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Law Library Training

A guide for training new staff and Student Aides in the Law Library, and a refresher for old!

Your Library Team

There are two teams situated within the Philip Robinson Library that you will work closely with as part of your Law Library roles.

Customer Services and Liaison and Academic Skills

Customer Services

If you think of the library as a theatre, Customer Services (CS) is the Front of House team. 

CSs the largest Library team and manages many of the library services you will be familiar with as a student. 

  • Library Help 
    • in person queries at the library's staffed information points and online
    • the extensive portfolio of FAQs
  • Borrowing and Return of physical library stock (using Alma our Digital Library Management service)
  • Shelving and maintaining books and journals within the library space
  • Inter Library Loans (where books are loaned between other libraries for our users)
  • Reservations, click and collect
  • Registration and the printing of staff and student smartcards
  • Maintenance of bookable library study spaces 
  • Disability Support (including alternative formats)

Customer Services Assistants staff the Law Library in the morning between 10:00-14:00, for a who's who of CS staff, please see here CS Learning Lab Who's Who

Newcastle University Library is proud to hold the Customer Service Excellence Award.

Liaison and Academic Skills

There are two teams situated within the library services who can help students develop the skills that they need for studies and research.  

The Academic Skills Team can support students in developing a wide range of skills related to studies and learning, including: 

  • Academic and research Skills - critical thinking, revision and exam technique, reading and note-taking, planning and structuring your work 
  • Assessment and feedback- understanding your assignment brief, interpreting essay questions, marking criteria and expectations, using feedback to improve 
  • Academic Writing - academic language and style , finding your voice, the writing process from first draft to final edit 

The Liaison Librarians help students find, evaluate, manage and reference the information needed for your studies. They are experts in helping students develop skills to use the library, including: 

  • Information searching and selecting information resources and databases for specific subjects, such as using Westlaw and Lexis+ effectively  
  • Referencing and applying referencing styles, such as OSCOLA 
  • Evaluating information, including helping students to understand legal authority in sources