Open till Midnight
Our Library Lending Service is available out of normal hours using BASIL, the College's automated self-issue system. Simply scan your books in and out at the BASIL terminals. You can borrow most of the books that you see in the Library – the exception being those items in the Reference Collection, which is at the far end of the Reading Room.
Staffed hours Monday to Thursday, 12.00 noon to 5.00pm
You will find at least one copy of each of the items on your reading list in the Library, plus a wide selection of other books to support your learning. You will be given a thorough guide to using the Library as part of your orientation, but if you are ever in any doubt, just ask a member of the Library Team.
The Library also provides a range of printed guides to carrying out key activities in finding information for your reference including:
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Finding information for your assignment.
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Finding books.
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Searching the Library catalogue. Search the Bader College Library Catalogue here
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Finding journal articles.
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Preparing your search strategy.
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Using journal databases to find articles.
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Reference management tools.
One-to-one support
If you need help with any aspect of finding information, contact the Library Team by email, on ext. 4422 or by visiting the Library during normal opening hours. There will be someone available to help you.
Group sessions
The Library offers group information skills sessions as part of the BADR100/101 course workshops, and sometimes as part of other courses. These are advertised widely. If you are unable to make an advertised session, a member of the Library Team will happily provide you with support on a one-to-one basis.
If you are studying BADR100/101, several of your projects involve using primary sources, specifically in relation to the Castle's history and to the history of Britain generally. You will be introduced to the following archives of primary sources in due course:
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The Bader College Archive - Our archive holds several collections of papers relevant to different periods in the Castle’s history, including its time as the home of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and then its beginnings as a University campus.
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East Sussex Record Office (The Keep)
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The Mass Observation Archive
The Book Stack
The Library store, at The Book Stack we will help you connect with the texts that you will need for your courses of study in a way that is affordable. You can identify the core reading items for your courses and buy either used or new copies as you prefer. We also offer the option of leasing texts, which is by far the cheapest method of securing access to a text for an entire term – as long as you don’t want to own the book or wish to write in it!
If you want to see what The Book Stack stocks, either visit the website, or come to the Library where Book Stack texts are displayed at the far end of the Lending Library.
Purchase/lease options
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Buy new—the most expensive option, but we sell at cost to keep our prices as low as possible.
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Buy used—to keep a book forever but at a lower cost, buy our good condition used copies. (Some copies are sold as Used – damaged. These copies include (usually) highlighting or annotations, or will have creased covers. All are still readable texts, but are sold at a very reduced rate to reflect the fact that they are damaged.)
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Lease (not available on all titles) – for really expensive titles which you are unlikely to want to keep at the end of term, we offer a lease option. You pay a fee at the beginning of term and you keep the book for the whole term. As long as you return the book to us at the end of term in a condition that is almost the same as when you received it, then you will incur no further charges.
Not just books…
The Book Stack also stocks a range of handy stationery in our physical store including:
- Writing Paper - lined and squared
- Pens, pencils, erasers
- Folders and ring-binders
- Calculators, memory sticks
- And lots more!
Not everything in the Library is about study or research. We have a range of resources that will help you relax and unwind.
The DVD collection
We have a large collection of DVDs covering a wide range of film and TV genres. All titles are listed in the Library Catalogue, so before you pay to stream a film, first see whether we have a copy in the Library.
If you don't have a DVD player on your laptop, you can borrow a portable DVD player from the Library. Just ask for one at the Library desk. It does not require any special software - just plug and play.
The little light reading collection
As its name implies, this collection of books is for those looking to while away a few hours with some light reading. The collection is housed on just six shelves at the end of Library East. There is no need to take the books to the Library desk - just borrow titles as and when you wish to, and return them...as and when you wish to. It is no more complicated than that. There is an eclectic mix of titles available as most titles are donations from members of the Castle community, so you may find yourself reading something quite different.
The CD collection
We have a range of music CDs available at the far end of the Lending Library. Yes, CDs! While consisting primarily of classical music, the collection also includes some modern 'classics' from recent decades.
If you don't have a CD player on your laptop, you can borrow a portable CD player from the Library. Just ask for one at the Library desk. It does not require any special software - just plug and play.