IEEE/IET Electronic Library (IEL)

Are you looking for information on technology that is relevant to your studies?

Whatever course you are studying, try searching the IEEE/IET Electronic Library (IEL). The IEL can be accessed on the Online Resources - A-Z listing, and on the subject areas for Applied Design and Engineering, Built and Natural Environment, and Computing at www.smu.ac.uk/library (select Databases).

Access is available for use on and off campus, so take a look!

Fiendish fiction and devilish DVDs at SMU Libraries

It's Halloween on Monday. Get yourself in the the mood with a suitably spooky book or DVD from your SMU Library. There's plenty of horror fiction to read at Townhill Library, from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Daphne du Maurier's Don't Look Now. For younger readers, or young at heart adults, how about Winnie the Witch, or Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak? You'll also find Hammer Horrors and Hitchcock classics in the film sections (that's 791.4372, Dewey Decimal fans) of Townhill Library and the Griffith Library on the Dynevor campus. Mount Pleasant staff and students needn't miss out as you can visit and borrow from any SMU library, or ask to have items sent between libraries for you to collect.

We're not the only ones thinking about a good read for Halloween. Author Neil Gaiman is encouraging people to give scary books as a Halloween gift. You can read about his plan in this blog post from the Guardian. You can also borrow some of his books from your SMU library!

Let us know if you have any favourite creepy reads. I like a bit of Edgar Allan Poe myself.

Just a reminder...

...that the closing date for the Newsbank competition to win an iPad 2 is a week today, Monday 31st October! See our blog post from 3rd October for more details - you can pick up an entry form from any of our SMU Libraries.

And the winner is...

The Sense of an Ending! Yes, the 2011 Man Booker prize has been awarded to Julian Barnes for his story of a man coming to terms with his past. Barnes has previously been shortlisted for Arthur and George (2005), England, England (1998) and Flaubert's Parrot (1984), but this is the first time he has won the prize. Find out more about these titles and keep up with the latest Man Booker news on the website: http://www.themanbookerprize.com.

We blogged about the 2011 shortlist back in September. The winner and runners up are now available to borrow from Townhill Library (except for Pigeon English, which we're still waiting for at the time of writing!). You'll also find the Julian Barnes titles mentioned above and winners and shortlisted books from previous years. With those autumn nights drawing in, now's the perfect time to get stuck into a good book!

SMU students and staff - come and meet author Joe Dunthorne!

Joe Dunthorne, author of the novel 'Submarine' (set in Swansea and released as a film earlier this year) will be coming to our Townhill Library on Tuesday 8th November as part of the CyMAL Reading Roadshow campaign taking place in south and mid Wales libraries this autumn.

So...if you would like to meet Joe, and listen to him talk about and read from some of his work, do come along to the Townhill Library that afternoon at 2.00pm. In the meantime as a taster, you can borrow 'Submarine' or his latest novel 'Wild Abandon' from the Townhill Library, or watch 'Submarine' on film, available from the Griffith Library at Dynevor.

So make a note in your diaries ready for the 8th November - we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible!

Hospitality & Tourism Complete

Image: sixninepixels / freedigitalphotos.net

A brand new library database is now available for all SMU students and staff to use - Hospitality & Tourism Complete. This is a FULL-TEXT database providing extensive access to journal articles, industry reports, conference proceedings and news within the subject areas of hospitality and tourism. Coverage dates back to 1965 with almost 1 million records indexed, of which more than 490 different publications are available in full-text.

You can access this new resource via our library website.

Introducing your subject librarian...

Hi, my name is Sam Scoulding and I'm an Assistant Librarian here at the Owen Library on the Mount Pleasant campus. I look after the subject areas of Leisure, Tourism & Sport, Public Services, and Health...so I have plenty of variety! I've been working here for 15 years now (not that I'm counting!) but I haven't always been a librarian...

Having got my B.A (Hons) degree in English Literature from Swansea University in 1996, I first started off as a Library Assistant for Swansea public library service, working in Gorseinon, Pontarddulais, and eventually Swansea Central Library. That was followed by 8 years as a Library Assistant here at SMU (or Swansea Institute of Higher Education as it was then!) until I eventually decided to take the plunge and study for my Postgraduate Diploma in Information and Library Studies as a distance learner with Aberystwyth University. During that time I worked as a Trainee Assistant Librarian here, before I finally qualified in December 2008. So having done my fair share of studying, I like to think I'm in a good position to understand what our SMU students are going through!

Outside of work I enjoy going to the cinema, theatre, walking, and travelling to new places - just as well since I'm a tourism librarian. In fact, I've just got back from a fantastic trip to Croatia and have already got holiday brochures for next year! I could probably get struck off as a librarian for saying this but, I'm not an avid reader...unless you count celebrity gossip magazines!! I am, however, a big fan of social media and am very active on Facebook and Twitter, and also contribute to our official library blog.

So, that's me! Pop in and say 'hi' sometime soon, I look forward to meeting you.

SMU Sustainability Questionnaire

Pop into any of our three Libraries and complete a short SMU questionnaire on sustainability, for your chance to win a prize (to be confirmed).

You can also pick up a free pen and bag in the process!

Win an iPad 2!

SMU Libraries are taking part in a Libraries Together scheme 'Reading Roadshow' competition funded by the Welsh Government, which gives you the chance to win an iPad 2!

Call in to any of our libraries and pick up an entry form - you'll just need to answer a set of 3 easy questions based on the online resource NewsBank. This database can be accessed both on and off campus via the library website, and contains thousands of full-text articles from more than 370 UK daily and weekly newspapers.

So come in and collect a form, and please note that the closing date is Monday 31st October 2011! Good luck!