Let Step 2 Commence!

Monday, 26th April 2021

12th April proved to be an eventful day across England. After a tentative testing of the waters in March when all students returned to school, Step 2 of the ‘roadmap to freedom’ came into being. More customer-based services (including public libraries) were allowed to open as were shops selling non-essential goods. 

It was a momentous day for Brooklands College too. Our long-awaited new hair and beauty training salon was finally able to throw open its doors to welcome customers. The new Brooks Hair & Beauty salon is situated on Ashford High Street, with Hair & Beauty students at Levels 2 and 3, and professional hair stylists offering a perfect pampering experience. You can read more about it here.

#ChooseBookshops
Once again, there’s a drive to encourage people to buy books from independent retailers. The #ChooseBookshops mantra has been reverberating through social media platforms over the last few weeks. Book sales themselves have increased over the last year which is fantastic but, as with many high street shops, bookshops have faced stiff competition from online retailers. 

And it’s working. Read this article from The Guardian Book sales jump a third in first week of bookshops reopening in England and Wales for a little more context as to why grown adults are currently “acting like kids in a sweet shop”.

During the Easter break, one LRC team member took advantage of shops reopening and made a trip to pick up a book in person from a central London bookstore. It soon turned into a walking tour of several bookshops and ended up being the perfect opportunity to add a few more miles onto the #101Challenge.

“I miss London – up until last March, I headed up there every Friday afternoon for work. When I ordered a book online a couple of weeks ago from a shop near Covent garden, I was given the option of paying for postage or collecting in person. I decided it was about time to reacquaint myself with the local train timetable so hit the “click & collect” button. 

I chose a great day weather-wise to hop on a train to Victoria. The bizarre blizzards of the previous week had disappeared and the sun was out. It was a perfect day for a walk. The train had been very quiet but there were people out and about on the streets. I set off from Victoria towards Buckingham Palace, and carried on through Green Park to Piccadilly where I found several newly reopened bookshops – Hatchards, Waterstones, Maison Assouline. It was then a leisurely meander through Mayfair and Soho to Cecil Court, just off Charing Cross Road  – and book collection pick-up point – Goldsboro Books.

Book collected, I wound my way towards London Bridge Station for the return train. Having left behind the cafes and retail outlets of Covent Garden and the West End, the more business areas towards the City were quiet – very quiet. I can only imagine people are still on the whole working from home. I crossed the Thames via the Millenium Bridge and continued along Southbank to London Bridge Station. Being out and away from home doing something ‘normal’ had been fantastic. And my mileage? Home to station to station and back to home again was a little over 10 miles.”

– Alison

World Book Night
Last Friday saw the distribution of our copies of the short story collection Stories to Make You Smile, donated to us by The Reading Agency for our students as part of World Book Night. 

Last year, our WBN promotion was delayed – and delayed again – by the pandemic. We finally amalgamated it with a socially distanced Christmas Fair, held outside on a cold day in December, with only half our students allowed on campus.

Roll on to WBN 2021 and we now have a full complement of students on campus. This, along with the April sunshine, meant that, whilst still following safety guidelines issued by The Reading Agency and our own College, a successful book giveaway finally happened. It was fantastic to be able to pass the books on to the students – and on the right day! 

Displays

The start of this term has seen several College tutorials focusing on how we can help  our students once they move on from their studies. So far the LRC team has created presentations on CV Writing, Applying for Jobs and, this week’s topic, Life Skills : Banking.

Book Review 
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Rating: 3.5/5

A surprisingly middling rating from an avid Austen fan. However, it’s only in Chapter 8 that I really begin to feel a little more immersed in the story. 

This is the first complete novel from the iconic author, and it is not so much about the narrative which is interesting but rather sensing how Austen is starting out and developing her flair for writing. 

In this piece, we feel she is exploring how to relate to an array of thoughts and characters growing up in what would then have been a modern-day England. 

The story depicts a young girl’s journey through adolescence. Our heroine Catherine Morland learns about the ways of the world as well as entering into society, encountering the joys and woes of love and friendship. 

“…her heart is all purity, her actions all innocence…” 

The story is not dissimilar to Sanditon – Austen’s last and unfinished novel. Although we’ll never know how that story was meant to pan out, the TV drama adaptation followed a similar plot of a young girl stepping out into the world, leaving her hometown and discovering new adventures with a fresh, virtuous and unsullied mind. 

– Ruby 

Students

Book Loans
Worried about fines during lockdown? No problem. All loans have been renewed and fines waived whilst the LRC was closed. Book returns can now be returned to the Library Desk or renewed by email/telephone.

E-Book of the Week

Each week, the LRC will be highlighting an e-book that we feel will be of special interest to certain students. This week, it’s an e-book for our Information Technology students.

Simply click the Brooklands College Login link here and access the book using your College student ID and password.

Tip of the Week

Access our virtual library online
You can search for e-books on the library catalogue or directly through our e-book providers.. Click on the Shibboleth login if requested and select Brooklands College. If you have any problems please do not hesitate to contact us at library@brooklands.ac.uk.

Heritage Online | Proquest | VleBooks

Contact us with an area you are interested in or your assignment title and we can suggest some resources for you.

LRC website 
The LRC website contains links to our resources, our online catalogue and is full of information about LRC use, plus there are book reviews, links to our displays and other items of interest. It is only available to College members (sorry) and can be found through links on the LRC Google Classroom, and on the staff and student intranets.

LRC Google Classroom page
Tutors have been invited to join the Classroom and will be passing the joining code on to their students. It’s full of links to resources, and helpful advice and tips.

Please contact us at library@brooklands.ac.uk if you need support with e-books, e-resources or anything else.

Follow @BCLibraryWA