Easter opening times

The opening hours of our UWTSD Swansea libraries are slightly different during the Easter vacation period. All opening hours for each library are listed below. Please check before you visit. We look forward to seeing you!

UWTSD Swansea Libraries in numbers!

 We have so many fantastic resources and services available through the library, that we decided to look at the statistics behind these resources and services. For example, we calculated that there are over two thousand ebooks available through our catalogue, that  almost 211,000 people visited our four Swansea UWTSD libraries last year and that our blog has received over 60,000 visits as well! We decided that we would like to display the information numerically, as an infographic, and this term  have posted sections of the infographic on our Swansea UWTSD Library Facebook page and on Twitter. However, now we’re revealing the whole poster, in Welsh and in English. We hope you like it!

  If you have any questions about our  range of resources and services, or would like help finding information for your research, please ask and we'll be happy to help!

We love databases!

Today we're continuing our series promoting the many and varied (full-text) library databases we have to offer, with something for our health based students - CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing & Allied Health Literature).

CINAHL is a valuable research tool that provides full-text access to over 550 nursing and health journal publications, dating back as far as 1981 (that's more than 3.2 million records!). As well as journal articles it also provides access to selected conference proceedings, standards of practice, audiovisual materials, book chapters and more. This fantastic database covers a wide selection of topics ranging from nursing and public health, to social care and child welfare.You can print and email articles to yourself, get help with referencing and citation...and even set up email alerts to bring all the latest research on your chosen topics straight to your inbox! What could be easier or more convenient?

So, next time you're struggling to find up-to-date information for your projects and assignments, remember to give our databases a try! It can save you time, effort and money! You can access all our databases quickly and conveniently, on and off campus, via our Swansea Online Library page...all you need is your UWTSD login and password.

We love databases!

This week we're beginning a series of posts to let you know about the fantastic range of databases which are available through our Swansea UWTSD library website.

Databases are online, organized collections of information. You can access them at anytime of the day or night, through any device with an internet connection! Word of warning though, to benefit from  the material available through the databases, you will need to access them through the library website and our  Databases A-Z list.

We are beginning our series with the database NewsBank.

NewsBank

You may have noticed that we have recently acquired a brand new newspaper database called NewsBank. NewsBank is a database which includes newspapers such as The Times and Financial Times, as well as local newspapers, for example the South Wales Evening Post and the Western Mail. In fact, NewsBank features more than 700 local, regional and national news sources from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Wales. There’s even a map of the U.K., so that you can research by country.

NewsBank also has a section featuring special reports which focus upon topics of current interest. These reports contain content from sources throughout the world to provide a global perspective, current and background information, statistics, maps, images, websites, and suggested search terms.

So, why not have a look and if you would like help accessing NewsBank, your subject librarians will be happy to help!

Interactive Library Tour!

Welcome to all our new UWTSD Swansea students! We hope you're enjoying Fresher's Week and getting to know your new friends and surroundings. We're looking forward to meeting you all in person during the library tours and inductions that have been arranged for you. This is your chance to meet your Subject Librarian (an invaluable source of help and advice!) and to learn more about what the library service has to offer. Many of you will get the opportunity to come and look around your nearest library during the first week of term but, if you miss the 'official' tour, we've put together a fab interactive library tour that you can do on your own! Look out for a series of posters like these in our libraries:

All you need to do is download a free QR code reader/scanner onto your mobile device from any app store and you're ready to go! There is a series of 8 posters to find and a quick scan of the QR codes will give you more information about everything from our opening hours to the name of your Subject Librarian.

We'll also be highlighting useful information about the library service on our Facebook and Twitter accounts too, so make sure you 'like'/'follow' us, it's the quickest and easiest way to keep up to date with everything we have to offer...including news of our exciting 'Golden Ticket' competition!!  

A-Z of UWTSD libraries...

Image courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z

Well, this is our penultimate entry in the UWTSD library A-Z...and it’s a double whammy! We’re focusing on letters V and W this week...

V is for:

Value – Your UWTSD libraries can save you a huge amount of money, we’ve done the maths! An average academic textbook costs somewhere in the region of £45...multiply that by 15 (the number of books an undergraduate student can borrow at any one time) and that amounts to £675 worth of books...if you borrowed just 15 books per term, that equals £2025 per year...do that for the duration of your 3 year degree course and that’s £6075 that we’ve saved you! That’s without all the journals, newspapers and e-books that we give you free access to...and then there’s the free WiFi...the expert advice etc...you can’t afford NOT to use the library!

Image courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z

W is for:

WiFi – All our libraries are WiFi hotspots, so bring along your laptops, tablets and smartphones and you’ll have wireless internet access, completely free of charge! All you need to know is your UWTSD student ID and password. If you have any problems connecting to the WiFi network we have plenty of IT staff available to help.

Website – Our library website contains all the information you need to know about the library, from opening hours and contact details, to subject guides and inter-library loans. Plus, it acts as a portal to all the electronic content in our Online Library, such as; ebooks, ejournals, newspapers and market reports. So, add the library website to your bookmarks/favourites...you’ll be glad you did!

A-Z Of UWTSD Libraries...

Image Courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z

We are highlighting the numerous services offered by your UWTSD libraries by working our way through the alphabet…let’s continue our A-Z series with the letter C…

C is for:

• Catalogue: Our library catalogue is web-based so you can search it anywhere, anytime...it’s also mobile compatible so you can access it on the go! Use it to search for titles from our vast range of library stock including; books, journals, DVDs & audio packs etc. The catalogue will tell you how many copies we have and where to find them. Make the library catalogue your first port of call when you receive your course/module reading lists! 
• Computers: All our UWTSD libraries have computers available for you to use. You can log on with your university username and password to access the internet, email, Moodle, Turnitin and various computer software packages that will help with your assignment writing. Many of our libraries also have technicians close by to help with any IT related problems.
•  Copyright: This is an automatic legal right of ownership which allows the creator of a written, artistic or published work to control how it is used.  Copyright lasts for a set period of time and the current UK law on copyright is the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 as amended.  A person may use a copyright protected work only if you have been given permission by the copyright owner or by law. Copyright law provides some exceptions for private study, education and public accessibility and the University also has a range of licenses which allow copyright works to be accessed within certain limits.  For more information, please contact the Library.
• Careers: Many of our libraries display career information and leaflets provided by the UWTSD careers service. We also have vocational books and journals relating to careers in the many subject areas taught within the university.

A-Z of UWTSD Libraries...

Image courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z



Our new series A-Z of Libraries highlights the many varied features and services we provide for our users, today we continue with the letter B…

 

B is for:

·       Blog – All our UWTSD libraries have a strong social media presence (you’re probably reading this via one of them!). Our blogs enable us to highlight important events and services, as well as writing features on topical issues relevant to libraries and Higher education. We encourage comments and interaction with our readers…and even invite the occasional guest blogger to add some variety! Take a look at our blogs here – (Swansea)  http://www.uwtsdswansealibraryblog.blogspot.co.uk/  - (Carmarthen/Lampeter/London) http://uwtsdlibraryblog.blogspot.co.uk/

·       Business Information – Our Swansea Business Campus library provides all the business information you could possibly need, from textbooks on strategic management or how to write a business plan, to newspapers such as the Financial Times and company or industry information via online databases such as Marketline. We even have expert Business librarians to help you find exactly what you’re looking for!

·       Books – Obviously! We stock essential and background texts from all your course reading lists, as well as useful reference books such as dictionaries and directories. We also have many e-books available via our online library.

·        Borrowing – You can borrow items from us ranging from as little as 24 hours up to 6 weeks, depending on the loan category. Undergraduates can borrow up to 15 items at any one time (more than enough to keep you busy!) while Postgrads can borrow up to 20 items. Think of all the money you could save borrowing instead of buying!! ;-)

·         Book club – We may have something in the pipeline, so watch this space…!!! J

A-Z of UWTSD Libraries!

Image courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z

                                      

Do you realise just how much your UWTSD library service has to offer? We’re not just about books you know!

Over the coming weeks we’ll be highlighting our vast range of services and attributes by working our way through the alphabet - so let’s start at the beginning…

A is for:

·        Access – We are an access point for all the information you could possibly need during your studies – we even provide 24 hour access via our online library.

·        Artefact Collection – Our library on the Carmarthen campus has a vast collection of educational artefacts for loan from Roman coins and a Hanukah lamp through to bee-bots, play parachutes and puppets. It was originally created for those doing teacher training but resources may also be of use to those doing other courses such as Early Childhood Studies and Youth and Community.

·       Advice – We’re here to help! If you’re struggling to find information for an assignment or you’re wading through a lengthy reading list don’t be afraid to come and ask the library staff for help. Do you know who your Subject Librarians are? Find out – they could be your new best friend for the duration of your studies!

·       Answers – There’s a famous quote by Neil Gaiman that says “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one!” Librarians pre-date Google by many centuries, we’ve been asked loads of questions over the years and are pretty good at what we do – so why not ask us before you resort to asking an internet search engine?! ;-)

A daily dose of festive fun!

 

 

 

Some of you may remember our Twelve Days of Christmas campaign last year...well, this year we've gone one step further and given you some bite-sized festive fun for every day in Advent!

 

We've put together an online Advent Calendar. It's our way of spreading a little bit of Christmas cheer to all the staff and students at UWTSD Swansea!

Behind each door you'll find something new and surprising that you may not have known about your library service, as well as some festive fun to get you in the mood for the holiday season.

 

We'll be sharing useful information, links and contact details...as well as fun videos and photos...our calendar is even mobile compatible, so you can view it anywhere, anytime on your mobile devices.

 

...look out for even more festive fun at your UWTSD Swansea libraries throughout December too...!

 

Happy Christmas Everyone!