We Did: We operate an e-first policy for resource list items, which means we will always purchase an eBook where available. Unfortunately, not all titles on resource lists are available to purchase as eBooks. Where eBooks are unavailable, we consider several factors when deciding how many copies to purchase, including the number of students on the course and whether the book is a ‘Key’ or ‘Additional’ resource. We will work more closely with academic staff to ensure that lists are submitted to the library and we're notified when items are essential so students have sufficient access to everything they need to consult as part of their course. If you are ever unable to access a text required for your studies, please get in touch with us at Library@gsa.ac.uk to let us know.

We Did: We ensure that every book on lists submitted to library are available and with sufficient access for students. We will be working closely with academic staff to ensure all resource lists are submitted to the library for processing, to ensure everything you need for your course is available via the library. 

We Did: Thank you for this feedback. We are working on new guidance for staff on resource lists, and will work closely with schools to ensure all courses have lists available with Canvas and that these are kept up to date. For courses that have a resource list, you can find instructions on accessing your resource list in our FAQ: How do I access and view my resource list?

We Did: Thank you for this feedback. We are currently working on new instructional guidance for students on the functionalities of the resource list system, which we hope will enable you to get the most from your resource lists! Keep an eye out for this in the run up to the new academic year for 2026/2027.

We Did: We should have access to almost everything linked to via the library catalogue. When accessing online content via the library catalogue, we advise that you first log in to your GSA account by clicking ‘Sign in’ in the top right-hand corner, which removes the need to log in within the database. After you have logged in, if you still find you are unable to access the content, please get in touch with us and we will endeavour to get you access. 

We Did: Thank you for this feedback. Our default loan period is currently 3 weeks, which auto-renews up to 12 weeks if no one requests the book back. After this period you can renew your books by taking them to the Service Desk in the Library. Some of our books, such as resource list items, have loan periods of 1 week (auto-renews to 4 weeks) or 3 hours, to ensure access to these more in-demand books. If you are struggling to access books required for your studies, please get in touch with us.

We Did: Thank you for your interest in this and you’re in luck! We do host monthly book club sessions, facilitated by Student Support, in the Library Snug. We are on a hiatus over the summer, but will be looking to bring these back in the new academic year for 2026/2027. Keep your eyes on our Instagram @gsalibrary for updates on this. 

‘It is not obvious to students that you have a GUID ID. I get information from my peers and have to email staff proactively to ask for more details.’

‘I enjoy the access provided, including access to university of Glasgow Library.’ 

‘easy to access- guid also gives us access to things like bfi and box of broadcasts which could be better signposted’

'Took quite a long time to get a GUID. This didn't arrive until December, so I wasted a lot of time at the start of the term when I didn't have access to the Glasgow Uni library.'

WE DID:

We’re glad to hear that you have found the GUIDs useful, but understand that the process of getting them can be frustrating.

We will work with the Registry departments at GSA and at the University of Glasgow to make sure those eligible get their GUIDs as soon as possible.

We have purchased ebooks and scanned chapters of almost all of the texts on GSA Resource Lists that we previously relied on GUIDs to access. We will also signpost the benefits of the GUID in the library and in newsletters to make it a more visible resource.

You wanted extended hours especially on the weekends

We Did:

Our opening hours currently on weekends are:

Saturday and Sunday 10am – 5pm

We always try to employ our staffing resources at times when the library is at its busiest. Although weekends are generally quieter than Mon-Fri, we will continue to look at our entry statistics and look at ways we can extend our opening hours without impacting the service at other times.

We will of course communicate any changes to you through the usual channels!

Printing can be expensive!

We did: 

Our printing and copying prices are set by GSA central IT Department and have not increased in over 5 years. Prices are benchmarked with other University Library prices -. we do keep an eye on the prices and keep them as low as we possibly can in collaboration with our colleagues in IT.

More monitors for connecting my own laptop will be good.

We did: 

We have contacted the IT department to see if there is an opportunity to increase the number of monitors for laptops.

We have 9 monitors available for students to connect their laptops to. There are two on level 0, two on level 1, and five on level 2 of the library (2 in single-study spaces and 1 in a group-study space).

If you are not sure where to find them please ask a member of staff and we will be happy to show you!

We Did: You're in luck! We have recently been working with the fantastic students in the MLitt Art Writing programme to revitalise the Fiction collection and have ordered around £2000 of new titles. Look out for them arriving in the Library soon.

We Did: We're sorry to hear about your experience of our Suggest-a-Purchase service. We are unsure of the route your followed when placing your request. If you submit your request to us directly via our online form, you will receive automated responses at every stage of the acquisition process and the title will be reserved for you as soon as it arrives in the Library. Please note that all Library emails will go to your GSA student email, not your personal account. Where we reject a purchase suggestion, we always triage students to our interlibrary loan service instead

We Did: Unfortunately there is no way of identifying missing books until we are alerted to these by students. Where you let us know a book is missing, we reorder the title in question and reserve it for you as soon as it arrives with us. This process takes on average 10 days, so please factor these lead-in times when planning your research.

We Did: Thanks so much to you and your fellow Art Writing students in engaging with us so proactively. It has been great to work with you all, and we have now ordered around £2000 of additional stock following your suggestions. Look out for these appearing in the library soon.

We Did: In the absence of a physical library in Forres, we purchase digital copies of all titles required by Forres programmes that we are alerted to. Our Suggest-a-Purchase service allows you to ask for a physical book to be sent to you directly at Forres, where an electronic copy is unavailable for purchase

We Did: We are always happy to purchase titles in languages other than English. Around 10% of our collection as a whole is not in English

We Did: This is a really well-considered and important point. We will redesign our Suggest-a-Purchase form to allow you to indicate if you have an accessibility requirement and would prefer print

We Did: Thanks for your feedback on this issue, which we keep under constant review. We removed fines for overdue loans and late returns a few years ago, in line with most other HE libraries. We aim to strike a balance between cost-of-living expenses of students and the inconvenience to others when resources are not returned.

We did: The library (and the entire GSA estate) recently underwent a lighting project to overhaul and improve lighting sustainability and performance. While this has certainly improved the lighting, we recognise that it is not going to be to the satisfaction of all users. However, it's worth noting that the GSA is required to have lighting brightness at a certain level to comply with Health and Safety legislation and the lighting in the Library is already at the lowest it can be to meet that criteria.

There are areas in the library where lighting is adjustable - places like the Snug and the Silent Sensory rooms where you can switch off the main lights and use lamps.

While we can't do too much about the daylight issue, there are a number of study spaces throughout the library building that are beside windows to satisfy vitamin D requirements (Scottish weather notwithstanding).

We did: We have recently started using posters in an effort to reduce noise levels in the main library space and will continue to monitor the effectiveness of this.

There is currently a quiet study space, as well as individual and group study rooms available on the second floor. We are aware of the importance of having a quiet space to study and are looking at various ways we can improve the library space in this regard.

We Did: We currently have over 1500 films on Planet eStream and are adding new ones every week. We also welcome suggestions for films (and any other moving image content) to be added.

Did you know that students and staff can add items directly onto the platform? Select 'Create Media Options' (cloud icon) from the top menu, and then 'Import Content > TV Content'. This will take you to the Planet eStream Connect archive where you can search all the available content that can be added.

We are also in the process of installing Planet eStream into the Screening Room.

We Did: Thank you for your feedback! We do have a selection of over 200 childrens' picture books at shelf number 741.083 on the ground floor of the library, but we will endevour to add more in the coming months!

"I wish I had more basic IT skills but don't know how I would achieve this. Something early in the academic year would be useful."

We did:

If you wrote this comment, please drop us an email at library@gsa.ac.uk We would like to deliver a basic IT skills workshop next academic year and will make sure to schedule it so that you can attend!

We Did: Thank you for letting us know! We cover these services in our library inductions, which you should be offered through your programme when you start at GSA. If you miss your induction, you can come along to one of our drop-ins to learn all about what the library can offer! We also send frequent updates about these through our newsletters (check your inbox!) and our Instagram account @GSALibrary to keep you informed :)

We Did: We agree! You can find printed maps of the library at the ground floor helpdesk and the Learning Technology helpdesk on Level 2. But if you are ever lost or need help finding something, please just ask!

We did: We have contacted Detail Inspiration to ask if we can work with them to improve authentication to their resource. Watch this space!

We will let you know through our usual channels as soon as we have any positive news.

We did: The Canvas mobile app has some limited functionality but you can book appointments on your phone via a mobile browser like Safari of Chrome. We have requested that the app be improved to allow students to book appointment slots and we hope that this feature is added soon.

We did: The library introduced Ally, an integrated accessibility tool that generates alternative formats and provides guidance to staff on how to fix accessibility issues. Your feedback about this is very valuable to us as we are working to improve digital accessibility and raise awareness across GSA. FAQ on Ally

We did: The immersive reader in Canvas (also available in Microsoft Office software) is a tool that allows users to customise the content view for their own preferences. The library team has been working to fix accessibility issues and provide training and support to staff so that content on Canvas and GSA systems are more accessible. We know there is more work to be done here and we are working with staff to improve digital accessibility across GSA, we welcome your feedback on this.

Please do get in touch with us library@gsa.ac.uk to discuss your accessibility needs and how we can support this further.

We did: Library Services worked with student auditors last year to get the student perspective on Canvas courses and they highlighted the importance of module layout and titling. We have emphasised this to teaching staff and we continue to work with them to improve Canvas course layout and organisation.

We did: Library Services have updated the advice to staff regarding a 'week ahead' announcement; we previously advised a Monday morning update, and have now amended guidance to be Friday afternoon or Monday morning. Tutors can consult with their students to determine the best time for the group.

We did: We make sure to include guidance on setting your notifications in our library inductions and there is also an FAQ on the library help site. Students are encouraged to search this site for any Canvas related questions.

We did: This happens when an announcement has an image in it - Canvas will remove all images to ensure security. These announcements with images CAN be viewed within the Canvas course itself, just not the email. Staff training is provided to alert them of this functionality.

We did: Please visit our FAQ page that provides guidance on how to access your course grades and feedback. If you encounter any issues, please email library@gsa.ac.uk and we will look into this for you.

We did: Thank you for flagging this to us, we have added an FAQ for organising your courses on the Canvas app on our Library help site.

We did: Library Services promoted this practice and supports staff to do this.

"Clearer posting by tutors, more advanced warning of things happening "

".. it would be nice to see a timetable reflected on the calendar.. "

"Better layout and consistency within the calendar and given out timetable"

We did: We deliver training and guidance to staff on these issues, emphasising accessibility, templating and using the calendar more effectively. We will continue to highlight the comments students have made about this to staff, in order to improve the student user experience.

We Did: We have recently redeveloped InfosmART to allow for more interactive features. We appreciate your feedback as we continue to make improvements. We are also working on a simplified, text-based version of the resource for offline use, which may be preferable for some students.

We Did: Unfortunately no library will have access to everything that is on Google Scholar. You can link your GSA Library account to Google Scholar, which can help to make accessing content we subscribe to smoother. If there is anything you are having difficulty accessing, please let us know as you may be able to request it as an interlibrary loan.

We Did: Thank you for your feedback. We organise our books using the Dewey Decimal System, which is found in libraries all over the world. We know this system isn't perfect, however, and can be confusing at times! If you are struggling to find something, please ask a member of staff and we will be able to help.

We Did: Thank you for your comments. Unfortunately, different programmes at GSA have their own preferences with regards to referencing styles, these are not set by the library. We are aware that our referencing guides within InfosmART are not the easiest to find, and we are working on a simple page where these can be viewed quickly! In the meantime, you can access our MHRA and Harvard referencing templates on Canvas. (It may be helpful to bookmark these pages if you use them frequently, while we work on our new guide.)