Archive for category University Library

Notable Colleges and Universities in Reading

Reading plays host to a number of renowned educational institutions that have made their mark on the landscape of UK learning. Here are some of the best of them.

University of Reading
The University of Reading is considered to be one of the top 10 most research-intensive universities in the United Kingdom. It also ranks as one of the top 200 universities in the world. The university’s reputation for teaching, research and enterprise is world-class.

Built in 1892, the University of Reading received its Royal Charter in 1926 and established a long tradition of research, education and training on a local, national and international level.

The university is a two-time recipient of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, which it won in 1998 and 2005. At present, it boasts of a strong multi-cultural environment, with over 3,000 international students coming from 120 countries.

The university campus is located a mere two miles from Reading’s city centre and offers a full set of university courses. The grounds span around 1.6 square kilometres and encompass three distinct campuses – Whiteknights Campus, London Road Campus and Blumershe Campus.

Whiteknights Campus, the largest of the three, is named after the White Knight, John De Erleigh IV, a 13th century knight. It includes woodlands, meadows and Whiteknights Lake, as well as the main University Library, which contains around a million books. The London Road Campus is the original university site and still hosts annual graduation ceremonies. Meanwhile, the Bulmershe Court Campus, located in Woodley, houses the Institute of Education and the School of Health and Social Care as well as the university’s largest hall of residence. Read the rest of this entry »

Library Science Degree Online Program – A Degree That Can Take You Places

Graduating from a library science degree online is a solid achievement both in terms of its importance to society and one’s career. Many librarians today hold this degree and there is no question that they are in a profession that is very significant.

For one thing, librarians are custodians of information. Library users rely on them for information that nurtures their talents and provide a solid base for them to develop into fruitful citizens.

Think about it. Many of the world’s intellectuals and scientists cultivated interests in their fields from early in their lives. As youngsters, they used to go down to libraries and read books and magazines of interest. Who do you think would have helped them to source those books? None other than librarians.

But the role of librarians have gone beyond merely telling library users where they can find books or telling chatty kids to be quiet.

In today’s information age and increasing demand for non-traditional types of information such as CDs and database sources, librarians need to be well trained in information technology. Furthermore, they need to have their fingers on the pulse of the type of information that their users are demanding. Read the rest of this entry »

History of the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is a renowned library housing its rich collections in three buildings – James Madison Memorial Building, John Adams Building and Thomas Jefferson Building. It is one of the oldest federal institutions as well as the US Congress’s research library. Consisting of millions of manuscripts, maps, books, photographs and recordings, this is the world’s largest library collection and is a priceless source of the American history. The library operations are managed by the administrative section.

Established in the Capitol Building in the year 1800, the library facilitated research work conducted by the Congress. President John Adams approved the building and the initial collections, worth $5000, consisted of law books sourced from England.

The contribution of Jefferson was invaluable during the formative years wherein he efficiently regulated the operations and put in several important processes in place. The early collection was destroyed in the year 1814 when the Capitol Building was invaded and the British soldiers set it on fire.

Thomas Jefferson contributed his personal collection of books that he had gathered over a period of 50 years on different subjects like literature, science and philosophy. This collection included several foreign language books. He was paid more than $20,000 for a collection of more than 6,450 books. Read the rest of this entry »