XClose

UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology

Home
Menu

Comments, Questions and Suggestions

Please help us to continually improve and develop our services by giving us feedback. Our responses will be displayed below. We also welcome book suggestions. You can give us feedback:

  • in person
  • by email: neurolibrary@ucl.ac.uk
  • by phone: internal 84144 / external 020 7829 8709 or 020 3448 4709
  • in our suggestions box in the foyer
  • by post: Queen Square Library, 23 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK (internal box no.74)

Accessibility

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our website. If you need information on this website in a different format, or wish to report accessibility problems, please contact us as above.


Your recent comments

Here are some of the compliments we have received recently. Please see our surveys page for further comments. You can also see interviews with Library users in our video. Suggestions from our most recent survey (and our responses) are further down this page.

Comments received via the Library enquiries management system

  • “The efficiency and professionalism of your staff in processing my request swiftly made a positive impression. Moreover, I was particularly impressed by the way I was given a comprehensive tour of the library facilities. The staff member who showed me around was not only knowledgeable but also displayed a genuine enthusiasm for guiding visitors through the library's offerings.”
  • “Thank you to the ION Library staff for a consistently excellent service!”
  •  “Lovely staff, very prompt responses, fab facilities. Thank you for your continued brilliant services. From a very grateful NHS staff user of the libraries :-)”
  • “The NHNN library is a delightful place to study.”
  • “I had my library card after 3 hours from my online application, so I am very happy with the excellent service!”
  • "I was totally surprised at the speed of response .... This could have so easily been ignored as too difficult Thankfully the staff came up trumps. And I am deeply appreciative of this supportive service".
  • "Very helpful, thorough, and responsive staff from the initial email until resolution of the issue. Over and above expectations."
  • "You always live up to your outstanding institutional reputation. Thank you."
  • "Fast response time. The staff in the QS library are always very helpful and polite. The whole service provided including online is excellent. "
  • "Excellent library and archive - a national facility of international importance."
  • “The librarian who assisted me went above and beyond to help me with my issues. She was very responsive to emails and it was super helpful considering we (students) are working remotely and may be harder to obtain help compared to in-person. Excellent service!”
  • “Very happy with the service. Easy to use, the library kept me updated at all stages and very fast.” 
  • “Always prompt and friendly. Wonderful team to work with.”

Comments received in the library comments box:

  • "Best Library in London!"
  • "This Library is the best part of my UCL spaces experience. it is clean, well kept with large desks and big windows for natural light. It would be amazing if you prolonged the opening hours during the day and also weekends. it is perfect!"
  • "I have been at UCL for four years, yet this is the first time I've been touched by a librarian's gesture. I wish I had known about this Library sooner"
  • "I just love this library. The ambience provides the perfect study environment and the staff are just amazing, always ready to help. Thank you." SpR NHNN
  • "Amazing place, amazing people, amazing resources. Absolutely my favourite Library in London" IoN staff
  • "This Library is a rare gem. So lovely. So peaceful. A place where you can actually think and feel and be creative. The silence is rejuvenating. Please don’t ever take it away…"  NHNN staff
  • "This is one of the most organised, well set out Libraries I’ve been to. Thank you to the Librarian who showed me around and for the use of it made available to NHNN staff".
  • "This is the most calming, respectful, serene library I’ve been to. What’s more, the staff are the most welcoming and friendly. They always greet you, deal with your needs hastily and respectfully and meet any request thrown at them. Thank you for the effort to make this a beautiful place to learn". IoN student
  • Wonderful being shown around the Library and the facilities that you have here. Particularly impressed by the easy switch between the Queen Square Library and UCLH computers. Loved the water fountain too….Very well thought through”. Doctor
  • “Best study room UCL offers. Love the comfy chairs as well! Huge desk, internet connection, your own privacy and space. It’s perfect. And all the books you need nearby!”
  • “very helpful staff. Good selection of resources” – OT
  • “Thank you for a fantastic tour and introduction from a truly enthusiastic and valuable librarian” MRes student.
  • "I have been coming to this library for 4 years and have never encountered the level of support and service offered here elsewhere. Keep up the good work!" Research postgrad.

Mica Clarke, PhD student, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology: Q&A on plagiarism and citations

Mica Clarke
"A huge part of research is building knowledge of the literature, to identify research questions and direct future studies. It is important that we acknowledge the work of other researchers in the field by citing correctly, i.e. referencing where the ideas or findings you are describing came from. Plagiarism is when another author’s work is discussed but not clearly referenced in text. There are many different styles of referencing and preferred styles differ between disciplines. It is normal to have little knowledge of these when starting university, and it is worth taking time to understand referencing requirements by about these by reading through papers and seeking resources or courses available to you at your UCL library. My tip to get on top of citing sources and avoiding plagiarism is to use a reference manager like Mendeley or EndNote. Several reference managers available to download for free which insert references and bibliographies (reference lists) into your documents in a consistent format, according to your selected reference style. UCL libraries offer courses on how to use these tools too! "

Professor Dimitri Kullmann, Head of PGR, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology: Q&A on sharing research

Dimitri Kullmann

1. How important do you think it is for published research to be accessible and verified, what are the dangers of false data being released?

For research to have an impact it is essential to communicate the outcome to a wide audience. This means not only getting the headline out but also showing how the conclusions were drawn, and ideally allowing the reader to drill down to the original data. It can, however, be difficult to reconcile the need for transparency with protection of valuable datasets that may represent many years of effort and could be used for other analyses. Furthermore, although pre-print repositories such as bioRxiv are rapidly expanding, they are essentially unfiltered and readers can have difficulty distinguishing the signal from the noise. Peer-reviewed journals provide three main services known as the three C's that distinguish them from pre-print repositories: to Convene, to Certify and to Curate. With modern technology it is increasingly possible to link figures and tables in published articles to the datasets, and many journals now insist on Data Availability Statements to enhance transparency.    

2. Do you think it's important to have a digital profile, what are your tips on creating one?

Science is, for better or worse, closely linked to reputation, and it is important for authors of articles to earn the trust and respect of their readers. Many institutions have web-pages that list individual principal investigators or laboratories, but for early- or mid-career scientists who may be moving between institutions, it can be difficult to establish digital visibility. I strongly encourage authors to obtain an ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) identifier, especially if they have a common family name, or one that is easily mis-spelled. In addition, a stand-alone website can be useful to host a CV and links to publications, and can also double-up as repository of data acquisition or analysis code, lab photos and a blog.   

3. What do you think it the best medium for sharing research?

Publication in a conventional peer-review journal provides a degree of certification that an article is important and correct, and continues to be the main mode of communicating the outcome of research. Nevertheless, there is a very large number of journals, and they differ with respect to visibility and specialisation, whether they offer Open Access publication, and how much they charge for such publication or for a subscription. Navigating this choice can be difficult. A good rule of thumb for choosing a journal is to ask where you consistently read work that influenced your way of thinking about the subject. Quite often it will not be the journal with the highest Impact Factor.

4. How do you measure the impact of published research?

Ultimately, the impact of published research takes time to emerge, because progress in science depends on replication and refutation. This process operates on very different timescales in different subjects, because of the relative ease with which experiments can be set up or observations gathered. The delay in evaluating the impact of research has led to an unhealthy reliance on the Impact Factor of the journal where the research was published as a surrogate measure of its importance, to the point where people ask "What's it in?" more often than "What in it?". Many institutions and funders have signed up to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which aims to halt the practice of evaluating the value of articles according to the impact factor where they were published, but there is a long way to go before appointment and funding panels truly comply with its principles.


    Your Questions

    You Say:We Say:

     

    Improve Library environment (more quiet study space; bookable rooms; vending machine)

    Space is at a premium in Queen Square, and we maximise the use of space, fitting in as many multi-purpose facilities as possible.  Over summer 2019, we introduced multi-purpose desktop@UCL workstations which can also be used for study.

    We monitor usage and know that the occasions where there are no seats available is very rare. The refurbishment of no 7 Queen Square has provided more capacity for study space within the Square.

    We do not have the space to accommodate bookable areas, and operate on a first come, first served basis. We also do not have sound proofed rooms or social space for eating.

    Extend opening hours

    Unfortunately, extending library opening hours is not currently feasible due to the absence of a security presence at 23 Queen Square.

    We will continue to monitor our usage, and investigate  submitting a bid to Library Services for extended opening hours.

    Registered library users can also use all the UCL libraries, many of which have longer opening hours.

    Improve IT facilities

    (including wifi and UCLH computer access and privacy)

    In 2019 we had two new hubs installed to ensure reliable wifi throughout the library. We encourage our users to let us know if they do experience difficulties with our wifi connection.

    As part of the move to Windows 10, we reviewed our computer provision over Summer 2019. We monitor usage of the UCLH computers, and will review the balance between UCL e-Access Points and UCLH computers this summer. The issue of privacy was also raised at a recent HEE visit, and we are liaising (along with colleagues at the Cruciform) with the UCLH IT Department over effective solutions

    Sell more books

    We also occasionally have surplus duplicate books for sale which are displayed in the library, including the Queen Square: A History of the National Hospital and its Institute of Neurology. We also have a book swap in the foyer. We also house and manage Queen Square Archives.

    Please contact us for further information.

    Ensure people don’t just leave their stuff and take up valuable library space

    We discourage users from leaving their belongings, for security as well as space reasons, through signage throughout the library. We also conduct hourly head counts, and support UCL Libraries Share the Space initiative. We encourage users to let us know if library study space is being inappropriately used