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| Academic support servicesPage contents > The Library | Information technology | LSE Language Centre | Academic guidance While you are studying at LSE you will probably spend more time in the Library than in any other part of the School. LSE's Library, also known as the British Library of Political and Economic Science, is the major international library of the social sciences. It has about four million separate printed items, including over 10,000 current journals. The Library
As a new student, you can take a free audio tour or download the podcast, to familiarise yourself with the Library layout and facilities. Library staff provide online tutorials on topics like using the Library Catalogue, as well as training sessions on using other information resources throughout the year. Many leaflets are displayed about particular services and collections in the Library, including a customised student guide, and staff are always on hand to answer enquiries. Additional assistance is provided for students with disabilities. A computerised catalogue helps you find the information you need in the Library, and links to many other library catalogues in London and elsewhere. The main stock of the Library covers the social sciences in the widest sense; collections are particularly strong in economics, sociology, political science and the social, economic and international aspects of history. There are rich collections of government publications from nearly all the countries in the world, a wealth of statistical materials, important collections of manuscripts and rare books and long runs of a large number of journals. The School also has a separate collection for general literature and music which is housed in the Shaw Library, a pleasant room in which concerts are often held. As an LSE student you will also have access to most libraries of other colleges of the University of London. To find out more about the Library, visit www.lse.ac.uk/library Information technologyIT Services provides a wide range of services, facilities and support, including high speed network access, high specification PCs, and high quality help, advice and training. IT facilities on campusThere are around 1000 PCs available for students to use in open access areas around the School and in the computer classrooms. Over 450 of these PCs are located in the Library, and there is 24-hour PC availability on campus during term-time. Specialist facilities are available for students with disabilities, including dedicated computer workstations and printing facilities, and screen reading and voice recognition software for blind and visually-impaired students. All networked PCs on campus provide access to common desktop applications and specialist software, including:
PCs on campus also provide access to the Library catalogue and a wide range of electronic databases and datasets (eg census, financial information). IT facilities in residencesAll residences are wired for direct connection to the School network. There are a small number of open access PCs in each residence computer room, which are available 24 hours a day, and students may use their own computer in their study bedroom or in the wireless zone, located in the social and recreational areas in residences.
Using your own computerComputer ownership is not obligatory, but if you do bring your own computer, IT Services provides information and help with connecting to the LSE IT environment and accessing services and resources both on campus and off site. On campus, there are over 200 laptop plug-in points in the Library for students to use, and laser printing is also available. In addition there is an extensive wireless network from which you can gain access to the internet and email. Off campus, students can connect via the Remote Desktop or a virtual private network (VPN). IT support and trainingHardware and software support for taught course students is provided by the IT Help Desk in the Library. One to one support and training on the use of IT is available for students with disabilities, and the Laptop Surgery provides support for all students with personally owned laptops. A wide range of IT Guides can be obtained from the IT Help Desk and online. All IT training is provided free of charge for students who wish to improve or extend their IT skills or prepare for the internationally recognised European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) certificate. Training workshops run during the Michaelmas and Lent terms and online computer based training is also available. LSE Language Centre
Whether you are going to study a modern foreign language or need to improve your English for Academic Purposes (EAP), our aim is to provide you with the highest level of language support throughout your studies. All our language courses utilise the specialist talents of our lecturers who relate their own expertise to the teaching of languages for specific purposes. No other language centre can match our experience in this developing field. The LSE Language Centre is constantly updating both its provision and delivery, so the best way of finding out how we can support you is to contact us directly. The following information will give you an idea of what we offer.
For more detailed information see Language Studies. Academic guidance
Study skills supportWe offer a range of study skills support options, open to all students in the School. At the start of the year, there is a series of open lectures, on topics including essay writing, handling your reading, note taking, and working with concepts and ideas. After Christmas, the series continues with sessions on dissertation writing and exam technique. Later in the first (Michaelmas) term, we offer more interactive workshops, on managing your time, and making the connection between your studies and future career options. If you need more detailed, personalised support, you can come to our weekly one to one advice sessions. Or if you prefer to use the web for support and ideas, we have a site full of materials, useful links and the option of emailing us with your study concerns: http://learning.lse.ac.uk Teachers and tutorsFor any guidance about a particular class, there is the class teacher; there is also a teacher responsible for each course, who guides the class teachers. Each student has a personal tutor, who receives regular reports from class teachers and meets with the student during the course of the year to discuss their academic progress. The tutor is also there to help with any academic, administrative or personal questions where the student may not be sure which person or office is responsible. In addition, each department has a Departmental Tutor responsible for the day to day running of undergraduate studies in the department (sometimes those duties are shared with a tutor responsible for a particular degree). All members of academic staff set aside specified times (office hours) when they are free to see any student. Dean of Undergraduate StudiesThe Dean of Undergraduate Studies is responsible for general oversight of the undergraduate student experience, including the relationship between the academic and administrative aspects of undergraduate teaching and welfare. The Dean acts as a channel for complaints, problems and suggestions and also chairs the Undergraduate Students' Consultative Forum, on which all departments are represented by a student from their department. The Dean may be consulted by any undergraduate students on any problems, academic or otherwise, and in particular is available for the counselling of individual students who are experiencing difficulties.
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The Library is more than a book and journal collection. There are also hundreds of study spaces and IT workstations, laptop points, wireless access, group study rooms and photocopying facilities. The Library's Course Collection contains books on your reading lists and the Electronic Library, accessible from workstations right around the School, provides access to thousands of electronic information resources such as newspapers, journals and useful websites. The Library is open for long hours, seven days a week in term time and the Easter vacation and for 24 hours during the examination period.
The LSE Language Centre is unique – no other centre specialises in creating courses targeted to the needs of students and practitioners in the field of the social sciences and related areas of study. All our teachers are native speakers who combine extensive teaching experience with an educational background in one or more of the subject specialisms offered at LSE.
You will see from the detailed information on our courses and teaching methods that we expect our students to spend a substantial part of their time in guided private study, in addition to the formal instruction provided. We believe students should be largely responsible for organising their own work to keep up with the requirements of the course. Anyone who meets our admission standards should have a good idea already of the kind of skills needed; but we find that our students can often use some extra advice. You may find it hard to decide what combination of courses to choose, or which book or article to read first, or which essay or class paper has priority over your time. LSE can help in the following ways.
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