See you in the New Year!

We’ve just heard that Swansea Metropolitan is closing this afternoon. Campuses will re-open on Wednesday 2^nd January. As such, the Swansea Met libraries will be closing at 12pm today. We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause.
 
Owen Library at Mount Pleasant campus and Townhill Library will re-open on Wednesday 2^nd January, with Swansea Business School Library and Griffith Library at Dynevor following suit on Monday 7^th January. You can check our opening hours under the Notices section of our homepage. Remember, our online resources will be available throughout the Christmas period.

We hope you’ve all got a lovely break to look forward to and won’t be working too hard. Nadolig Llawen! See you in 2013!

 

We love… the TES website for current awareness, forums and teaching resources

Have you discovered the TES website yet? It’s well worth a look if you’re a teacher or trainee teacher as you’ll find all sorts to help you out. You’ll find the latest paper edition of TES, as well as recent back copies, in Townhill Library, so you can always keep up to date on the latest Education news on campus, but their website lets you keep abreast of things whilst you’re off campus too. Articles from the current issue and the TES archive are freely available online – just click the TES magazine link from the homepage.

The TES forums are a great way to get connected to teachers across the UK. Whatever the stage, role or subject you’re interested in, there’s sure to be a forum for you. And it’s not just professional chat – there are lots of social forums for teachers to share their views on hobbies, health, and anything else you can think of. TES experts regularly contribute to the forums to offer advice. The forums also offer a network of support from fellow professionals and a chance to air your views. Do check the Welcome page for Terms and Conditions, Code of Conduct and Netiquette before you get going, though!

Finally, the TES website is a great place to find lots of free teaching resources! Simply register on the website to access and download resources on all sorts of topics. Once registered, you’ll also be able to upload your own resources, so if you’ve come up with a classroom game that you’re really proud of, now’s your chance to share it with the world!

If that’s not enough to get you excited, take a look at the video web chat at 11am on Wednesday. Father Christmas himself will be answering questions live on the website!

The Top 12 Most Popular E-Books of 2012!

We thought we’d bring you a top 12 of 2012 to end the term nicely – the most popular Swansea Met library e-books from the last 12 months!


1. Management & Organisational Behaviour by Laurie J. Mullins

2. Becoming an Outstanding Primary School Teacher by Russell Grigg

3. Research Methods in Education by Louis Cohen

4. Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning by Graham J. Hooley

5. Research Methods for Business by Mark Saunders

6. Exploring Corporate Strategy by Gerry Johnson

7. Marketing in Travel and Tourism by Victor T. C. Middleton

8. Assessment for Learning by Paul Black

9. Becoming A Teacher edited by Justin Dillon & Meg Maguire

10. Race, Culture and Counselling by Colin Lago

11. Essential Teaching Skills by Chris Kyriacou

12. Doing Your Research Project by Judith Bell

If you’ve not yet used an e-book, why not make it one of your resolutions to do so in 2013?
You can access them both on and off campus 24/7, via the library catalogue and web pages.

For further information/advice please speak to your Swansea Met subject librarian!

Would you like to borrow books from other libraries?

If you are a student or member of staff at Swansea Met, did you know that you have access to other libraries - local, regional and even national, through two amazing schemes that we are part of?


If you are interested in using other libraries in the South West and Mid Wales region, the ‘Libraries Together’ scheme is perfect for you! It is a collaborative venture via SWAMP (South West and Mid Wales Libraries Partnership) and is open to anyone. As a Libraries Together member, you can borrow books from the public, university and college libraries within this area, for free!

If, on the other hand you would like to use other university libraries, SCONUL Access is your scheme! This scheme is also free, but is targeted mainly at part-time students, post-graduate students and members of staff. SCONUL Access covers most of the university libraries in the UK and Ireland – take a look at their website if you would like to find out more...

http://www.access.sconul.ac.uk/sconul-access

SCONUL Access is particularly useful for students who study in Swansea during term-time, but live elsewhere within the UK and return home during vacations.

So if you would like more information about either scheme or would like to sign up to join, please do contact your subject librarian or myself at the Griffith Library!

As seen on screen

You might have spotted our tweet and Facebook post on Monday when we recommended Ang Lee’s new film Life of Pi and let you know that the novel is available for you to borrow at Townhill Library. That got us thinking about some of the other books on our shelves that have made their way to the big screen.

Great Expectations and The Hobbit are two lavish productions that I’m sure lots of us are looking forward to seeing this festive period. Both films are adapted from wonderful novels which are well worth a read (though it’s worth noting that Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit is the first in a trilogy, so you’ll have to decide whether you want to read the book and find out how it all ends before or after you’ve seen all the films!). As for Great Expectations, well, you’ve got to have a bit of Dickens at Christmas, haven’t you? I’m looking forward to seeing Helena Bonham-Carter’s interpretation of Miss Havisham!

Speaking of Dickens, it’s been a while since the last big screen adaptation was released, but A Christmas Carol is always a firm favourite at this time of year. There are sure to be lots of versions popping up on the TV over the next few weeks (A Muppet Christmas Carol is surely the best!), but it’s well worth going back to the source. The spooky tale of Scrooge’s redemption is available in Townhill Library, along with some of Dickens’ lesser known Christmas stories.

 

The due dates for our ordinary and weekly loans have already gone over to next term, so if you stock up on your Christmas reading this week, you can keep the books until the 10th January! (Two-day and overnight loans will still be due back this term, so keep an eye on those!)

Essential upgrade means e-books unavailable Saturday 8th December

Due to an essential upgrade, many of our e-books will be unavailable this Saturday (8th December). We're very sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Each of our 4 libraries will be open from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, so you can still come and borrow books off the shelves. You could also try searching our Digital Library or databases for journal articles on your subject. Just ask a librarian if you need any help!