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Bodleian Libraries news for MPLS - March 2023

Wellbeing Room in the RSL

The Radcliffe Science Library (RSL) will be reopening for Michaelmas Term 2023 after a long refurbishment. Along with reading spaces, group study rooms and individual study carrels there will also be opening a Wellbeing Room, in the RSL basement. These types of spaces are becoming more popular in libraries in recent years, especially since Covid.

The purpose of wellbeing spaces is to promote wellbeing, relaxation and mindfulness as such the room is being designed with soft furnishings and calming colours that evoke comfort. We plan to have a range of different comfortable seating from sofas to armchairs to bean bags. We also want the space to be flexible so that the furnishings will be easy to move.

Within the room we will have a selection of reading materials on topics of wellbeing, mindfulness and Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity. As well as this there will be nature imagery in the room and sensory toys, particularly useful for those with neurodiversity.

The RSL have some great and exciting plans but the most important aspect of this space is getting input from the MPLS and MSD community. I’d appreciate any feedback but particularly from any student or staff in the department who are responsible for wellness. I have a few questions to get you thinking but any feedback or comments would be appreciated.

  • Do you have any suggestions for furniture or decorations in the room?
  • Do you have any ideas of equipment the room should have?
  • Are there any events that you would like to run in the space when the RSL reopens?
  • Is there anyone else you think the RSL should consult about the Wellbeing room?

Please let me know your thoughts on the Wellbeing Room, rachel.scanlon@bodleian.ox.ac.uk or put me in contact with the relevant person in the department. 

Radcliffe Science Library Diversity Portrait Project - Help the RSL celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion in Science and Medicine

The Radcliffe Science Library (RSL) has launched two events to celebrate and highlight past and present contribution to science and medicine at Oxford from a diverse community.

  • The equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) writing competition open to all undergraduates in science and medicine.
  • A call to nominate staff and students who have made outstanding contributions to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion.

The results of the competition and nomination will be part of an exhibition display when the RSL re-opens for Michaelmas Term 2023.

Details of the RSL events are on the Science blog. 

Contact your subject or outreach librarian

Whether you have questions about how to start a systematic review, the best way to conduct literature searches or help with handling your references you can always reach out to your subject librarian or outreach librarian. The list of subject librarians is available on the Bodleian Libraries website.

Open Access

Open Access training has now been broken into two online training sessions.

Fundamentals

Covers the basics of Open Access, breaking down the jargon and points to key tools to assist you in publishing Open Access. The next session is 16 May bookable on the iskills website.

Logistics

After you have gotten to grips with the Fundamentals session this session will cover the logistics of researching, publishing, and locating open scholarship resources and tools at the University of Oxford. Covering topics from depositing in ORA, applying for block grants and locating and interpreting funder policies. The next session is 20 April bookable on the iskills website.