The Oval

The Oval is part of the Learning Commons. It is established with the intention to provide students with state-of-the-art PC equipment and also integrated reference and IT assistance to facilitate their collaborative learning and studies. Students can use the PC workstations and also the software provided to work on their assignments together. Strategically located near the Reference Collection, the computer area within the Oval provides students with the proximity to essential printed references for their research. The combined help desks opposite to the Oval also provide instant technical and information support to users in need.

Facilities and Services

PCs and Software

136 PC workstations equipped with a wide range of software tools including word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, graphics, desk top publishing, web authoring, statistical analysis and programming languages, etc. are available here. For details, please visit the software list of Computing Services Centre (CSC). In particular, there is a professional statistical tool SmartPLS 3 at the PCs of Oval seats 221 and 222. Advance booking for Oval seats 201-315 is available to eligible patrons via the Library Study Space and PC Booking System. Please see Rules for Reserving Oval and Information Space Workstation and Steps to Access Booking System for details. Oval seats A-U are served on a first come, first served basis.

Printing Services

All PC workstations are connected to laser printers.

• Two Octopus-Card-operated network printers are located in the Printing Room 1 near the Oval to provide fast printing services for users at the Oval. They (Library Charge 01 and Library Charge 02) can print A4/A3 Black & White or Color printouts. For details, please refer to the charging rate of Photocopying and Printing. Also, there are two PC workstations dedicated for Fast Printing Service outside the printing room 3. For notebook computer users, please refer to the Fast Printing Service Guideline for Notebook Computer for details.
• There are three Quota Controlled Fast Print Queue network printers. Two are located in the printing room 2 near the Oval and one is located in the printing room 3. User can print to a central print queue and release their print jobs by deducting their print quota, and there is no need to bring along their own paper for printing. Also, there are four PC workstations dedicated for Fast Printing Service outside the printing room 2. For details, please refer to the Printing Steps for Oval and Information Space Area Workstation Users and Notebook Computer Users. Most of the PC workstations are connected to laser printers. Current CityU staff and students are entitled to print within his/her quota limit as assigned by Computing Services Centre. Please see CSC's guidelines for laser printing for details.
  

PCs for Different User Groups

Current CityU staff and students can use the PC workstations within the Oval by logging in with their CityU Electronic ID.

Alumni and outsiders such as JULAC card holders can use the PCs adjacent to the Reference Desk. Users not using materials checked out from the Media Collection can choose to use the 9 PC workstations numbered Media 01 to Media 09. Users with materials checked out from the Media Collection, however, will have the priority to use the rest of workstations (Media 10 to Media 27) in the area.

Users with special needs have the priority to use seats K-L and S-U within the Oval. "Priority Seating" signages indicating the priority of use by users with special needs have been posted at the seats concerned.

IT Help Desk and Reference Desk

The combined help desk made up of the IT Help Desk and the Reference Desk provides technical and reference assistance to the users.

For technical enquiries, please contact IT Help Desk at 3442-6963 during its service hours.

For reference enquiries, please contact the Reference Desk at 3442-6415 during its service hours.

Opening Hours

* Opening hours/counter service hours are subject to change during breaks and holidays. Please refer to the latest announcement of the Library.