Winsford our phone number is 01606 720652

So now to tell you a little bit about what we have for you…

We have books.

The Library has about 25000 books at Hartford and about 5000 at

Winsford. The books are divided up so they support the courses being

taught at each site.

How do I find a book?

Search our library catalogue from anywhere where you can access the

internet (college, home, work etc).

Available online @ http://library.midchesh.ac.uk

If you can’t find what you want on the shelves please ask a member of

staff who will be pleased to help you.

Never be afraid to ask a Librarian! Page 4 of 10

Books from other libraries

If a book you need for research is at the other site and you are unable

to collect it, we may be able to arrange for it to be brought to your site for

you.

Music and Sound

We have a range of music CDs and audio books.

You can borrow these free of charge. Most of these

are at Hartford but can be sent to Winsford on

request.

Film and recordings

We stock a range of DVDs for both entertainment and to support your

learning. DVDs are held at both campuses; some of these we have

bought and some are recorded from the television. The subject related

recordings are housed with the subject

areas and the entertainment DVDs are

located on carousels within the libraries.

Again you can borrow these free of charge.

These resources are here for your use - So if

you think we are missing something, let us

know!

Never be afraid to ask a Librarian! Page 5 of 10

Borrowing

You may borrow up to 6 items at a time (8 for Higher Education

students). You must bring your student ID card with the items you want to

borrow to the issue desk. Most things can be borrowed for 3 weeks. A

small number of the most popular books, all the journals, DVDs and CDs

can only be borrowed for one week. If you need anything for a longer

period you can renew them.

Renewals

You may renew ONCE by email or phone (See contact information on

page 3). Alternatively or you can bring them in to any library and renew

them over the counter (No limit unless item is reserved for another user).

You can also renew online using your Library account – log in through the

Library catalogue using your network username and password.

Overdues

A few days after an item goes overdue we will send you a letter to

remind you to return the items you have on loan.

Please be aware that we do charge fines for all overdue items. We

don’t charge much, just 5p a day per item. But if you have several items

overdue it quickly mounts up. Non- return of items will result in us

contacting your Tutor and blocking your computer access

Back to the books…

Factual books

A majority of our books are factual and are bought

to support the subjects being studied in college. Winsford has a collection

that reflects the subjects being taught there so it has books mainly for

care, health, education and uniformed public services. Hartford has a

more general collection and a very large collection of art books.

Never be afraid to ask a Librarian! Page 6 of 10

Fiction

If you enjoy reading you are welcome to borrow from

our fiction collections. We buy new books regularly and

always welcome suggestions from students of what can

be added to stock.

Children’s books

We have a small children’s book collection at Winsford. So if you have

a small person at home who loves books feel free to dip in to this

collection.

Magazines and newspapers

We have newspapers and magazines covering various subject areas.

The latest edition is kept as reference only, but back copies can be

borrowed for one week.

We subscribe to Infotrac, an online

database, through which you can access all

UK newspapers; some as far back as 1990.

Access through Moodle (see page 9).

E Books

Copies of full text, online textbooks available 24/7 through the College

Moodle pages and the Library catalogue. Click on Ebrary to access, or

the title of an E book on the catalogue.

Remember that the libraries are the only places in college where

people can come and work quietly. To allow other people to

concentrate, please turn your MP3 player down and switch your mobile

on to silent. Thank you.

Never be afraid to ask a Librarian! Page 7 of 10

On to Computers…

Library Central has computers in all its centres.

Normally computers are available on a first come

first served basis. However you can reserve a

computer in advance online for up to 3 hours a

day. Go to http://pcbooker.midchesh.ac.uk to

make a booking.

Please remember that the computers are provided for students to do

their coursework. If you are not doing coursework and the centre is busy

you will be asked to log off and free up a computer.

Be aware that college staff are monitoring what you are doing on your

computer!

How many are there?... The Library at Hartford has 20 bookable computers (HE students can book

5 in the HE study room). The Learning Zone on the first floor at Hartford has

41 computers, 28 of which can be booked.

Winsford Campus has 24 computers in the Library, 12 of which can be

booked by students.

The Learning Zone (First floor at Hartford)

Opening hours for drop in computing

(term time only)

Monday – Thursday 9.00 – 4.45

Friday 9.00 – 4.15

Do come up to Hartford Library outside these hours or if all the computers

are being used.

Never be afraid to ask a Librarian! Page 8 of 10

How to log in…

The log in box on the screen has two lines.

Where you are asked for a name, type in

the six digit number off your student ID card.

For the password type in your postcode in lower case with no spaces.

Eg CW8 1LJ becomes cw81lj

To make your account secure we recommend you change your

password to something you can easily remember.

Do not tell anyone else your password.

Everyone has to agree to the network acceptable use policy

before they can proceed.

If you have any problems with your account, or think it might have

been misused, go and see the IT Technicians on the first floor.

What can you do on the computer?... Search the Library Catalogue, College Moodle pages, online

databases or the Internet

Use programs to prepare your work, print off and check your e mail

Access your college e mail account –

logon number@student.midchesh.ac.uk

Download work and resources from Moodle

Online resources

Click the Internet button and the College

Moodle home page appears. To access online

resources, click on the Library Central logo at the

top and log in. Choose the online resources box on the left to

access electronic materials.

Never be afraid to ask a Librarian! Page 9 of 10

There are also links to a collection of recommended freely available

websites sorted by subject.

You must check all facts carefully, particularly with any information you

find on the Internet. Remember, anyone can put anything on the Internet!

Please ask library staff for help. To use these resources from home you

can access via Moodle using http://moodle.midchesh.ac.uk

Printing

Every student gets a printer allowance

of 300 pages free at the beginning of the

academic year (That’s 300 sheets of A4 black

and white printing). If you use them up you will

need to buy more! Ask the Library staff how

to do this.

Colour printing is available over the counter at Hartford and Winsford.

Bring your work to us on a memory stick or e mail it as an attachment to: -

library@midchesh.ac.uk. We do charge 30p a sheet for this service and

we can only print out in A4.

Photocopying

Colour or black and white copying can be done in both libraries. (The

Learning Zone is black and white only).

On the back of your student ID card there is a magnetic strip. You buy

photocopy credits at the Library desk, which are added on your student

ID card and then you can swipe the card at any photocopier to copy.

At Winsford Campus you need to buy a photocopy card to make

photocopies, these are available from the Library desk.

Photocopying costs

A4 B&W 3p

A3 B&W 6p

A4 Colour 15p

A3 Colour 30p

Page 10 of 10 Never be afraid to ask a Librarian

At

The Library

Mid-Cheshire College

Chester Road

Hartford

Northwich

CW8 1LJ

01606 720646

Email library@midchesh.ac.uk