Orchard Learning Resource Centre

The Orchard Learning Resource Centre is situated on our Selly Oak Campus, approximately one mile from the main campus in Edgbaston along the Bristol Road. 

A free bus operates Monday to Friday between the Selly Oak campus and the main Edgbaston campus during term time:

• 28 September - 18 December 2020
• 1 February - 26 March 2021
• 19 April - 25 June 2021

Show your University ID card to the driver. The buses are operated by Johnson's. There is a bus stops on the Edgbaston campus opposite the Teaching and Learning Building on the ring road, and near the Guild of Students (by the traffic hump just after the bridge).

Study spaces

The OLRC has a total of 488 study spaces. This includes over 368 traditional desks (including seven individual study rooms), 65 PCs, a group study room for eleven people (not currently available), and 49 soft-seating spaces.

Study rooms

The OLRC has seven individual study rooms available to book. The rooms are for single occupancy only.

To book a room you can call 0121 415 8454 between the hours of 9-4 Monday- Friday, or contact Just Ask. We aim to respond to all email enquiries within 24 hours. These rooms can be booked a week in advance for a maximum of three bookings a week, after which we use a first come, first served system. 

Computers

There are computer clusters in each of the three halls on the first floor of the main building. You will need your ADF username and password to use these computers. 

Wireless network 

Wireless access is available throughout the library. 

Photocopying and printing

There are Multifunctional Devices (MFDs) on the ground and first floors of the library. These will allow you to print, photocopy and scan to University email addresses. 

Our managed print system allows you to collect your printing from any of our MFDs and to print from your own laptop or mobile device.  See our main printing, photocopying and scanning page for more information.

Please click on the following links to see a detailed floor plan of each zone:

• Humanities Hall (PDF - 112 KB)
• Humanities Hall - Mezzanine floor (PDF - 108 KB)
• Religion and Society Hall (PDF - 140 KB)
• Religion and Society Hall - Mezzanine floor (PDF - 80 KB)

OLRC holds over 100,000 items, encompassing religious studies, social sciences and humanities. 

Loanable material is on the first floor, in the Religion and Society Hall and the Humanities Hall.

Availability of materials

Some reference material is housed in closed access stacks and is available for library use only. Material from the stacks has to be collected by library staff, and may not be immediately available. Visitors are advised to contact the library in advance to check on the availability of material.

The Mingana collection of Syriac and Arabic manuscripts, plus the Harold Turner collection of documents on the subject of African Initiated Churches, were previously housed in the OLRC. They are now located in the Cadbury Research Library. 

The Baykov Collection, European Documentation Collection, German Documentation Collection, Arabic Collection, and Oriental Collection are now located in the Main Library.

Posters and maps from the Baykov Collection are located in the Cadbury Research Library. OLRC is also home to part of the Eton Myers Collection.

All libraries and resource centres offer the following services:

• Book fetching  
• Stock transfer 
• Assistive software on all PCs

N.B. These services are available in the Orchard Learning Resources Centre (OLRC) at all times when the Centre is open.

Facilities and access

• Bookable Group Study Space
• Assistive Technology Booth (not currently available)
• Accessible toilets 
• Parking for people with disabilities 
• Quiet/Silent Study area 
• Wheelchair Access

Specialist equipment

This site has the following equipment available within its Assistive Technology Booth:

• Literacy software (TextHelp Read&Write) 
• Mind-mapping / Idea-mapping software 
• Scanning and reading software (OpenBook and Pearl)
• Screen Magnification Software (ZoomText) 
• Screen-reader software (Jaws) 
• Voice-recognition software (Dragon Naturally Speaking) 

Additional information

• For general information please see the Disability and Learning Support Service website which includes information for both students with disabilities and their Admissions Tutors.
• Edgbaston Campus mobility map (PDF - 373KB)  showing access to buildings and the location of disabled toilets on the Campus.