Chichester provides a high quality integrated learning environment at both campuses, daytime, evenings and weekends, with a considerable range and number of study places and networked computers, and support from library and IT staff.

Bishop Otter Campus

The prize-winning Learning Resources Centre (LRC) was opened in 1997 and includes a substantial library collection of over 180,000 items with a range of areas for quiet study, group study and facilities for use of laptops and playback of CDs and DVDs. The library resources include books, journals, videos, DVDs, music CDs and art slides. There are also special collections in certain fields, notably:

• Theology
  
• History
  
• Dance
  
• English

Media equipment can be borrowed by students from the Equipment Loans counter, including video and still cameras, sound and lighting equipment and projection equipment. The Media Centre offers access to specialist multimedia software and video editing in an iMac environment.

The Otter Gallery

The Otter Gallery, situated at the centre of the LRC, offers a wide range of exhibitions by many different local and emerging artists, staff and students. The Gallery also presents an annual show of works from the Bishop Otter Collection (an important collection of twentieth century British art). Read more>>

Bognor Regis Campus

Here the learning resources facilities are divided between the John Parry Library with collections to support the following departments: Applied Language Studies, Business and Management and Education; and the neighbouring IT Centre with several open access computing rooms. This library has a substantial children’s resources collection to support school experience.

Staff Support

All these facilities are supported by a team of Subject Librarians, who will offer you advice and training in information retrieval skills and the use of specialist electronic databases, and Information Assistants, who provide help with use of the library seven days a week. Assistance with computer use and access to our online portal service (Portia) is available from the student IT help desks.

Loans

Taught postgraduate students can borrow up to 15 items from the library collections and research students up to 25. These totals can be supplemented by Inter-Library-Loans (books and photocopied articles from the British Library).

E-Resources

The library collections are supplemented by a growing collection of on-line information resources which can be accessed through the University’s Portia portal system. Over 5,000 periodical titles and 46,000 E-books are available electronically. Portia can also be used to access course information, lecture notes and the library catalogue.

Use of Other Libraries

The SCONUL Access scheme enables all taught postgraduate and research students and staff to access university research collections across the country. The University library staff will advise and assist with the use of this co-operative scheme.