Language Resource Library, University of Glasgow

The Language Resource Library at the University of Glasgow was the main reason of my travel up north, and I'm glad to say that I was not disappointed!

Ten years ago, just after being appointed in my current post, I went to visit that same library and spent a lot of time talking with Jane Mallinson, the language librarian of the time.


Everything was so tidy and well agenced with good quality library furnitures. The materials on the shelves is new, one can see that proper weeding is done regularly.

 Jane has invented a classification system perfectly adapted to the library collection, which is, like ours, and like Cambridge, based on the ISO code of languages. Then, within a language, it is possible to classify within types (reading, vocabulary etc) and level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) which makes it very easy for people to use. 

The same indication is also printed as a bookmark and I was very happy to see that Jane's great work was still fully in place ten years later! (I have also kept in my own library, the list of British films with Scottish accents! :-)

Fionna Black, the current librarian, did indeed confirm that not many people struggle to find materials on the shelves. It is also worth noting that all materials per language is at the same place, i.e. they do not have, like in my library, a DVD, a CD, a reference, a reading, teaching and a language for specific purposes sections. It is true that in my library, many readers find one or two sections but not all of them without our help. Should we have fundings for new furnitures and help staff, it could well be worth changing the library settings to all in one place per language. This is the Scottish Gaelic section:

And this is the Scots to Spanish collections:

 There was also a nice space, full of light, near the window, for reading newspapers.

 The library materials is beautifully well ordered and presented, with shelves showing new purchases.

 Also, readers are put in cardboard boxes that have been covered. That clearly shows that at times, one can do beautiful things with not much money!

 It is also lovely to see the marketing done for both the Alliance Francaise and the Goethe Institut in the French and German collections.

Fionna then showed me the audio-visual room, mainly used for watching DVDs or satellite television (though satellite television is not used much, if at all). Like us in Oxford, the library has access to BoB (Box of Broadcast) and the library catalogue will state if a film can be streamed on that particular database. Most acquisitions are Tutor's recommendations and Fionna was really happy with the proactive ways of some lecturers. The Czech collection for example, is excellent:

That space, however, is not widely used (apart from examination times) and Fionna is wondering whether to create two spaces, one for viewing audio-visual, the other one for encouraging one-to-one language conversations.

I found this visit completely inspiring and hopefully will apply some of the ideas (whether for acquisitions of DVDs, reclassification, weeding collections, rethinking library spaces and some more!) in my own work place !