Library – The Orbital

12Nov

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Features

The EWD Library for Dummies

Whether you are approaching academia from a fresh perspective or returning to the perils of all-nighters, we are all a bit bamboozled by the newest addition to campus. Have no fear, I am here to assist. A professional idiot here to tell you about all the terrible decisions I have made in one month of exploring! Where are my books? Shamefully, it took me at least 3 attempts to work this out. It’s still a general pain finding books, but now with a fun ‘I might ACTUALLY die researching this dissertation’ twist! To find any book, access Library Search online, type in the book you are looking for and find out where it is in the library. The first step in this Crystal Maze is to check whether it is in the High Use or the General Use collection. The High Use books are on the ground floor...

Emily Wilding Davison Building Officially Declared Open

24Oct

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Features

Emily Wilding Davison Building Officially Declared Open

On Wednesday 18 October, the Emily Wilding Davison was officially opened by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Chancellor of the University of London, Princess Anne. The building was closed to students between 9am and 4:30pm on that day to allow for the Princess’ tour and speech to be given. The building was worked on for nearly two years, with almost 3000 people working on the construction of the building to get it to what it is today. The library contains more than 400,000 books and over 1000 study spaces for student use. It offers other services, such as the Union Shop, the Santander Bank, the Student Services Centre, the Careers & Employability Centre and the Exhibition Space for interests in art and culture. The opening was a remarkable event, with many students head...

Exclusive: The all-access guide to RHUL’s new library

22Mar

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Features

Exclusive: The all-access guide to RHUL’s new library

The Orbital’s Joanne Archer gives you the low down on the new Library and Student Services Centre. We promise you it’s cooler than it sounds. The latest addition to campus, the Emily Wilding Davison Building, has certainly caused quite the storm. The chaos of an ever-expanding building site has made walking anywhere in a 2-minute radius feel like a pilgrimage. It’s certainly not been a silent development. The Orbital magazine was lucky enough to be given an exclusive tour of the site in its early stages. At first I was reluctant, the building looked like a mismatch of cardboard and glass, not exactly the stuff that fuels Hogwarts-esque dreams. Stepping inside, however, I realised the full potential of the building. It towered in its skeletal form, lacking any protection from the weat...

New Information released about RHUL libraries: the future of Founder’s and Bedford is undecided

16Mar

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

News

New Information released about RHUL libraries: the future of Founder’s and Bedford is undecided

Joanne Archer reports on the latest rumours surrounding Founder's and Bedford. "Use of the East Reading Room hasn’t been decided yet so we wouldn’t be able to say whether it will be study space or not at this time," says Amy Sutton, Head of PR. Amy Sutton states that “While the community is excited about the opening of this fantastic addition to campus, we know how important the library in Founder’s is to the College community. We can assure current, past and future students and staff that, once the Emily Wilding Davison Building opens, the Founder’s West Reading Room will remain a Library Reading Room, with study spaces, connectivity and books on shelves and will continue to provide students with space to study and reflect in historic surroundings.” The Emily Wilding Davison buil...

25Jan

By No Comments

News

Name for New Library Centre Announced

On the 11 January 2017, the name for the new library centre was finally announced. After months of deliberation Professor Paul Layzell, Principal, and SU President Natasha Barrett announced, via a live stream on the student intranet, that the centre will be called the ‘Emily Wilding Davison Building’. With the founding institutions of both Royal Holloway and Bedford College being the two of the first in the UK to grant women access to higher education, the university wanted to landmark the new library and student service centre, to celebrate one of the renowned alumna. Emily Davison, who began her studies in 1893 at Royal Holloway, is said to ‘encapsulate Royal Holloway’s ethos of empowering individuals to drive social and cultural change’, and as the Principal, Paul Layzell, commented ...

3Mar

By No Comments

Lifestyle

Literary Party

We are welcoming the new library development on campus. Well to be precise, cranes and cement mixers have invaded campus since September. However it is an exciting time for campus as it expands to welcome not only more students and facilities but opens its doors to an ever-growing world of literature. Therefore, for this month’s photos we decided to give our books a bit of a party before they find their new home. Yet again the fantastic Fashion Society joined us: Grace Caro otherwise known as Jane from Twilight’s Volturi was accompanied by Hannes Riester dressed as Jacob Black and Tereza Hadrboicová staring as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Alongside the Fashion Society we welcomed the thrilling Tolkien society and had members Graham Morell, Anna Darnena and Vikki Luff...

6May

By No Comments

News

Reclaiming our Suffragette History!

At the general meeting on March 10th, a motion was passed to lobby the college to name the new library after one of our most famous alumni, Emily Wilding Davison. The new library on campus, due to open in mid-2017, remains as yet unnamed. The planning has been under way for some time now, with construction due to begin in the autumn of 2015. The build involves moving the college shop from its current position to an as yet, undisclosed location. Royal Holloway shares a proud history for women and the suffragette movement, being officially opened in 1886 by Queen Victoria as an all-women college with Bedford College, another former all women’s college. Emily Wilding Davison herself was a student at Royal Holloway College in 1891 after winning a bursary from Kensington High School, stud...