Library Services

The Library collection held at the Universities at Medway contain in the region of 90,000 items including books, periodicals and DVDs. There is also a wide range of electronic resources to support your studies. The Drill Hall has seating for over 400 students and PCs for accessing Library catalogues and online resources.

Self-Service

During the summer of 2010 the Library have invested in self-service kiosks which use RFID wireless technology to transform the service it offers to our students and staff.

RFID stands for 'Radio Frequency Identification'. It works by automatically transmitting data from an item to a reader in the self-issue machine on a common radio frequency wavelength. It is essentially a barcode that can talk via a wireless network.

The self-service machines will enable you to issue and return books, DVDs and videos yourself quickly and easily. It is around three times faster to issue books using the machines as they can deal with a number of items at once.

Library staff will have more time to help our users with enquiries and self-service will enable the Library to:

Prioritise customer service, providing focused, individual support for students working in an increasingly complex information environment
Provide accurate information on Library use to inform changes in service provision
To create a "Roaming Service" in the Library. Staff will be on hand to provide help and advice throughout the Library at busy times

The Kiosks

Three new self-service kiosks will be used for the issue and return of books, DVDs and videos. You will also pay your fines via two of the kiosks. They accept coins, notes and cards (Chip and Pin). Receipts are printed so that you have a clear record of your transactions. All staff and student ID cards will work with the kiosks.