Resolved – Problems accessing e-resources

Open laptop with notepadThe problem with access to many of our e-resource platforms has now been resolved, and you should be able to access all e-resources as normal.

If you are still having any problems with access, please contact us at eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or submit an e-resources problem report form.

Thank you for your patience during this time.

Sophie Dorman – E-resources Team

Book EndNote Online training for easy referencing!

Open book on a laptopThere are spaces still available on next week’s EndNote Online workshop for undergraduates and masters students.

Come along to learn how to use EndNote Online to…

  • store details of the books and articles you read
  • download references from databases such as the Web of Science
  • insert citations in your Word documents
  • build a bibliography in a style of your choosing at the click of a button

Workshop time

Wednesday 21 November, 14:00 – 15:30

Book your place

Book your place via the ‘Library course bookings’ link on the RISISweb portal. The bookings link is located in the ‘Actions’ tab if you’re a student. If you’re a member of staff click on ‘Specialist Actions’ in the ‘Specialist Actions’ tab.

This workshop is part of the Student Training and Experience Programme (STEP) and counts towards the RED Award.

Unable to make this date?

Check the EndNote training webpage for other dates when this workshop is running this term.

Sally Smith, Learning Support Co-ordinator

Book Desktop EndNote training for easy referencing

There are spaces still available on the next beginner’s Desktop EndNote workshop for postgraduate students, researchers and staff.Student studying

Come along to learn how to use EndNote to…

  • store details of the books and articles you read
  • download references from databases such as the Web of Science
  • insert citations in your Word documents
  • build a bibliography in a style of your choosing at the click of a button

Workshop time

Wednesday 14 November, 14:00 – 16:00

Book your place

Book your place via the ‘Library course bookings’ link on the RISISweb portal. The bookings link is located in the ‘Actions’ tab if you’re a student.   If you’re a member of staff click on ‘Specialist Actions’ in the ‘Specialist Actions’ tab.

This workshop is part of the Student Training and Experience Programme (STEP) and counts towards the RED Award.

Unable to make this date?

Check the EndNote training webpage for other dates for this workshop and sources of help with using EndNote.

Sally Smith, Learning Support Co-ordinator

New resources from Digimap

We now have two new Digimap services available to University members: Marine Digimap and Global Digimap. These are in addition to Ordnance Survey, Historic, Geology, Environment and Aerial.

Marine Digimap

Marine Digimap is of two types: nautical charts derived from UK Hydrographic Office paper charts and chart panels; and Marine Themes data, which is a feature rich dataset derived from authoritative material obtained from the UK Hydrographic Office.  Both are available to download for use in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) or to produce printed maps.

Marine Roam

Marine Roam© British Crown and OceanWise, 2018.

Marine Roam can be customised and includes layers for:

  • Elevation
  • Shipwrecks and Obstructions
  • Industrial Facilities
  • Transport
  • Administrative and Management Units
  • Geographical Regions

Chart Roam enables you to view and print maps using Raster Charts at one of 11 predefined scales. Marine data is extensively used in offshore engineering projects, management of marine and coastal environments, marine ecology studies, environmental impact assessments and tourism.

Global Digimap

As its name suggests, Global Digimap goes beyond Great Britain, with world coverage derived primarily from OpenStreetMap data, and smaller scales from Natural Earth datasets.  The service is currently in Beta, and Edina would appreciate any feedback or ideas for new datasets.

Global Digimap

Global Digimap © OpenStreetMap contributors

OpenStreetMap data is created by volunteers surveying features on the ground or adding them from Aerial and Satellite imagery.  OpenStreetMap is open data and you are free to use it for any purpose as long as you credit OpenStreetMap and its contributors. However this does mean that the quality of data in OpenStreetMap is very variable, with some features and whole cities being present in very high levels of detail and accuracy and other features are not present at all.

Natural Earth data is created by a group of volunteers around the globe and is supported by the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS). Natural Earth is open data and you are free to use it for any purpose.

There is more information about OSM and Natural Earth on Digimap’s help pages.

Global Digimap is available as both data download and Roam.

Judith Fox
Map Librarian/Digimap Site Representative

Parts of UK Data Service down 23-29 August

Books, glasses and a tabletThe UK Data Service are carrying out essential maintenance of their systems during this week and next. They will also be making improvements to their website.

Their online services will be interrupted during the deployment phase, from Thursday 23 August until Wednesday 29 August, with normal services expected to resume on Friday 30 August. Some parts of their current website, account area and data catalogue will be unavailable during this period.  Although some parts of the website should still be active, we recommend that you download or request any data you need by Wednesday 22 August.

Sophie Dorman, E-resources Team

ProQuest databases unavailable 18th-19th August

Open laptopProQuest will be carrying out essential maintenance on their websites this weekend. Whilst this work takes place, from 17:00 on Saturday 18th August – 11:00 on Sunday 19th August, the following databases will not be available:

During this time, you may wish to explore some of our other resources by using the Summon discovery service or looking at your subject guide.

Sophie Dorman, E-resources Team

Change of access method for some resources

Laptop and bookDue to ongoing problems with one of the authentication we use for access to our e-resources, we have had to change the way we provide you with access to some resources.

The resources that are affected are:

In each case, on-campus access will be unaffected, although you may find you are not asked to log in as often. For off-campus access, you will need to follow the instructions for each resource that are available on the database information pages on the Library website. These are linked above where available. These instructions will also appear if you search for a journal title via Enterprise or the E-journals Finder, and will appear in the Summon sidebar.A screenshot showing where to locate access instructions in the Summon sidebar, underneath the bibliographic and holdings information.

This is a temporary solution to the problem, and we hope to be able to provide a more stable access method for these resources soon.

If you would like more information about this, or are having difficulty accessing anything, please either submit a Problem Report Form or email eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk.

Sophie Dorman, E-resources Team

What’s new in Digimap?

New licence agreements

From 1 August, Digimap (our online map and spatial data delivery service) will implement new licences.  The first time you log in after this date, you will need to agree to the new licences before you can access the service. Log in as usual and follow the prompts – there’s no need to re-register your details.

New look

When you log in, you will see that Digimap has a new look. The homepage has been refreshed, while retaining the easy access and functionality of the  old page.

Digimap home page 2018

As with the current homepage, login is possible either using the ‘Log In’ button in the top right corner or by accessing each Roam or Data Download application directly (see the ‘Geology Roam’ and ‘Geology Data Download’ example below:

Geology Digimap home

More information about the maps and data in each collection is now given, and there is also more detail on how to access the maps and data and easier links to Help information.

New resource – Marine Digimap

As part of the new licensing agreement, we now have access to Marine Digimap. This has two types of data:

  • Nautical charts – derived from UK Hydrographic Office paper charts
  • Marine themes – including elevation, shipwrecks, aquaculture areas, windfarms and navigational features

Marine Digimap could be useful for offshore engineering projects, management of marine and coastal environments, marine ecology studies, environmental impact assessments and tourism.

Digimap Marine example

Judith Fox, Map Librarian

Enterprise upgrade 16-17 July: some services disrupted

Computer keyboardThis summer we are upgrading Enterprise, our Library Catalogue, to give us a more robust, reliable system and take advantage of some new features. During the upgrade, on Monday 16 July, between 16:00 and midnight, some services will unavailable.

You will still be able to …

  • Search the old Library catalogue, Unicorn to access book locations and some e-resources.  Or use Summon for online access to journal articles, book chapters, and much more!
  • Pop into the Library to get books, or ask at the URS Information Desk about your account, paying fines etc. until 17:00.

But you won’t be able to …

  • Access your online Library account to renew your loans or pay fines.

The upgrade is planned to have finished by Tuesday 17 July, but we will still designate the system as ‘at risk’ on that day as the Systems Team test the upgrade. We will let you know if Enterprise will be unavailable for longer than initially planned.

Jackie Skinner, Web Manager for
Sam Tyler, Library Systems Manager

Problems downloading on JSTOR platform

Laptop and bookWe are currently experiencing intermittent problems when downloading PDFs from the JSTOR platform.

When attempting to download an item from JSTOR, you will be prompted to accept the platform terms and conditions. You may find this terms and conditions box keeps refreshing, and doesn’t let you proceed to download.

It is possible to work around this issue by following the steps below:

  • If you are on-campus, please use the on-campus link for JSTOR in the library databases a-z list. As long as you are on-campus and connected to the University network you should be able to access and download articles with no problems.
  • If you are off-campus, please use this link to navigate to the JSTOR platform, then click the ‘Login Through You Library’ link in the middle of the top of the webpage. (This is known as an institutional login). Please then search and select ‘University of Reading’ when prompted. The University Single Sign On page should then load, where you can enter your University username and password. You should then be directed back to the JSTOR homepage, and be able to access and download articles with no problems.

You could also try using the E-Journals Finder to search for a journal title and then browsing to the article you require manually.

If you have any problems with the workaround above, or any other problems with electronic resources, please submit an e-resources problem report form for help.

Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Sophie Dorman, E-resources Team

Problem accessing ScienceDirect content via Summon

Open laptop with notepadWe are experiencing intermittent problems when accessing ScienceDirect articles via Summon from off-campus.

Problem

When you try to access an item you have located via Summon, usually you should be prompted to login to the University Single Sign On login page before being directed to the resource (with access).

Due to an issue with Summon and the authentication method we use for the ScienceDirect platform, the Single Sign On login is not loading for every ScienceDirect result found in Summon. You will still be directed to the article, but without the Single Sign On login. If you are off-campus you will not be recognised as a University of Reading member, and therefore will not be granted access.

If you are on-campus you should have access automatically due to IP address recognition.

Workaround

To avoid this issue, you can navigate to the journal you require via the E-journals Finder (please search here with the journal rather than article title). When you reach the ScienceDirect platform you will need to use the search function or select the correct volume/issue to find your article.

Alternatively you can use Summon to find ScienceDirect articles, but when you reach the ScienceDirect platform, if the “Purchase PDF” option is displayed – indicating you do not have access – you will need to login via the institutional login:

  • Please click “Sign In” towards the top right of the webpage
  • Please then select “Other institution” on the right, as per the below screenshot (please do not select OpenAthens)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Please then search and select “University of Reading”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • You should then be prompted to login via the University Single Sign On, and then directed back to the article with access

 

If you have any on-going issues, please feel free to contact us via eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk or by submitting an e-resources problem report form.

 

Lucy Ardill, E-resources Team

 

 

MyiLibrary migration – save your notes now!

On 28th March 2018, the MyiLibrary e-book platform will be closing and all of its content will be moving to Ebook Central.

Saving your notesA closeup of an e-book on an e-reader

You will still be able to annotate e-books on Ebook Central, but any annotations you have made on the MyiLibrary platform will not automatically be moved over. You will lose any bookmarks or highlighting you have added, however you will be able to preserve your notes before the platform closes. ProQuest have provided us with instructions on how to do this, which you can view here. You may also wish to print out your bookshelf as this will make it easier to locate the books you require on the new platform.

Some features of Ebook Central

You will be able to download E-book Central e-books for a limited time period using the free Adobe Digital Editions software.

You will also be able to download e-book chapters as simple PDFs which can be read using the free Adobe Reader software and saved to your device.

Up to 40% of an e-book can be printed or downloaded in chapters, and up to 20% of an e-book can be copied. The exact pages available for you to print/download or copy will be displayed in each e-book.

To find out more about Ebook Central, take a look at ProQuest’s Ebook Central LibGuide.

If you have any questions or problems locating the content you need on Ebook Central, please get in touch with us by submitting a problem report form.

Sophie Dorman, E-resources Team