Access to university facilities can sometimes be a little tricky and if you then consider that there are about 55 000 students at the three universities, you may well come to the conclusion that facilities on the campus leave much to be desired, especially when compared to those of a British university.

Photocopiers

Photocopies are cheap in France. There are photocopiers in all of the libraries including the DEFLE library. You have to buy a 'smart card' and then charge it up to use it in the photocopiers. The card will cost about 30F. Beware: a card from the defle library, for example, won't work in the other libraries.

Word Processing

There are free access word processing rooms on the first floor in Bâtiments I,K in Bordeaux III and on the ground floor of the 1^e Cycle building in Bordeaux I . There are laser printers which cost six or seven pence per page.

Libraries

The main libraries may seem a little sparse. They are. When you register you get a piece of paper to take to the library so you can get a library card. In the Bibliothèque des Sciences there is more to be found on the first floor in the 3ème Cycle section. The main libraries have a general interest section as well. It is worth asking if your department has its own library.

Laundrettes

There are laundrettes at Village 5 and underneath Bâtiment B in Village 1 . Avoid them on Sunday afternoons - you could be there for hours and hours. It is a good idea to collect the right coins for the machines.

Electronic Mail

It is possible to get an e-mail account so you can mail your friends. However getting an account may not be all that easy because not many people realise that it is possible. Go to the Centre des Ressources Informatiques in Bordeaux I but you can't do it yourself, you have to find out who in your department deals with such things and get them to sort it out.

If you study maths or computer science you have to go to the grey triangular computer building in Bordeaux I next to the 1^e Cycle building. Ask for a computer account in the office on the first floor.