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Wednesday 16 December 2009

Using other libraries - SCONUL Access

SCONUL Access is a co-operative scheme run by a number of higher education libraries in the UK and Ireland. A SCONUL Access card will allow you to access material held in participating libraries.

Full-time undergraduate students will be able to gain reference only access to material held by participating libraries. Take a look at the SCONUL Access website to see the access options available to both undergraduate and postgraduate students.  This may be particularly useful if you are travelling home for the Christmas vacation.  

To join the scheme you will need to apply for a card from your home library - The University of Sheffield Library.

Take a look at the library web pages to find out more about applying and participating libraries.

Monday 14 December 2009

Loan Periods: Christmas Vacation 2009

Christmas vacation loan periods start this week (beginning 14th December). 

More detailed information on return dates can be found on the library web pages.

Please note that items can be reserved as normal throughout the holiday and the only way to ensure that you can keep them for the whole of the vacation loan period is to renew them during the last week of semester.

You can renew items through MUSE or by ringing the renewals hotline (0114) 222 7201

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Bibliography of British and Irish History - trial electronic resource

We currently have trial access to the Bibliography of British and Irish History.

The BBIH provides bibliographic data on historical writing relating to British and Irish history from the Roman period to the present day. It includes the details of books, articles in books and articles in journals. For more details on the range of information included take a look at the 'Introduction' tab.

Both advanced and simple searching options are available. Take a look at the 'how to search' section to help you get started.

Access to this electronic resource is available to registered staff and students of the University of Sheffield until 31 December 2009.

Friday 27 November 2009

Trial electronic resource - British Literary Manuscripts Online c.1660-1900

Just to let you know that we currently have trial access to British Literary Manuscripts Online c.1660-1900.

Sourced from a number of different library collections this database includes over 400,000 digitized manuscript pages. It includes letters and diaries, drafts of poems, plays, novels and other literary works.

An advanced search gives you more searching options including document type and collection. To help you navigate the site take a look at the 'search tips'.

This resource is available to registered staff and students of the University of Sheffield until December 28 2009.

Thursday 19 November 2009

Western Bank Library Redevelopment - Continued



The scaffolding in the Catalogue Hall has now been removed and work will begin next week on laying new flooring and installing the new counter. In order for the work to be done as quickly as possible the Catalogue Hall and the Architecture collection will be closed from Saturday 21 November for up to two weeks.

During this time we will be using the reception desk on the mezzanine level as a temporary counter.  To find out more about how our services will operate during this time please refer to the Western Bank Redevelopment pages. If you’ve any questions email library@sheffield.ac.uk or follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest happenings http://twitter.com/unisheffieldlib.

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Information Skills Resource



Information Literacy

9-13 November 2009 is information literacy week

How do you know that?
How do you know it is right?
How are you going to use that information?
Will you act ethically?

How highly would you rank your information literacy skills?

Did you know that students who can demonstrate the skills of information literacy not only perform better academically but also have better career prospects? Many students learn these skills from the University of Sheffield Library’s online tutorials.

Be an information literate graduate by learning how to:
Define a search question
Search for information
Evaluate information
Synthesise information
Cite and reference information

Visit the tutorials at:
http://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/

Thursday 5 November 2009

Western Bank Library redevelopment - update

Just to let you know that Level 4 (formerly Stack 4) of the Western Bank Library is now open.  On this level you will find printed journals, audiovisual material and study space.

There is still minor finishing work taking place so please continue to take care when visiting Level 4. 

For more information about the redevelopment of the Western Bank Library and regular updates please take a look at the library web pages.

Thursday 22 October 2009

How long can I borrow books for? - a quick guide

You may have noticed that there have been some changes to how long you are able to borrow books for. After feedback from Library customers we have introduced a new variable loan status and during this year we will be trying it out at all sites. Rather than having both short and standard loan items on the shelves, the default status of a book will be standard loan but become short loan whenever an item is in demand. Items go back to being standard loan when the level of demand falls.

A bit more information:

  • What is standard loan? - how long a standard loan is depends on the type of borrower you are e.g. one week for full time undergraduates and taught postgraduates, two weeks for part time and distance learning students and four weeks for postgraduate research students.

  • How do I know how long I can take a book out for? - the self-service receipt or the date label in the book will tell you the date your book is due back. Please check this carefully as the item may have been requested by someone else, and have a shorter loan period.

  • What is short loan? - items will become short loan when they are in heavy demand. Short loan will be two days for full time undergraduate and postgraduate students and four days for part time and distance learning students.

  • What happens if the item I have out on loan is reserved by somebody else? - If an item is requested by someone else you may keep it until the due date, but you won't be able to renew it. You will need to return it to the library.


Remember, if you have requested titles that are on loan we will send you an e-mail to let you know when they are ready to collect. Reservations will be kept on the held shelf for two days.

Take a look at the guide to using the lending service for more details.

Tuesday 20 October 2009

Mass Observation online trial

Just to let you know that we have a trial running to Mass Observation online. It's available to registered staff and students of the University of Sheffield until 16th November 2009.

The Library has a number of trials to electronic resources provided by publishers and electronic resource suppliers. These are often for a limited time and are an opportunity to explore a resource.

Mass Observation online provides access to digital images of material from the Mass Observation Archive (MOA). You can view material generated by Mass Observation (MO) between 1937 and 1949 plus some later additions from the 1950s and 1960s. It includes a number of file reports (1937-1972) and publications produced by members of the central team of researchers, as well as material submitted by volunteers.

Take a look at the 'nature and scope' section and 'brief history' to find out what material is available and further background information.

Monday 12 October 2009

Finding resources – getting started



If you are new to the University but didn’t manage to attend a Library introductory session here are a few tips to help you find your way around the resources available. Many Library services are available online from the Library tab in MUSE . You can log onto MUSE using your username and password to:

  1. Find what reading is recommended for a module you’re doing.  Start with myResource Lists.  Here you’ll find direct links to books in the library,  full text journal articles and web sites - all just one click away!

  2. Search Star, the Library catalogue. Star is the best place to start when searching for course materials.  From Star you can find out if the resource you want is available in print or electronically – click show copy/show library holdings.

  3. Access electronic resources such as ebooks, subject databases and ejournals - look under Library eResources.

  4. The subject guides are a good starting place as they provide advice on material that might be useful in your subject area and how to find and use Library resources.

  5. The Information Skills Resource is available as a Quick Link from the Library Web home page.  Here you’ll find a number of tutorials and quizzes that will help you to develop your information skills – check out the Information Skills tutorials tab. More detailed guides are tailored to your subject – take a look at the Tutorials by department tab.

  6. Ask us for help at any time. Post your comments here, or send us a tweet.


Tuesday 6 October 2009

Books on a Budget!

The start of term can be an expensive time for students and course books generally get pushed further and further down the shopping list, especially the expensive ones. So, the university has setup a marketplace for students to sell their no longer needed texts, where the buyer pays less and the seller gets more. Sound good?

Take a look at the Books on a Budget page and see if you can get kitted out. Failing that Oxfam Bookshop on Glossop Road (West Street) is well stocked and there’s always Amazon’s second-hand sellers on hand to snap up a bargain from.

Monday 21 September 2009

Fancy winning an iPod Touch?

QR Code

The image on the right is a QR or 'quick response' code. Originating in Japan they were initially used by companies as tracking devices. Unlike traditional barcodes QR codes are two dimensional and are able to store both alpha and numerical content (up to 7000 numerical or 4300 alpha-numerical characters long). The information stored within these codes can be anything from urls, to telephone numbers, to addresses or even entire poems.

The QR code above converts into the Library homepage. For you to be able to read this you’ll need a mobile camera phone and reader software. Some of the later Nokia phones already have the software installed and for iPhones it’s easy to pick something up from the app store, like BeeTagg or Quickmark. You could try Googling your phone’s make and model to find out what software you need or alternatively try some of the following:

To read the code you just need to take a photograph with your phone’s camera and allow the reader software to do the rest. For those of you with Internet enabled phones you’ll be directed straight to the URL via your mobile browser. To find out more about QR codes visit the library news page and for details on connecting your phone to the university’s wireless network have a look at the instructions via CiCS.

The University Library is currently piloting the use of QR codes and we are keen to discuss your ideas on how we could be making use of this technology to support our library services. Some suggestions have included codes iPod Touchwhich link to the library catalogue and our library blogs for mobile bookmarking purposes or the inclusion of codes on catalogue records to save bibliographic details. We are also working on attaching QR codes to a sample of our paper journal runs to link users to their electronic equivalents via Find it @ Sheffield.

If you have any ideas about how we can use QR codes in the Library we'd like to hear them. By leaving a comment against this blog post you'll automatically be entered into our competition to win a brand spanking new iPod Touch.

The deadline for entries is 30 November and the competition is open to all University of Sheffield students, via the four library blogs:

Thursday 17 September 2009

Welcome to all new students in the Faculty of Arts

Hello Everyone,

I am your Faculty Librarian and I am here to help you. Hopefully I will see all of you at the various Introductory Sessions taking place during Freshers' Week. Please do come along and listen to what I have to say if you can. I will make it short! There are three important things to remember:

1) The Library is EVERYWHERE - many of our services are available online but to access our online journals and other electronic resources you MUST login to your MUSE account and go via the LIBRARY TAB.

2) You need your LIBRARY PIN to issue and discharge books and make reservations - which is important for getting hold of IN_DEMAND material. You also need this to Manage Your Library Account online through MUSE. Renewing books this way can avoid fines and the necessity to come to the Library.

3) I am friendly and helpful and you can contact me directly anytime for help - especially when you are working on assignments or if you have any particular difficulties with resources. I have a web page which is available here

http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/liaison/scott.html

clare1

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Important Customer Services Notice

Change to Library loan periods September 2009

The Library constantly reviews its practices with regard to loans, and recent modifications to the reservations system have prompted us to try to further improve the way in which material is circulated. We have changed the lending service so that Library material ‘manages itself’. An in-demand item automatically has a shorter loan period which then reverts back to a normal loan period once the demand has been satisfied.

Why change the system?

  • In the past when you requested a book it was arbitrary which item you received – it may have been a normal loan or a short loan. You’ve told us this is unfair.

  • Short loan items were not in-demand all the time, and it was difficult to understand why you couldn’t have items for longer if no-one else needed them. Also, you had to remember to renew short loans every other day and it was easy to build up large fines.

  • Part-time and distance-learning students found it difficult to borrow short loan items.


With the new system what will happen when I borrow a book?

All items in stock in the Library now have a ‘normal’ loan period, the length of which is determined by the type of student, as previously. So, if you’re a full-time undergraduate or a postgraduate on a taught course books are issued for 1 week, if you’re a part-time student books are issued for 2 weeks, and if you’re a research student books are issued for 4 weeks.

If no-one else wants the book you can keep renewing it and each time it will be issued for the standard loan period.

We have also increased the number of self-renewals to 20, so staff don’t need to renew items for you until you reach that limit.

Full details of the new lending service can be found on the Library website under using the library. Remember - it’s essential to check myLibrary Account via MUSE regularly to avoid fines and check no-one has reserved the items you have on loan.

Tuesday 5 May 2009

New Books for English

Hi Everyone,

Here is a list of recently purchased books for English now available in the Library:

http://library.shef.ac.uk/local/ENGLIT-funditems.html

Clare

New History books

Hi Everyone,

Here is a list of recently purchased History books now available in the Library: http://library.shef.ac.uk/local/MODHIS-funditems.html

Clare