Congratulations Suzanne, MSc(Econ)!

We’re sending huge congratulations out to our colleague Suzanne Taylor, who this year achieved her Masters in Information and Library Studies. Well done Sue! We’re all really proud of you.

Suzanne found out that she’d passed this summer, but we thought we’d wait until the start of term to share the news as we’re sure a lot of you out there will want to offer some congratulations too. Suzanne will be familiar to those of you at Townhill Campus as the librarian for Psychology and Counselling, Performing Arts and Educational Studies, and regular visitors to Townhill Library will recognise her smiling face! This year, Suzanne has moved to Mount Pleasant Campus to support the staff and students of FACE (Faculty of Architecture Computing and Engineering). Her smiling face remains, so do pop to say hello and ask any questions you may have. She didn’t get that MSc for nothing, you know!

Those of you who’ve been following Suzanne’s story will know that she’s been working hard to complete this Masters as a distance learner with Aberystwyth University whilst working full-time here at UWTSD. As many of you will know first-hand, time-management can be a real challenge when you’re juggling studies with work and other commitments, so last year we ran a series of helpful hints and advice from library staff members who have managed it successfully. We naturally asked Suzanne for her advice, and got some really good tips from other members of staff too!

We’ve also got lots of books in the library that can help you with your study skills such as note-taking, assignment writing, referencing, time-management etc. We’re sure Suzanne would agree that it’s hard work, but definitely worth it in the end! She’s certainly still up for a challenge – Sue is currently working towards Associate Fellow status with the HEA (Higher Education Association) and Chartered status with CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals). What a clever clogs! Go for it Sue!



Assistant Librarian Suzanne Taylor proudly showing off
her certificate in MSc(Econ) in Inforamtion and Library Studies

Come and meet Simon Pridham, author of Freaked Out: The Bewildered Teacher’s Guide to Digital Learning

We’re freaking out with excitement (see what we did there?) that Simon Pridham will be visiting Townhill Library tomorrow (Thursday 25^th September) as part of the launch of his new book, Freaked Out: The BewilderedTeacher’s Guide to Digital Learning. Simon will be speaking to education students at UWTSD Swansea and Carmarthen campuses all day, so we’re delighted that he’ll be finding time to pop into the library too.

Simon will be in Swansea speaking at student lectures in the morning and will be available in the library between sessions. Please pop in to see him if you have any questions for him, or would just like a chat! He will be around at approximately the following times:-

9-9.45am

10-10.30am

11.30am-12.30pm

 

Copies of the book will be on sale for the special price of £15 (RRP £20), so well worth calling in! In the meantime, you can follow Simon on Twitter - @Simonpridham123 – to see what else he’s up to.

Avast, land lubbers! It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arrr!

There really is a day for everything! This might be one of our favourites, though. International Talk Like a Pirate Day was established by a group of friends (or should we say shipmates?) in 1995 and since then has become something of a worldwide phenomenon. You can find out all about it, and get some ideas of how to join in, on the official website. Here at UWTSD Swansea libraries, we think it’s a perfect excuse to share our favourite pirate books with you!

Class Three All at Sea, Julia Jarman

Definitely the best story about pirates there’s ever been! In this rhyming picture book, class three’s school trip out to sea with Captain Keith takes a turn for the worse when they’re captured by pirates. Good thing there’s a friendly octopus around to help!

Pirates ‘n’ pistols, Chris Mould

This is a beautiful collection of pirate stories, old and new. It was nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for children’s illustration in 2013, and it’s easy to see why – the pictures are so full of life and colour.

Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome

OK, so the pirates in this book are actually two young girls, Nancy and Peggy Beckett, but this is still a rollicking good read and a classic from the golden age of children’s literature.

The Gardening Pirates / Môr-Ladron yr Ardd, Chris Glynn and Ruth Morgan

Times are hard on the bad ship Ych-y-Fi, but Cabin Girl Gwen has some seed which will make the pirate crew shipshape in no time! This lovely story is available in Welsh and in English.

Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

The ultimate pirate story! Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, Captain Flint (the parrot)… Need we say more? The Muppet film version is great, but no substitute for Stevenson’s original.

Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie

We had to include this one! Captain Hook is surely one of the most fearsome fictional pirates. His only fears are the sight of his own blood and the clock-swallowing crocodile who once took a bite of his arm and has pursued him ever since. Tick tock…

Peter Pan in Scarlet, Geraldine McCaughrean

The sequel to Barrie’s classic, endorsed by the Special Trustees of Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital who own the copyright, this book sees Wendy and the Lost Boys (now the Old Boys!) return to Neverland to follow Captain Hook’s treasure map. A must for anyone who wants to know what happened when they all grew up!

Captain Pugwash books, John Ryan

Better known by our more mature students as a TV series, we have a number of Captain Pugwash books in Townhill Library which are well worth a look.

William Dampier: Buccaneer Explorer, Gerald Norris

A bit of real-life swashbuckling here! Dampier led the expedition which saw Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, marooned on an island in the Pacific. He circumnavigated the globe three times, but his reputation was tainted with accusations of drunkenness and brutality. The Folio edition on our shelves brings together tales of his adventures.

Pirate the Seal, Brenda Jobling

A bit of a cheat this one as Pirate, as the title suggests is a seal, not a buccaneer! However, this is too beautiful a book to leave off the list on a technicality. It follows the friendship that develops between a lonely boy and his animal playmate. Just lovely!

A big library welcome to our new PGCEs and GTPs!

Yes, whilst most of you new students have got a week or so to go before you start your new university life, our trainee teachers have already arrived, and in some cases have had their library induction! This week, we’ve welcomed the Primary PGCEs, full-time PCET (Post-Compulsory Education and Training) PGCEs and GTPs (Graduate Teacher Programme) to Townhill Library. We hope you enjoyed your visit round the library. We’re looking forward to seeing lots of you over the next year! If you need a reminder of what we’ve got to offer, here’s a little video of some of our best bits, including your friendly librarian, Philippa Price, who will be happy to answer questions and offer a helping hand as you find your way around.
 

Townhill Library / Llyfrgell Townhill


Secondary PGCEs, don’t worry! We have library inductions scheduled for you over the next couple of weeks. See you soon!

Roy Cropper, Corrie's own library campaigner

Image courtesy of graur razvan ionut / Free Digital Photos

Have you been watching Coronation Street lately? If so, you’ll know why Roy Cropper’s latest crusade has sparked our interest! He’s teamed up with feisty librarian, Yasmeen Nazir, to try to save his local public library from closure. If you haven’t caught the storyline, take a look at Alyson’s Welsh Libraries Blog where there’s a guest post from Dr Anoush Simon, lecturer in the Department of Information Studies at Aberystwyth University. Dr Simon, a Corrie fan herself, summarises the story so far and talks about the importance of issues like this appearing on mainstream television.

We always get a bit excited to see librarians on screen or in books, especially if they’re not the stereotypical cardigan-wearing shusher. Yasmeen Nazir will be one to watch, and not someone to be messed with! From Casanova to Batgirl, check out our post from a few years ago on other famous librarians from fiction and history – I’m a Celebrity Librarian…Get Me Out of Here!

Raawwwwr! It’s Global Tiger Day

Image courtesy of criminalatt / Free Digital Photos 

Global Tiger Day is held every year on the 29^th July with the aim of raising awareness and support for tiger conservation. We’re fans of cats big and small here at UWTSD Swansea libraries, so in honour of the humble moggy’s formidable cousin, here are our top five books about tigers. They’re grrrreat! (See what we did there?)

 

1.       The Tiger Who Came to Tea, by Judith Kerr – surely the best book about a tiger that’s ever been! If you’re not familiar with the story (and if you’re not we recommend you give yourself a treat and take a look as soon as you can), it revolves around Sophie and her unexpected and very hungry houseguest. A real treat!

2.      Life of Pi, by Yann Martel – recently made into a successful film, this captivating tale sees a tiger, an orang-utan, a zebra, a hyena and a teenage boy (Pi) adrift together in a lifeboat out at sea. It probably isn’t giving too much away to say that they do not make for a band of happy shipmates! Don’t worry about the plausibility, just let yourself get carried away on Pi’s journey.

3.      The House at Pooh Corner, by A. A. Milne – Who could forget Tigger, the bounciest, most exuberant tiger of all? He’s so much a part of the gang with Pooh Bear, Piglet, Eeyore and the rest that it’s hard to believe he didn’t appear in the first book, Winnie-the-Pooh, at all! He arrives in the forest and has breakfast in this follow up and soon makes his presence felt. He can be a little overbearing at times, but that’s the wonderful thing about Tiggers!

4.      Augustus and his Smile, by Catherine Rayner – Augustus the tiger has lost his smile and he’s quite sad about it, so after a “HUGE tigery stretch”, off he goes to find it. A gorgeous picture book that reminds us that happiness is there for the taking if we just go and look for it. Fabulous!

5.      Tiger Tiger, by Melvin Burgess – Yorkshire is the unlikely setting of this book, where we find Lila the Spirit-Tiger transforming herself into a young girl in order to wreak revenge on those involved in a massacre at Malham Tiger Park. Another one where you’ll need to suspend your disbelief and immerse yourself in the story! Well worth it.

 

Summer opening hours for UWTSD Swansea libraries

Borrow some beach time reading from us this summer
and you won't need to bring it back until the 3rd October!

With the graduation ceremonies this week, it really does feel as though the academic year has come to an end. However, we at the library will be flying the flag for knowledge and information all summer! We understand that a lot of you are part-time students who rely on the vacation times to catch up, and that there’ll be a few of you anxious to get a head start on you dissertation before the new term comes along. Some of you might even have a couple of resits to think about before you can move on!

So, for you, and anyone else who’s after somewhere to study or books from our shelves, we do remain open over the summer vacation period. We will be shut for evenings, weekends and bank holidays, but generally speaking we are open Monday to Friday throughout. Please do check our opening times if you’re planning a visit, though, as we may have to close unexpectedly, and some libraries may need to close for lunch. (There aren’t so many of us around in the holidays!) You’ll find the latest information under the Notices section of the library homepage, or just give us a ring to check. You’ll find your library phone number on the date labels of your books, on our website, and listed below!

 

Griffith Library (Dynevor)            01792 481030

Owen Library (Mount Pleasant)  01792 481141

Swansea Business Library 01792 481023

Townhill Library     01792 482113