January 2012

You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2012.

What have we done for you lately?

27 January, 2012 in Collections Project, General news, Rewiring, Study Space

What has the University Library done for students lately? Here’s an update showing what we did over the last year.

Library study space and technology

Created more study spaces on the Ground, 2nd, 3rd and 5th Floors, including the new Group Study Pods.
Added four plasma screens to Group Study areas – just plug in your laptop.
Installed Smartboards to training rooms - try them out yourselves when the rooms are not booked.
Reserved the whole 5th Floor for Silent Study

Rewiring the Library

After installing up-to-date power distribution last summer, we’ll rewire each floor over the next few years. The 5th Floor is currently getting new lighting, data and power plug sockets. Work continues after the revision season.

New Off-site Store allows stock moves

Relegated lesser-used and research material to ‘closed-access’ storage at our new Off-campus Store to make more room in the University Library.
Improved shelf layouts help you navigate around.
Added the Bulmershe Collection (from the former Bulmershe Library, closed as academic activity left Bulmershe Court).

Our Collections Project will continue to provide further improvments over the next few years.

Library home for Study Advice & Maths Support

Student talking to Study Adviser Michelle Reid We built Study Advice a new, permanent home by the University’s largest PC area and IT Help counter. Increased use shows how much easier it is to find and use the service in the Library.

Library help – our ‘constant’!

Throughout every change, Library staff remain passionate about teaching you to find information you need to achieve high standards. Contact us for help.

What did we do for you before?

Find out what the Library did for you over the last few years on a previous blog.

Improved document supply with BLDSS

25 January, 2012 in General news, Inter-Library Loans

Calling all Inter-Library Loan patrons!

We’re moving over to using the British Library’s new managment system for their Document Supply Service which we use to provide the majority of items you request. It brings some benefits we hope you will like:

Colour: Secure Electronic Deliveries (SEDs) and photocopies will now be in full colour unless the original item is black and white
No recall: Inter-library loans will no longer be recalled from you early, you will keep your item until the original due date every time
Quicker delivery: Faster turnaround of items on loan at the British Library means items we are waiting for arrive quicker

We don’t anticipate your experience of requesting and receiving Inter-Library Loan items to change unduly, but as one of the first six universities in the country to adopt this new system we may experience some minor teething troubles during the first few weeks. We hope you can bear with us while we iron out any issues.

rr/np

Provide e-resource feedback for a chance to win prizes

23 January, 2012 in General news

Cengage Learning is currently running an online survey, through which they hope to measure user preferences for online support.

Everyone who completes the survey and enters their details will be entered into a prize draw to win £200 (or equivalent currency) of Cengage Learning textbooks or £100 (or equivalent currency) of Amazon vouchers. The survey can be translated into several languages, and should take no longer than 5 minutes.

‘Essential Reading’ for Spring

19 January, 2012 in General news

The Spring Term issue of Essential Reading, our newsletter for students, is now online and will also soon be available in print.

Read about the ongoing improvements to the Library building; help and guidance from the Study Advisers; and how we are supporting your courses with extra funding and resources.

Book Drop at London Road in operation

10 January, 2012 in General news

Do you use the London Road campus but would rather not spend time returning University Library loans at Whiteknights?

Just pop 7-day, standard and term loans in the Book Drop in the foyer of the Resources Building (24 on the London Road map). The foyer is open weekdays 07.30 until at least 21:00, even though other units in the building - Teaching Resource Base (TRB) and Teaching Support Unit (TSU) - operate different hours.

For more information, see the guide ‘Welcome to London Road’.

Why we’ve put a Book Drop here

This service supports the Institute of Education. It has just moved from Bulmershe Court to London Road, making it the furthest department from the University Library at Whiteknights.

The Book Drop at Bulmershe Court is no longer in operation. If you are in halls there, please go to the University Library Whiteknights where you can return items 24/7. Check our opening hours or, if the Library is closed, use the Book Drop to the right of its entrance.

Latest ‘Info Tip’ – help from your liaison librarian

5 January, 2012 in Info tip, Training

Get ahead with help from your liaison librarian!

Liaison librarians The latest in our series of monthly ‘Info tips’ has just been published, which this month focuses on how your liaison librarian can support your studies. Read the tip to find out what help is available and how to contact your liaison librarian.

This is one of a series of Info tips to help save you time and effort finding or using information.

New dictionaries and encyclopedias – November and December 2011

4 January, 2012 in New reference works

Need to look something up? Your Library gives you access to many different respected resources - both in print and online - like dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Here is the list of new reference works for November and December!

New printed reference works

Aslib directory of information sources in the United Kingdom
London : Routledge, 2010.
GROUND FLOOR REFERENCE–027.042-ASL

The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy.
Whitehouse Station, N.J : Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., 2011.
2ND FLOOR REFERENCE–616-MER

The Methuen Drama guide to contemporary British playwrights / edited
and with an introduction by Martin Middeke, Peter Paul Schnierer and Aleks
Sierz.
London : Methuen Drama 2011.
3RD FLOOR REFERENCE–822.91409-MET

A dictionary of criminal justice / Peter Joyce and Neil Wain.
London : Routledge, 2010.
4TH FLOOR REFERENCE–346.9-JOY

For more reference works, look up individual titles on the Unicorn catalogue.

New online reference works

There were no new online reference books added

To find existing titles go to our Online dictionaries and encyclopedias page or search the Unicorn catalogue.

Other new resources

Other new books and new e-books are listed on the Unicorn catalogue.