Whatever your learning style may be, the library is certainly a key place to visit during your course. There's something for everyone, from different study zones to a variety of resources, and opening times to suit early birds and night owls. Take a look at the Mary Seacole Library team's top tips for making the best use of the library.
We’d like to offer a warm welcome to all new students, and we hope you’re looking forward to studying at BCU and exploring the library’s services and resources.
The Mary Seacole Library is the Library at City South Campus, named in honour of Mary Seacole. For opening times and other current information please take a look at Coronavirus – library services news
In 2005 we chose to name our new library in honour of Mary Seacole, a nurse born in Jamaica in 1805. Mary learnt skills from her Mother using traditional Jamaican medicines, supplementing them with knowledge of European medicine gained when she travelled to England. Mary came to prominence during the Crimean War in response to what she’d heard concerning the poor medical facilities for British soldiers. Funding her own trip to the Crimea, she helped set up a hotel to provide respite for sick soldiers, but also visited the battlefield to help nurse the sick and injured.
Mary Seacole’s energy, pioneering role, entrepreneurial spirit and caring attitude acts as an inspiration to this day for all students and staff within the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences (HELS). Want to read more about Mary Seacole? – we have copies of her autobiography Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands.
The start of term
Watch out for your library induction session, and also in the first two weeks of term (for those that start in September) the Library’s Golden Ticket competition; your chance to discover more about the library and win a £10 Amazon voucher.
What does the library have to offer?
A good place to start is with the library website; don’t forget to scroll down to find our quick links, which include the link to our referencing guidelines. We also have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page; here are the answers to two of our popular student questions what is my borrower number? and what is my library PIN?
We have subject guides which provide a good starting point for the library resources in your subject area. Studying at home? We’ve got that covered too with our Bringing the Library to you guide to help you make the most of studying away from campus.
If you have a disability or additional needs the library offers a variety of support.
Online reading lists are available for the modules you’ll be studying; these contain reading material recommended by your lecturers who work closely with the library.
Want to get in touch with the library? Use the “Chat To Us” tab on the library webpage to access our 24/7 Live chat service, staffed by us during the daytime and partner institutions out of hours. Also, keep up with what’s happening in the Library by following @BCUlibrary on Instagram and Twitter. Once you have enrolled, please remember to check your student email inbox for messages from the library.
Finally, the Mary Seacole Library’s most important asset: our friendly, well-informed team of library staff who are happy to help with any questions you may have about the library and what we have to offer.
Take a look around
Discover more about City South and what facilities the campus has to offer.
