We have received an update from our supplier that the access issues with journal articles on Taylor & Francis Online have now been resolved. You should now be able to get access to the resources you need as usual.

If you encounter any further problems, please contact the E-resources Team at eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or submit a Problem Report Form.

Thank you for your patience while this issue was resolved.

Sophie Dorman, E-resources Team

You’re probably aware that Digimap will provide you with all types of maps and map data of Great Britain. But are you aware that you can also access maps from beyond our shores?

If you need spatial data or maps beyond Great Britain, you can use Global Digimap, part of Edina’s suite of Digimap services. It includes three datasets:

Kenya/Tanzania boundary area. Created using World Panorama data. ©Collins/Bartholomew Ltd. (2019)

• Natural Earth data – small scale open data, created by volunteers, free to use for any purpose
• World Panorama – small scale data created by Collins Bartholomew (publishers of the Times World Atlas)
• OpenStreetMap (OSM) data – crowdsourced open data at various scales. This has world coverage, but the detail varies considerably depending on geographic location.  For most urban areas coverage is good, but the more remote a place, the less detail there is likely to be.

Beijing. Map data ©OpenStreetMap contributors

Two extra data sources are additionally available. When using Roam, they can be accessed through the Overlays button. They are:

• World Place Names – OSM is created by volunteers in the local language, so by adding this overlay to your map you will be given the English version of selected cities and administrative districts.
• WWF World Biomes – This was produced by the WWF to show broad vegetation/ecology groups.

You can also add your own data to Global Digimap by using the WMS Feed option. Search to find suitable feeds, or upload one of your own.

All the usual tools are available as well, so you can measure distance and area, and add your own information by using the drawing tools in the Roam interface.

For more information and support, go to the Digimap Resource Centre and the Digimap YouTube channel.

Judith Fox, Map Librarian

We now have access to a new service as part of Digimap, available both through Digimap Roam and Download.  Geomni consists of three parts, all of which can be accessed through the basemaps button on Roam.

• UKMap: a modern, highly detailed, feature-rich mapping database of Greater London. Its unique, innovative design offers users a flexible choice of integrated map features within a single geographic information source.
• UKBuildings: a unique database created and regularly updated to help you understand the age, structure, characteristics and use of commercial, public and residential buildings across GB.
• UKLand: a maintained, national land information database providing a detailed consistent breakdown of the use of land across the UK

UKMap (London)

UKMap, despite its name, actually covers London within the M25. There are several different parts. In Roam use Basemaps to find:

• Base (London) – similar to OS MasterMap but with more land use information. Includes unit information within shopping centres.
• Aerial (London) – at a resolution of 10 metres.

In addition, using the Overlay tab, you can add:

• Upper Floors (London) – shows content of upper floors of shopping centres
• Tree Canopy (London) – shows indicative canopy of trees

Download gives two more Greater London datasets:

• Terrain DTM – Digital Terrain Model
• Terrain DSM – Digital Surface Model

UKBuildings.

UKBuildings is a national database of building attributes. It includes information about building area and height, as well as relative age (eg Historic, Post War, Modern) and use (eg Residential, Religious, Retail with offices above).

UKLand is a national database of land use (rather than cover). It allows the identification types of land use eg mines/spoil areas or business and retail parks and could be used for planning and risk assessment.

UKLand

To access Geomni, go to Digimap – you will need to register and accept the licence conditions first.

Judith Fox, Map Librarian

Summon have recently informed us that they will be undertaking some updates that will result in system downtime for up to 24 hours from 02:00 Saturday 29 May to 02:00 Sunday 30 May.  

 This means that Summon will be available for searching, but some of the links may be unavailable. The E-Journals Finder will also be unavailable during this period.  

 If you have been planning to use Summon for research the weekend of the 29- 30 May, we would recommend downloading any articles or chapters you will need from Summon before the outage, so that your studies are not impacted.  

 There will still be some access to E-resources via the Enterprise Catalogue  (for eBooks) and the A-Z database (for journals, articles, eBooks and databases). However, the A-Z database list is not a definitive list of our resources, so please do access and download anything you think you will need beforehand.  

As always, please do contact the E-Team at eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or via our e-resources problem report form, if you have any concerns or queries.  

We apologise for any inconvenience this outage may cause. 

Lindsay Warwick, E-resources Team