We are moving!

House on lorry reproduced under Creative Common License from flickr.com

The Broadcast blog is on the move. After two and a half years of news and views from the Library Engineering team this will be the last post on this site. To carry on receiving the same mixture of  information and news on all topics related to engineering you will need to access the new integrated Library blog at http://blog.lboro.ac.uk/blog/ which brings together information of interest to all three Faculties. There are a couple of ways to home in on Engineering posts  on the new blog – just click on the “Engineering” link in the Category cloud on the right hand side or use the links provided to set up an Engineering RSS feed. 

We’re listening!

Photo by jasonEscapist, taken from www.flickr.com

Give us a piece of your mind!

If you could change ONE THING about the Library – what would it be? 

If the Library had more space, how should we use it?

Now’s your chance to have your say about the Library through our User Survey. It’s short – five minutes max, so just go to: http://picture-box.lboro.ac.uk/Public/UCCASS/survey.php?sid=76 and tell us how it is! 

24/7 coming soon!

Photo by Leo Reynolds, taken from www.flickr.com

Once again the Library will be extending its opening hours during the revision and exam period. From Monday 4th May to Friday 19th June you’ll be able to use the Library 24/7 for study, research and borrowing purposes.

Refresh your research skills over Easter

• Did you know that the Library now provides access to over 17,000 electronic journals?
  

  Photo by Graham King www.flickr.com

• Do you know how to receive email alerts from the databases and journals in your research areas?
• Do you know what RSS newsfeeds are?
• When involved in research projects can you manage your references easily?

If your answer to any of these questions is ‘no’, then the Library can provide the answers in one of the three sessions which are running during the Easter vacation.  They are exclusively for Academic staff and Research Associates.

The sessions are:

Tracing research information, Monday 30th March 2.00-4.00pm, SM1.09 
- This will update you on the range of new information sources and services available from your desktop, as well as explaining how to use Journal Citation Reports to identify high impact journals within appropriate subject areas. Book at:   http://pdwww.lboro.ac.uk/eventdetails.asp?run=8470

Keeping your research up-to-date, Thursday 2nd April, 2.00-4.00pm, SM1.09
- This session provides an overview of the latest electronic current awareness services that enable  you to keep-up-to date, including email alerts and RSS newsfeeds. It will help you assess and set up the ones that are ideal for you.    Book at:  http://pdwww.lboro.ac.uk/eventdetails.asp?run=8471

RefWorks, Tuesday 21st April, 10.00am-12.00 noon, SM1.09
- Thise session outlines the benefits of the bibliographic software tool RefWorks, as well as how to import and manage references in RefWorks using folders and descriptors. 
Book at:   http://pdwww.lboro.ac.uk/eventdetails.asp?run=8472

Please book early to ensure that you get a place. They are all also listed on the Staff Development’s online booking system: http://pdwww.lboro.ac.uk

Help your self to our books!

If you’ve not been in the Library over the summer you will notice quite a difference when you walk back in. The Library has brand new self issue machines on all floors and a new look Information and Enquiries desk.

The Library has switched to a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) circulation system which means you can quickly and easily issue more than one book to yourself at any one time.  You can also return books, view your Library account and pay any fines you owe all at the self-issue machine – although you will need to make sure you have the right money!

Staff and researchers please note that if you have had a book out for a while it may not yet have been processed to work on the new system and you may not be able to return it on the new machines. But don’t worry – Library staff will be on hand to offer help and guidance.

MyLibrary(National E-books Observation Project)

This platform currently provides free access to 26 course texts for business and management studies, engineering, media studies students as part of the national e-books observatory project study.

The e-books will be available for two years until Sep 2009 and students can print, copy and download parts of the e-books as well as include excerpts in coursework, essays, presentations and dissertations.

To start using the e-books please visit http://www.myilibrary.com/myilibrary/athenslogin.asp and log in using your Athens username and password or access the ebooks via the Library catalogue.

Take part in the JISC E-book User Survey 2008 and enter the prize draw to win £200 in Amazon vouchers. This survey is part of the JISC funded national E-books observatory project and is open to all University members, whether students, academic staff or support staff. Its aim is to provide JISC with initial user feedback on a range of e-book issues and findings will be used to inform new e-book models that meet the teaching and learning needs of staff and students in the UK.

The survey closes at midnight on Friday 15 February and the draw will take place over the weekend. It should take no longer than 10-12 minutes to complete (much less if you don’t already use e-books – but JISC would still love to hear from you).

N.B. You are under no obligation whatsoever to take part in this survey. Any information you give JISC will be held securely and they will under no circumstances reveal any findings other than at a highly aggregated level. JISC are collecting the data through a third-party, Survey Monkey, and you can check their privacy policy here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/Monkey_Privacy.aspx
If you have any problems or questions, please contact JISC at slais-surveys@ucl.ac

24/7 opening starts 14th January

In the 2006/2007 academic year, the Library successfully trialled 24/7 opening to help people during the revision and examination periods. This is being repeated and the Library will be open continually from the 14th January to the 8th February 2008. 

Borrow from other academic libraries with SCONUL Access

From 1st August Loughborough University Library is a member of the SCONUL Access scheme. SCONUL Access has been formed from the merger of two existing schemes – SCONUL Research Extra and UK Libraries Plus and is a reciprocal service supported by over 170 academic libraries in higher education institutions across the UK and Ireland. 

SCONUL Access provides borrowing privileges for most:

• academic staff on open or fixed term contracts
• postgraduate research students registered for a PhD, MPhil or similar qualification
• part-time, distance learning and placement students
• full-time postgraduates

SCONUL Access also provides for a reference only service for most full-time undergraduate students.

You must complete an application form (available online or from the Library Issue Desk) and will be given a SCONUL Access card to take to other institutions.

Please note, that unlike UK Libraries Plus, there are no restrictions on the number of universities that can be visited and that old SCONUL Research Extra cards and UK Libraries Plus slips will be accepted whilst they are still in date, so there is no need to reapply if you still have one of these old forms.

For further information ask at the Issue Desk in the Library, visit the Library webpage on Access to other Libraries  or the SCONUL Access website.

The Institutional Repository

Loughborough’s Institutional Repository was launched in 2006 and continues to grow, with collections now including published articles; conference papers; official reports and PhD theses. An increasing number of Loughborough’s academic and research staff are taking advantage of this service to improve the accessibility of their research.

Institutional repositories are part of a growing international movement to promote and improve access to research on a global scale. By making papers available without subscription barriers, we can maximise the visibility of the research being undertaken by our top-class researchers here at Loughborough. For more information about Loughborough’s Institutional Repository and how you can benefit from this service, visit: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/library/resources/InstitutionalRepository.html or contact Lizzie, Steph, Tracy or Becky.

24/7 opening was “kicking”

“It was kicking!” said one student in response to the Library trialling 24/7 opening during the Semester One exam period.  The trial, which ran between 15^th January and 9th February 2007, was staffed by security guards from a private security company (PSS), and was a big hit with students.   The graph below shows library occupancy through the night over the four-week period.

 

At one point there were over 250 students occupying the building at midnight.  Feedback comments from students included:  

• I wish the Library is open 24/7 all year round
• V. productive – easier to get work done at this time – don’t feel rushed
• Night time is when I can work the hardest. Thank you for doing this, very beneficial
• Have found the 24/7 service very useful, it should run more frequently

The Library will be re-running the trial during the Semester 2 exam period between 7 May and 22 June.