Libraries in the time of COVID-19

A message from Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Coordination) Professor Hayden Ramsay:

I am very pleased that our library staff have demonstrated admirable resilience throughout the pandemic. Despite lockdowns and large number of university staff moving to an online environment while working from home, dedicated library staff remained on campus to serve our students and community. Additionally, new products and other initiatives continue to be launched despite the difficulties of 2020-2021.

Our Director, Libraries, Fides Datu Lawton, shares some of the new and exciting initiatives available through ACU Libraries.

The Library is contributing to ACU Autism Awareness Week by obtaining and promoting ebook titles by authors with autism. Because these titles are available as ebooks, they are accessible from anywhere using the ACU network. You can also join the Library updates Workplace group to follow the Autistic Author series and to receive other Library updates.

In addition to the rich print and online resources available through the ACU campus libraries, ACU staff and students can also borrow from other Australian and New Zealand university libraries through the ULANZ reciprocal borrowing service.

Undergraduates now have unlimited loans and renewals on standard loans unless recalled by another borrower.

The ACU library supports the Learning and Teaching Centre (LTC) program to embed Indigenous Knowings into the ACU curricula and is proud to introduce the Indigenous Knowings library search filter. Here's how it works:

• enter your search terms in Library search
• in ‘Refine my results’ on the left, scroll down and under the 'Collection' heading, select ‘Indigenous knowings’ and
• apply the filter.

The Library has self-service document tools available which can help with converting documents to more accessible formats:

• SensusAccess is a self-service solution that automates the conversion of documents into a range of alternative formats including digital Braille, MP3, DAISY and e-books.
• Read&Write is an easy-to-use toolbar that supports your reading, writing, studying and revision. From creating audio files of your readings to a picture dictionary, it’s packed full of features designed to make your study simpler.

More information can be found at the below resources:

Contact Library staff
Online Consultations
Help Yourself
Ask Your Librarian
Library updates Workplace group

We are all grateful to Fides and her team for keeping the libraries open and active, particularly last year.

Thank you