The University of Sheffield
Information Commons

IC News and Events

21st March - Easter Vacation Arrangements

From 9am Monday 26th March you will be able to borrow/renew your books over the Easter vacation (provided they are not reserved by someone else). For full details of this and the opening hours/staffing arrangements over Easter, follow the link below.

Easter Vacation

20th March - Student Video Competition

To help celebrate the Information Commons' 5th birthday we are running a competition for the best video, on the subject of; 'my favourite thing about the IC'.

Video Criteria:

Submission Guidelines:

Deadline Date: Tuesday 8th May 2012, 1pm
Prize: Zoom Q3HD video camera

A panel will decide the winning video judging by how innovative, well constructed and relevant it is to the subject.
The winner will be announced on 11th May 2012 and the top ten videos will be played continuously on one of the IC screens in the entrance foyer throughout May.

For more information please contact creativemedia@sheffield.ac.uk

New Creative Media Edit Suite
We now have a new media editing suite located on level 1 of the Information Commons (room B28). This is in addition to the current facilities which compromise of a creative media room, and portable recording equipment available for loan. The suite has been designed to allow students to edit digital media files using any one of the 5 Apple iMac computers. The computers can be used by anyone who has a creative media computer account. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and it is the first of it's kind at the University.

For more information about the new facility, including booking guidelines and how to obtain a creative media computer account visit www.sheffield.ac.uk/cics/creativemedia/editsuite

7th February - The Prayer Room is moving

As of Wednesday 8th February, the Prayer Room on Level 2 will be relocated away from the silent study area to Level 4. It can be found to the left of the stairs leading to Levels 5 & 6.

18th November Update - IC to Remain Open All Weekend

The problem in the Information Commons has now been resolved and the building will be open as usual throughout the weekend.

18th November - IC currently open

The Information Commons (IC) was closed last night due to a problem with the water system. The IC is now open but toilets in the building are currently still unavailable.

The nearest alternative toilet facilities are located in Jessop West, Hicks building, Students’ Union building and the Dainton building.

We are working to resolve the issue. The situation will be reviewed at 3pm today to decide whether the building will be able to be kept open tonight and over the weekend.

Please check back to this web page for further updates.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these problems.

17th November - The IC has had to close

The IC has had to close due to unforseen circumstances. We hope to re-open tomorrow. We apologise for inconvenience caused. St. George's Library and Western Bank Libraries remain open as usual. The IT Centre on Mappin Street (Mappin ME03/ME04) is open all night. The computer rooms in the Hicks Building close at 8.45pm.

Alternative computer rooms
Libraries

Further updates will be posted on twitter and our facebook page.

September - Induction Sessions for new students

We will be holding Induction sessions throughout Freshers week and the week after. They last no more than 30 minutes and there is no need to book. Learn everything you need to know about the IC, and the University's Library and Computing Services.

For more details and links to help you get started using the IC, see the link below.
Getting started

5th September - Change to Group Room Bookings

From Monday 12th September, group room bookings are moving to our new myRooms&Resources booking facility. You will be able to access this facility through a new myQuickLink in MUSE from Monday morning; the PC Booking facility (myPC) will remain unchanged.

In order to upgrade to the new system, it will not be possible to book group rooms from midnight on Friday until the new system is live on Monday morning.

The myRooms&Resources facility will allow you to book group rooms in the IC and Western Bank Library, the new media suite in the IC, equipment such as video cameras, and seats on the Library's minibus to the British Library at Boston Spa.

More details can be found here:
www.shef.ac.uk/cics/learningandteaching/bookingresource

3rd August - new 24 hour Reservation Collection Facility coming soon

The construction of our new self-service facility on Level 0 is nearing completion and from mid-September you will be able to collect your own reservations 24/7.

In the meantime, please collect them from the Information Desk on Level 1 during staffed hours.

4th July - Level 0 services relocation

As part of the program of improvements, the Level 0 Desk has been removed and all services now operate from the Information Desk on Level 1.

22nd June - summer disruptions

During the summer vacation, we will be carrying out an extensive program of building maintenance and improvements. This will include redesigns of Level 0 and Level 1 and brand new PCs being installed throughout the building.

We will endeavour to minimise the disruption, but noise and temporary closures of parts of the building will be inevitable.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

13th June - vacation service hours

During the summer vacation, the IC will remain open 24/7, but the Information Desks will only be staffed until 7pm, Monday to Friday, and will be unstaffed at weekends. They will also be unstaffed on the Bank Holiday Monday (29th August).

25th May - final year students

If you are about to finish your course, please click the link below to find out when your books must be returned, your fines paid, and what you can and can't do in the IC once your UCard has expired.

Final year students

9th May - extended staffing hours

CiCS are extending the weekend service hours for the Level 1 Information Desk. It will now be staffed 12:00 - 18:00 Saturday and Sunday. The Laptop Lending Service will also be available from 12:00.

Laptop Lending Service

5th May - New silent study area

From Monday 9th May, Level 6 will become a silent study area. This is in addition to the existing silent study areas on Levels 2, 3 and 5. All the PCs on Levels 5 and 6 are bookable through MUSE.

4th May - Exam Time in the IC (9th May - 10th June)

During the exam period, and the 2 weeks running up to it, special arrangements will be put in place to ensure the IC environment is conducive to study and revision. In addition, the café will be open 24 hours most days and the kiosks have been removed from the benches in there to provide a space for you to eat your own food. Please note this is the only place in the IC where you can eat hot food. Please see the links below for full details:

Exam time arrangements
Café opening times

26th April - Laptops available for loan at weekends

From the 30th April you will be able to book laptops at weekends as well as weekdays. There are two booking slots available for Saturdays and Sundays:

Full details of our trial laptop-loan service can be found here:
Laptop Lending

28th March - Easter vacation arrangements

The IC will remain open 24/7 but service hours will change over the Easter break and bank holidays. Books will also be issued for longer from 9am on the 4th April. See the link for full details.
Easter Vacation Arrangements

21st March - Trial laptop loan service

We are piloting a laptop loan service until June. There are 8 laptops available, Monday to Friday only, and they can be booked through the PC and Group Room Booking facility in MUSE. Please see the link for more information.
Laptop Lending Service
 

7th March - PC Availability on the information screens has changed

We have changed the way we display availability information for the IC computers.

A computer is only included in the totals at the bottom of the information screens if it:

The information is updated every 1 - 2 minutes.

We hope this will make the information more useful - let us know what you think!
infocommons@sheffield.ac.uk
 

September 2010 - Auto log-off now on all PCs

Following the recent software upgrade, all PCs in the IC will now log off automatically after 25 minutes of inactivity.

In addition, all the PCs on Level 4 are now bookable.

New content on the information screens

The information screens have been re-designed and now show new content, such as bus and tram times for stops around the IC, hourly news bulletins on each screen and PC Availability for other student computer rooms.

Full details of what they show and how you can advertise your events on them can be found on the new web pages.
The Information Screens
 

Recycling News

Recycling of paper and card at this university has gone up by 600%. The IC has played an important part in this. Keep up the good work - use our recycling bins where possible!
Recycling in the IC
 

Don't lose your work!
 

Any study space left unattended for more than 20 minutes may have the belongings removed and the PC rebooted for others to use.

All PCs will start a 5 minute countdown after 20 minutes of inactivity and then automatically log off.

To avoid losing work - save it regularly.

Group Room Bookings

Group Rooms can now be booked 24/7, up to 2 days in advance.

Today's group room bookings are displayed on an information screen near the café. In addition, "Now and Next" bookings are displayed on every Level on the screens near the Business Units.

See the link for how to book them.
Booking a room or PC
 

Queues at the book issue machines

 You can borrow books in the Business Units on Levels 1, 2 and 4 - not just on Level 0. Beat the queues and issue your books before you get to the ground floor.