Information Services is a major administrative department with responsibilities covering library, academic and administrative computing, digital communications, reprographic and audio-visual services.

Weblink: The Information Services home page at http://www.ulster.ac.uk/isd/ is the regularly updated gateway to all our information, services and news.
Induction Sessions

Information Services offers all new students the opportunity to attend an induction session. These normally take place at the beginning of the academic year. Organised in conjunction with Course Directors or the Research Office, they provide a more detailed insight into our computing and library services.

Weblink: access to information on all our services is provided via our website: http://library.ulster.ac.uk/

Library resources are central to the successful completion of your studies. Each University of Ulster campus has its own Library or Learning Resource Centre (LRC). Students and staff are entitled to use the services and stock of all libraries.

UU fact: We have over three-quarters of a million books and several thousand current journals. Most books can be loaned between the campuses (inter-campus loans).

Our website is the gateway to a rapidly increasing range of online databases, subject guides and other electronic services, including the library catalogue and over 16,000 full-text electronic journals. Most of these are accessible both on and off-campus. We also hold a significant range of resources in other media, including videos cassettes, DVDs, slides and microfilm.

The Library is committed to continually developing and improving all our services, especially in relation to those groups with any special requirements.

We make every effort to provide practical assistance to any student with a disability. Advances in providing electronic access to many of our resources off-campus has increased the support we can offer to distance learning students. Special resources are also provided to meet the needs of part-time students.

Our staff at the issue desk can answer most general library enquiries. Students also receive support and education from our subject librarians who will have a specialised knowledge of information resources in their subject.  As well as giving advice to individual students, they run seminars on how to locate quality information in each subject area.

Opening hours (information at: http://library.ulster.ac.uk
/info/hour.htm)

During semester, we normally open from 8.45 am - 10.00 pm during the week and Saturday and Sunday afternoons 1.00 - 5.00 pm in Jordanstown and Magee

(Coleraine - Sunday Opening during exam period only).  Belfast library closes at 6.00 pm on Fridays, and opens all day Saturday.   Portrush library is open 9.00 am - 9.00 pm weekdays and until 4.00 pm Fridays and closed weekends.  In vacation all campus libraries operate reduced hours.  Hours of operation are displayed prominently in all libraries as well as listed on the library web pages.

IT User Services Weblink: access to information on all our services is provided via our website http://www.ulster.ac.uk/isd/itus

IT User Services provides teaching and learning support to staff and students via the provision of IT and media facilities and services, a customised student desktop environment, and a University-wide IT helpdesk team.

The department provides and maintains IT laboratories throughout the University, as well as personal computer areas in the Learning Resource Centres (LRCs).  Each personal computer has a Common Desktop Environment (CDE) with a core group of software applications.  Additional subject-specific software complements the core set of applications.  Students access the CDE via their personal Single Sign-On account.  Details of this are provided at enrolment.

Students have access to a high quality, high-speed, laser printing service available in all our IT laboratory and LRC areas across the four campuses. Printers are accessed using a token system. Tokens can be purchased from dispensers located at a number of positions on each campus.

The University offers a Web based e-mail service to all students. This can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet. A Web browser such as Internet Explorer, Netscape or Opera is the only software required to use the service. Access to email is also available via the student Common Desktop Environment.

Access to the Internet and web browsing is provided via the desktop (CDE).  The service includes access to an increasing number of web-based information resources hosted by the Library including their catalogue, CDROM-based materials and links to external information sources.

These Internet services have been provided to aid and enhance student study.  There are strict guidelines and legislation associated with the use of computers, particularly concerning connections to the Internet.

IT User Services offers media support in various ways including the availability of location camera facilities for outside recordings plus expertise and facilities in support for professional presentations.  Our services to students are normally provided through our close collaboration with course teams.

Our department supports the learning experience in teaching areas through the Digital Classroom initiative by providing digital projection technology in many classrooms.  A complementary loan service is also on offer to academic staff.

Video conferencing studios and roll-around systems support the delivery of courses across campuses, as well as enabling the delivery of 'guest' lectures to our students, by experts from across the world.

Tutorials and handouts are available (via our website) on a wide range of IT topics.  If there is a problem that requires personal assistance, students can contact either the IT User Services Information Point on their campus or our Helpdesk (via telephone or email).