Referencing workshops for Undergraduate and Masters students

Posted on 11 March, 2019 by sallysmith

Open book on a laptop There are spaces still available on our upcoming EndNote Online and Mendeley workshops for undergraduates and masters students.

Come along to these beginners workshops to learn how 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 times

Wednesday 13 March, 14:00 – 15:30 (EndNote Online)
Wednesday 21 March, 14.00-15.00 (Mendeley)

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.

These workshops are part of the Student Training and Experience Programme (STEP) and count towards the RED Award.

Unable to make this date?

If you can’t make either of these sessions but would like to know more, take a look at our reference management guide or contact your Liaison Librarian.

Sally Smith, Learning Support Co-ordinator

Library refurbishment: new walkway

Posted on 25 February, 2019 by Katie Winter

New walkway to Library building entrance (marked in blue).

Starting this week, there will be a new temporary walkway created to access the Library building. This will allow landscaping work to be undertaken next to the Library entrance.

This new walkway (marked on the image in blue) will be slightly further away from the building. This will be used when approaching the Library from the direction of Palmer quad or Whiteknights House. Access from the direction of the URS building remains the same.

The area marked in red is where the landscaping work will be taking place. This work is due to be completed at the start of May.

Further information

To keep up to date with the latest Library refurbishment news, please visit the Library refurbishment webpage and look out for posts on this Library blog.

Katie Winter, Trainee Liaison Librarian

Cuban Culture – trial access to archive

Posted on 21 February, 2019 by Katie Winter

Try out the archive of Cuban Culture and Cultural Relations now! We have trial access until 22 March.

This primary source collection from 1959 onward is split into two parts, covering the culture and cultural relations of Revolutionary Cuba and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Part 1, “Casa y cultura”, provides unique access to 45,000 documents, covering almost 60 years of cultural relations between Revolutionary Cuba and abroad.

This is available on-campus and off-campus.

Part 2, Writers, provides access to more than 63,800 digital files and records on 1,046 writers and artists .

This is also available on-campus and off-campus.

Help us to decide

Please send any comments on this resource to Katie Winter, Liaison Librarian for Modern Languages and European Studies – k.l.winter@reading.ac.uk.

Katie Winter, Trainee Liaison Librarian

Try out a new census and socio-economic data service

Posted on 20 February, 2019 by

Digimap, the online map and data delivery service, has a new trial service available. In addition to Ordnance Survey, Historic, Geology, Aerial, Environment, Marine and Global, we now have access to Society Digimap.

Society Digimap

Society Digimap example

Society Digimap provides a wealth of census and socio-economic data for Great Britain. Although census data is available through the UK Data Service, the processing required to show census and other demographic datasets on a map can be a barrier to use for many interested in the value of the datasets. By providing these datasets as layers to visualise along with high quality Ordnance Survey data, users can access this rich information source to gain valuable insights for their areas of interest without the need to learn how to use a GIS.

Over 40 layers of data from a range of Census 2011 data, broadband availability and Output Area Classification (OAC) are available. Initially this can be mapped using a Roam mapper, but a download facility is also planned.

Is this service useful?

If you are using or planning to use this service in your teaching or research, please let us know! The trial is available until 31 July 2019. Please send any feedback about it to Judith Fox, Digimap Site Representative.

Judith Fox, Map Librarian

Use other libraries with SCONUL Access scheme

Posted on 19 February, 2019 by

Are you going home for a break but still want to get some research done? Or are you someone thinking of visiting our Library and want your own access card to make your visits here that much easier?

Then follow the instructions below to see if you could join the SCONUL scheme!

What is SCONUL?

The SCONUL Access scheme is a reciprocal relationship between many university libraries across the UK and Ireland allowing members of the different institutions to make use of each other’s libraries.

What access can I get?

Depending on whether you are a full or part-time student, an undergraduate, postgraduate or staff member, you could be eligible for borrowing books or reference access to other SCONUL Access member libraries.

How do I apply?

Go to the SCONUL Access participating libraries page and select your status and home institution. You will then see a list of all the libraries that you are eligible to use. Select the library that you wish to use and click on the ‘apply for access’ button and complete the online form.

You will receive an email authorizing your registration at all the libraries you are eligible to join. Simply take your email and University Campus Card along to the Library you wish to access and you will be issued with your own access or library card.

Remember you only need to apply once – you can use the same email to join as many libraries as you want!

Note: Not all libraries are members of the scheme, and not all members of the scheme accept all types of users. Each library participating in SCONUL Access chooses which types of users to accept under the scheme. The SCONUL Access participating libraries page will only the display the ones you can use. If you are unsure please contact the Library.

Further information

If you are a current University of Reading student or staff member looking to use another institutions library please follow the link here.

If you are a member of another institution looking to use the University of Readings Library resources please follow the link here

Matthew Pearson, Library User Services

Book moves to 4th Floor complete

Posted on 18 February, 2019 by Katie Winter

As of 18 February the latest round of book moves are complete. All of the books and other materials from the 2nd Floor have been moved to the 4th Floor so that work can start on refurbishing the 2nd Floor.

Where are items now located?

3rd Floor

100s – philosophy, psychology
200s – religion
400s – languages, linguistics
500s – science
600s – technology, business, typography
700s – arts
Oversize MF 000-700
European Documentation Centre (EDC)
Music CDs
Teaching Practice Collection

4th Floor

000s – computer science
300s – social sciences, law
800s – literature
900s – history, geography, archaeology
Oversize MF 800-900
Journals in all subjects
Maps

Need help finding something?

If you need help locating an item or subject in the new arrangement please ask at the Information Desks.

More information

Keep up to date with the latest study space and Library refurbishment news on our Library refurbishment webpage.

Katie Winter, Trainee Liaison Librarian

Getting help with your dissertation – info tip

Posted on 18 February, 2019 by Caitlin McCulloch

A shelf of books and some lights No matter how many essays you’ve written, working on a dissertation or research project can be overwhelming. They can involve lots of new skills from deciding on research questions through to those tricky final citations.

Whatever stage you are at, there is lots of help available from the Library and Study Advice team!

Starting out: Search strategies and finding information

It can be a little daunting starting such a big project so you might want to start with the Study Advice guide on dissertations and major projects or their video on defining your research question.

Once you have sorted your research questions you will need to start researching your topic. Look at the Library subject guide for your department to find key databases in your area. There is also a guide to doing a literature search, the LibLearn tutorials on Blackboard, or you could watch our videos on literature searching if you would like a break from reading!

If you are struggling to find the information that you need then you can contact the Liaison Librarian for your subject.

Staying on track

Once you have started your research the Study Advice team have some resources to help you keep going. If you are trying to tackle the literature you have found, it might be a good idea to watch their videos on reading academic texts and critical notetaking.

With large projects like dissertations it is easy to feel like you have lots of time left only to find the deadline creeping up on you. When you are trying to balance your dissertation with lectures, other coursework and revision it is easy to fall behind so take a look at the Study Advice video on managing your time to get some tips.

Dissertations and research projects can also be harder to structure than a normal essay due to their size. This Study Advice video on structuring your dissertation has some helpful suggestions to get you started.

Writing up and referencing

When you have a structure in place you will be ready to start writing up. If this seems a little overwhelming take a look at the Study Advice guidance on writing up your dissertation.

As it is a longer piece of writing than you are likely to have written before it is a good idea not to leave your referencing until the last minute – you don’t want to lose precious marks because you ran out of time to format your bibliography! Luckily there is software freely available to help speed this process up. We offer support for EndNote online and Mendeley, which both help to gather your references and automatically create bibliographies. You can check our guidance page to get started or sign up for a workshop.

If you choose to add your citations manually, and are not sure how to reference a particular resource or would like a refresher, there is lots of guidance on the Citing References guide. But don’t forget to check your student handbook for details of the referencing style required by your department.

When you’re finished, you’ll need to get your dissertation printed and bound – the University’s recommended provider is Hollingworth & Moss.

Further help

If you would like more information you can contact your Liaison Librarian or the Study Advice team.

Good luck with your research!

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

This tip was written by Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Adviser.

Library refurbishment: #UoRStudySpace Assistants

Posted on 14 February, 2019 by Rachel Redrup

Look out for new #UoRStudySpace Assistants to help you find space in the Library@URS, Library or some alternative campus buildings.

We are pleased to announce the University has funded new Study Space Assistants, now in place to advise students on study places available in the Library, and some other campus buildings, during the final months of the Library refurbishment.

Operating term time Mondays to Fridays 11:00-17:00, they’ll check study space capacities in the Library and Library@URS, and other nearby buildings, such as Edith Morley and Palmer, to let you know where there are free study spaces. They will also support the Library team to implement our ‘anti-desk hogging policy’. Look out for assistants in person, and for their Library social media updates using the hashtag #UoRstudyspace (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter).

As a reminder, our anti-desk hogging policy means that leaving your belongings (but no valuables!) for less than an hour while you borrow a book or get refreshments for example is not a problem. However, Study Space Assistants will be placing warning cards on any unattended desks wrongly ‘reserved’ for longer than an hour and directing other students to use them.

Library buildings

During term-time, Library@URS provides quiet study space 24 hours a day. The Ground and 1st Floors of the Library building can also be used for study during term-time 09:00-22:00 daily, but please remember that construction continues until autumn 2019, so there will be noise associated with this. Check the Library opening hours page for full details.

Alternative study space

A Student Services blog highlights extra study areas in Edith Morley (near Support Centre + SAIL Away upstairs), Palmer building (foyer), Chemistry building (lobby areas) and some halls of residence to increase opportunity during the Library refurbishment.

Find out where to study across campus at www.reading.ac.uk/study-space.

Rachel Redrup, Library Marketing Co-ordinator with University Communications

Play fair and share in the Library

Posted on 12 February, 2019 by

Male students reading books

Help make the Library work effectively by respecting everyone’s right to resources and space. Just a minute checking when your Library loans are due back or clearing a desk space for others can help make this term a success for everyone.

Here’s some simple suggestions on how to keep on top of your Library account, save time and money, help your friends, and provide a pleasant and productive working environment for all:

Return Library items on time

Avoid fines and help fellow users access the material they need. Make use of the e-receipts function on the Library’s new Self-Service machines to keep track of those important due dates!

Keep up to date with your account

Remember to check your University email to keep updated with any reminders the Library sends you – including new due dates for recalled items!

Don’t hog study spaces with your belongings

Please free up study spaces for other users when you are leaving the area for a substantial time. This allows other users the chance to utilise out study areas and keeps your valuables safe.

Check out our ‘Using the Library’ and ‘Policies and Rules’ pages for more information.

Matthew Pearson, Library User Services

Book moves continue: 11 February

Posted on 11 February, 2019 by Katie Winter

On Monday 21 January, books began moving from the 2nd Floor to the newly reopened 4th Floor.

This week

This week, the remaining large books (000s, 300s and 800s), oversize books and journals will be moving from the 2nd to the 4th Floor. So if you’re looking for books about computer science, social science, law or literature, or journals on any subject, they may have moved. Look out for signs on the shelves to point you in the right direction.

Please ask our friendly Library staff for help at the Information Desks or Ground Floor Help Point if you get stuck. The Library catalogue will be updated to reflect the new locations, usually within a day.