New Stratford Library

The Vision
Time Line
Look round
Latest news
Your view
Webcam

The Vision

‘Our vision is for an integrated and innovative new library at Stratford which will reflect the very best in sector practice and provide 21st century library services to support the learning, teaching and research needs of UEL.’

Key features

Three floors of high quality learning space
130,000 books and journals covering Law, Social Sciences, Health, Sport and Biosciences, Psychology and Education
Advanced digital library and self-service facilities
24/7 accessibility
226 quiet and silent study spaces
70 social and collaborative learning areas with Wi-fi throughout
8 group study rooms with state-of-the art media facilities
Café
Automated book returns sorter
Landscaped internal garden

Time Line

Coming soon

Look round

Latest news

February 2012 - PROJECT UPDATE

The tower crane is up and work continues apace on the New Stratford Library Project. The contractor used a mobile crane for three weeks whilst the tower crane was secured from another project, but it’s here to stay now until July. The tower crane will enable the upper floors of the structure to be constructed, and also the mechanical plant to be placed on the roof. January saw the ground floor slab constructed and February has established the ground floor columns, as you may have seen from the webcam link.

Meanwhile, the construction team are busy fulfilling various statutory obligations, as well as meeting their own procurement schedules. Of particular note to UEL are the round of stakeholder meetings that will take place in March, with more to follow as the project progresses. Construction wise, March will see the completion of the ground floor columns and the construction of the first floor slab, with some work to the second floor, but we will see.

UEL have also secured a work experience placement for a UEL student from the FDSC Construction Management course for six weeks, on site. Also planned is a construction site visit of UEL students from the FDSC Civil Engineering & Construction Management courses, on the 6^th March.

Positioned at the edge of the construction site, the temporary UEL Sports Studio is ready. This will be used for Aerobics/Zumba and Yoga for the next few months and is a welcome spin off from the construction site activities.

Your view

We’ve been involving students and staff at every stage of the design process. Have a look at the links below to see what we’ve found out and how your views have shaped the new library. If you'd like to be involved in future surveys and focus groups, or if you'd just like to make a comment, please email Anna Knox, the Customer Services Manager.

Testing the new furniture for Stratford Library

Samples of proposed furniture for the new Stratford Library are currently on display to students and staff in Stratford Library, Water Lane. If you’d like to see the furniture, and give us your opinion about it, pop in to the library – you’ll find the furniture in the Media Area. Fill in a short evaluation form, or give your opinions to a member of staff.

A successful day was spent reviewing furniture samples by Library staff and students on 21^st February. The session included a review, scoring and commentary session. The sample furniture will remain in the Library for a few more weeks, so please do have a look and comment as you see fit – comment sheets are available for you to complete.

Presentation of initial architectural plans

In November 2010, students were invited to hear a presentation of the initial architectural plans by Steve Jones, one of the architects from Hopkins Architects Partnership. Following the presentation, the students were invited to comment.. All the comments were then used to amend the plans where possible. To read a report about the presentation, click here

Finding out what's important to you

In May 2010, we held a series of focus groups to find out how you like to use the library and what’s important to you in a library building. After some very useful discussions we’ve got some valuable information and ideas which we’ll be passing on to the Project team who are developing plans for the new library at Stratford. Below are some of the things you told us were important to you.

‘Every time I come into the library I bump into someone from my course and I want to find out what they’re doing’

‘There is no student life here so I only meet people at lectures or in the library.’

‘I don’t like clubs but I do want to meet up with friends near here’

‘I haven’t got time after working to go out so the library is a good place to hang out’

‘Sometimes when I’m studying for a long time I just want to relax a bit’

‘We don’t have halls (of residence) so we can’t go home together’

‘There needs to be clarity at the beginning’

‘Creating an environment that people know where they need to go and what the choices are’.

‘I’d like to come in, decide where I’m going and just go straight there’

‘Students need to know what is expected of them from the moment they walk in’.

‘Docklands comes right at your face so I’m not sure of where to go for what I want’.

‘A traditional library might feel daunting to some new students’.

‘It took me a year to really feel like I knew the library.’

‘I agree we should be green, but we have to be warm enough in the winter and cool enough in the summer. Natural light and ventilation is important but ultimately what’s more important?’

‘Study is so influenced by temperature.’

‘..nothing too extreme – something a bit serious with no distractions.’

‘Nice to have bright funky designs but the library needs to be more serious.’

‘Everything needs to be streamlined. I don’t have time to queue – I like self-service’.

If you'd like to read the full report of the Focus groups, Click here