Accessing ebooks and ejournals in accessible and audio formats

Date: Friday 8 March
Time: 11.00 – 12.30
Venue: Online

Would you like to know more about tools and services to make online resources more accessible for our users? The Libraries Accessibility Service is offering an online training session (based on a session originally designed for students) covering:

• Explore accessibility features on VLeBooks
• Explore an audio version of a journal article
• Find out about audiobooks available through O’Reilly
• Discover RNIB Bookshare, the Alternate Formats Service and the copyright exception for print disabled students
• Find out how to convert files to other formats using SensusAccess
• Have a list of free reading support and screenreader tools to try

Some of the tools/services covered are available to all members of the University, while others are only for eligible students.

This session will take place on Microsoft Teams. We will share the link the day before the session.

For further information, or if there is anything we can do to make the session more accessible for you (including slides in advance), please contact disability@lib.cam.ac.uk.

Trainers: Patrick Dowson and Lindsay Jones

Book a place (places limited to 30)

Introduction to Rare Book Cataloguing

Date and Time: Thursday, February 29th, 2024, 9:30-13.00
Venue: Trinity College
Trainer: Maria Giovanna Di Simone

This course aims to provide instruction and practice in the creation of bibliographic records for rare books from the hand-press era so that attendees will be equipped with the basic skills to catalogue their library’s early printed books to national standards. Focus will primarily be on 17th and 18th Century books printed in England and/or in English. Following the taught part of the training, there will be an opportunity to catalogue an early printed book yourself. 

Basic knowledge and familiarity with MARC21 and AACR2 is essential. Laptop optional (paper templates provided for exercises). 

The course will be held in the New Court Meeting Room, New Court Staircase E, Trinity College (see College Map). 

Places: 12

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Approaches to library inductions

Date: Thursday 10 August
Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm
Venue: Milstein Room, UL

Welcoming new users to Cambridge libraries is always an important and rewarding part of helping our students and other users. Join us for a series of short talks looking at different approaches to induction. This session will include presentations on:

Work undertaken at Hughes Hall on induction – Ellie Greer

Inclusivity and responding to the Alterline report at Murray Edwards – Kirstie Preest

Making a welcoming video of your Library for new students –  John Clarke and Amy Theobald, Technology Libraries, and Simon Morris and Clare Trowell, Marshall Library

Sharing induction plans across Cambridge libraries – Rose Giles, University Library

Presentations will be followed by time for questions and then the opportunity to discuss with others or think about your own approach for inductions over the coming academic year. Please register in advance – we hope to see you there! 

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LibGuides (Re)fresher Training: Accessibility, Usability and Planning

Date: Tuesday 1^st August: 11:00am – 12.30pm (the final 30 minutes will be an optional drop-in clinic)

Venue: Alison Richards Building, Room SG2. Please note: No food or drink is allowed in SG2.

Description
Join us for an engaging and informative LibGuides (Re)fresher Training workshop, designed to empower participants with the knowledge and skills to create user-friendly and inclusive LibGuides.

During this workshop, you will gain valuable insights and practical tips to revitalize your current LibGuides or create new ones. Lindsay and Dominic will cover accessibility considerations and usability best practices. Louise will lead a hands-on planning session for participants to apply the concepts discussed in the presentation to effectively structure and organise content.

The workshop will conclude with an optional 30-minute drop-in clinic, where our team of LibGuides experts will be available to address your specific questions and offer personalised assistance. Feel free to bring your own devices, guides, challenges, or ideas for a focused discussion tailored to your needs.

For all experience levels. 

Trainers: Dominic Dixon, Louise Williams, Lindsay Jones

Accessibility

We strive to make our workshop accessible to all participants. If you have any specific accessibility requirements or need accommodations, please reach out to us at disability@lib.cam.ac.uk. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive learning environment for everyone.

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InstaMasters Workshop

Date: 11 July 2023
Time: 11:00am-12:45pm
Venue: Cambridge University Library Digital Content Unit

Librarians rely more than ever on visual content, whether it is for newsletter contributions, social media posts, academic publications, cataloguing purposes, etc. This workshop will introduce attendees to some basic photography techniques to better understand how to create striking visual content, as well as providing an overview of existing good practices and Cambridge University-wide standards. The course leaders will draw from their extensive cultural heritage photography experience, as well as their respective personal projects.

Attendees should bring their camera or phone to use for the practical activity.

It will cover:

• Introduction to copyright and licensing issues
• Some social media guidelines and Cambridge University Libraries communications team strategy
• Basic photography skills (composition, colour, subject choice, etc)
• Hands-on practice round, mobilising the skills learned during the session

Trainers: Mark Box and Amélie Deblauwe
Number of places: 12

Please note: This is a repeat of the session run earlier this year.

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Visit the UL’s bookable study spaces with the Libraries Accessibility Service

Dates:

Wednesday June 14^th: 11am – 12pm

Friday June 16^th: 2pm – 3pm

Wednesday June 21^st: 11am – 12pm

Trainers: Patrick Dowson and Lindsay Jones

Description

Are you interested in finding out more about the range of bookable study spaces in the main UL and how these can benefit all users, including disabled students? On this one-hour tour you will:

• Meet at the front entrance to the UL and look at the accessible access routes into the building
• Visit the Assistive Technology Room where we will explain how users can book and show you some available ergonomic equipment. We will also give a short demonstration of Dolphin Supernova (screen reading software) and Dragon Professional Speech-to-Text. (Note: this is a small room and we may be up to 7 people. Mask wearing is recommended for this part of the tour).
• Visit the South Wing 3 Study Hub, including the Group and Single Study Rooms
• Visit the Commonwealth Room Postgraduate Study Space
• See the Acoustic Pods

We will be happy to try to answer your questions about accessible study spaces.

For further information, or if there is anything we can do to make the tour more accessible for you, please contact disability@lib.cam.ac.uk.

Number of places per session: 5

Please note that this is a repeat of the sessions we offered in Lent Term and the content has not changed.

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Professional accreditations for librarians

Date: Monday 27 March 2023
Time: 3:00-4:00pm
Venue: Online

Ever wondered what the mysterious letters in a colleague’s email signature might mean, or whether signing up for that big course is really worth it?  Come along to hear some of our Cambridge library colleagues from a variety of departments talk through their experiences with four different routes to professional accreditation.

Find out about the application processes, professional and personal benefits, and support available both in Cambridge and further afield.  Whether you already have an option in mind, or just want to hear more from people who have actually done them, please do come along. We are factoring in plenty of discussion time, so bring your questions!

Confirmed speakers and topics are:

Katherine Burchell (Office of Scholarly Communication): CILIP Chartership

Paul Cooke (Seeley Librarian): HEA Fellowship

George Cronin (Library Manager, Biological Sciences): Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education

Claire Sewell (Research Support Librarian, Physical Sciences): Teaching for Librarians course

Register here

InstaMasters Workshop

Date: 31 March 2023
Time: 11:00am-12:30pm
Venue: Cambridge University Library Digital Content Unit

Librarians rely more than ever on visual content, whether it is for newsletter contributions, social media posts, academic publications, cataloguing purposes, etc. This workshop will introduce attendees to some basic photography and videoclip techniques to better understand how to create striking visual content, as well as providing an overview of existing good practices and Cambridge University-wide standards. The course leaders will draw from their extensive cultural heritage photography experience, as well as their respective personal projects.

It will cover:

• Introduction to copyright and licensing issues
• Some social media guidelines and Cambridge University Libraries communications team strategy
• Basic photography skills (composition, colour, subject choice, etc)
• Basic videoclip skills (storytelling and editing tips)
• Hands-on practice round, mobilising the skills learned during the session

Trainers: Mark Box and Amélie Deblauwe
Number of places: 15

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Sensory awareness training

Date: Tues 7 March 2023
Time: 09:15-12:15
Venue: Milstein Room, UL

Would you like to learn more about sensory impairments? In this session you will be introduced to a range of sensory impairments including deafness, visual impairment, dyslexia, autism, ADHD and anxiety. Through a discussion and sharing of your knowledge and experiences about these impairments, you will learn to appreciate and understand them better as well as enrich your own learning and teaching strategies for disabled students more broadly.

This workshop is made of three parts:

1. Introduction
2. Recognising issues
3. Sharing experiences

Trainer: Zrinka Mendas

Number of places: 20

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Critical Reading Workshop: Train the Trainers

Date: Tuesday 14 February
Time: 11:00-12:30
Venue: Milstein Room, University Library
Trainers: Lucy Woolhouse and Paul Cooke

Are you interested in running critical reading workshops for students? This session will give you the opportunity to attend the workshop and also learn more about how you can run your own session. You will engage with all the activities that are completed by students while also getting a behind the scenes perspective from the trainers.

Number of places: 25

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