May Day Holiday

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This May Day Bank Holiday, Monday 4th May you will be able to use the Owen and Townhill libraries, which are open from 12-5 pm. Please note however that we are only offering self-service.

The Griffith Library and Swansea Business Campus Library will be closed, but all four libraries will resume term-time opening hours on Tuesday 5th May. Have a lovely bank holiday weekend all!

World Book Night 2015...

On 23^rd April Carmarthen and Lampeter campus libraries took part in World Book Night – an evening of gifting books with the aim of targeting reluctant readers.  Back in January I had volunteered my services as a Book Giver and was fortunate enough to be accepted.

By the time the books had arrived at the beginning of March, I had forgotten all about the titles etc. so it all came as quite a surprise.  We had been given 24 copies each of Karl Pilkington’s The Moaning of Life and Lynda La Plante’s Prime Suspect.  These were two great titles to receive as it would span the demographic within the university quite nicely.

Preparations were all a bit last minute – World Book Night falling right in the heart of dissertation season was not ideal – but hopefully students would see the books as a suitable dangling carrot – perhaps something to take on that well-earned holiday and read by the pool?

The books were laid out in each campus library on Thursday afternoon and we were pleasantly surprised by the take-up.  Only a couple of copies left on each campus on Friday morning.  Better still, it was good to see that so many had offered their details for the Reading Agency’s marketing survey – the £5 high street voucher was clearly a draw.

All in all, this was a success for us and something we would definitely take part in again.  As an academic library we are here to help students with their research and information literacy skills; but we still uphold the values of all libraries and that is to take pleasure in reading – it can take you off to wonderful places!

If anyone is interested in being a giver themselves they can sign up for reminders now from the World Book Night website. 

Suzy Fisher

Periodicals Librarian

Carmarthen Campus

A-Z of UWTSD Libraries...

Image courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z

We’re officially at the halfway point in our library A-Z! You’ll have learnt a lot about us by now…but there’s still lots more to say! Let’s continue with the letter M…

M is for:

·         My Account – With your student ID and PIN number you can access your library account to view a list of books you have on loan, when they are due back and any fines owed. Your account also enables you to place reservations and to renew your library loans yourself. So, next time you realise your library books are due but the library is closed, remember to use your online account!

·         Market research – If you’re looking for industry reports, company information or SWOT analysis that’s relevant to a particular topic why not try one of our online databases such as Marketline. We can show you how to use it and take some of the stress out of your research!

·         Meeting place – The library is a social place…so, whether you want to get together with friends to work on a joint presentation or assignment or if you just need somewhere to pass the time while you’re between lectures, the library offers plenty of comfortable seating/study/discussion space. Make it a habit to pop in and make use these facilities, we’d love to see you!

·         Money saving – Have you thought about how much money your library can save you? Instead of paying a fortune to buy all the books on your course reading lists come and borrow them from us. We also pay for expensive subscriptions to journals, newspapers and full-text online databases and make them all available to you free of charge. Not to mention all the expert advice we are able to offer at no extra cost. So, next time you’re passing one of our libraries, why not pop in and save yourself a few quid at the same time?!

A-Z of UWTSD Libraries...

Image courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z

Our A-Z of all things library related continues this week with the letter L:

L is for:

·         Librarians – We have professionally qualified Subject Librarians who are trained to offer advice and support to students and staff. We can help you find relevant information for your assignment or dissertation, show you how to use our online resources for your research and we can help you find specialist or hard to find information, such as, industry/company reports, statistics and legislation, to name just a few. So next time you’re struggling remember to ask your librarian for help!

·         Laptop Loans – Did you know that you can borrow laptops from your UWTSD libraries? We have a selection of laptops and MacBooks available for 2 week loan and IT staff on hand to help with any queries. We loan more than just books these days!

·         Languages – If you’re studying a language module as part of your course, or even if you just want to learn a language for your next foreign holiday, Swansea Business Campus library has all you need! We have language packs containing books, CDs and DVDs, plus foreign language dictionaries on a whole host of languages from French and Spanish to Russian and Mandarin Chinese! We also have a wide range of Welsh language materials to help support beginners and more advanced learners. You may also like to borrow something from our World Cinema collection to put your language skills to the test!

·         Learning – We are a learning support service here to support your learning needs and provide you with access to all the help and resources you may need to successfully complete your studies. Find out where your nearest UWTSD library is and the name of your subject librarian…we could be your lifeline!

Do you need maps for your research?

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Typing the word 'map' into the Digital Library demonstrates just how many ways the word is used, from noise mapping, wind contour mapping and  mind-mapping to name just a few! You'll also find articles which focus upon maps of the imagination, maps of time and how people perceive and use maps....the list is endless!

 However, if the maps you need are, as described in Oxford Reference Online, geographical diagrams 'showing specific features of the land such as roads, contours, reservoirs' (!) , then why not try Digimap, available through our  library website.   Using Digimap, you can view and annotate maps, download geospatial data for use in CAD and GIS systems, access help and information about geospatial data and resources, and view historical maps.

You can also view historical maps using the website Old Maps Online. An easy to use search engine for historical maps, it is freely available through your internet explorer.

If you need teaching resources on the Blitz, Bomb Sight is another freely available resource. An interactive map, it shows the location of bombs dropped on London during World War II, together with photographs of the sites.

It can be difficult to determine if the map resources you find on the internet are the best for your needs. Mapperz is a blog which aims to show you current resources, which may be useful for your research. If you have time, take a look at the Global Wind Animation map which looks like a Van Gogh painting! 

Finally, if you’d like a map which is closer to home, you’ll find the map of our Swansea campuses  available on the UWTSD website!

A-Z of UWTSD Libraries...

Image courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z

We’re moving on to K in our library alphabet today…approaching the halfway point soon…who knew there was so much to say about libraries?? Here’s hoping we’re giving you lots of reasons to pop in to your nearest UWTSD library very soon!

K is for:

·       Knowledge – If you need an answer to a question, if you’ve been panicking about an assignment topic, if you need research help and advice…visit the library, we are the font of all knowledge!!

·    Keys Stage books – If you’re an education student you’ll find teaching practice books on all Key Stages available via the relevant UWTSD libraries.   

·   Keeping up to date – Save yourself some time and effort with your research…did you know that you can set up email alerts relating to a topic or journal of your choice within most of our library databases? All you have to do then is sit back and let the information come to you!

A-Z of UWTSD Libraries...

Image courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z

We’re back after a short Easter break to continue with our A-Z of UWTSD libraries and we’re on the letter J…

J is for:

·       Journals – We subscribe to a vast number of periodicals (both print and online) relating to all courses taught at the university, which will help keep you up-to-date with all the latest news and developments within your subject area…a great way to get a head start when it comes to assignments and dissertations!  

·         JSTOR – A Full text archive of scholarly journals covering the Humanities, Education, Business and Science (one of the many databases we subscribe to!). You can access it via the UWTSD library website’s Online Library.

·     Jobs – You’ll find lots of information on careers, job hunting, interview techniques and how to write a good CV in our UWTSD libraries. We also employ a small number of student workers at some of our libraries…so keep a look out for opportunities with us as well! 

Easter weekend closure

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Our four libraries here at UWTSD Swansea will be closed after today for the Easter weekend, and will then re-open on Tuesday 7th April. Wishing you all a Happy Easter!