Introducing your subject librarian...

Hello, my name is Alison Evans. I am a part-time Assistant Librarian based in the Owen Library, and I look after the business subject area with Emily Hywel. I have a degree in history, and qualified as a librarian by completing an MA in Library and Information Studies at Loughborough University. I have worked in academic libraries at the universities of Kent and Reading. I have also spent some time working as a childrens' librarian - a very different experience, at the other end of the education environment and great fun. I'm still trying to figure out how I can sneak a few stories, glue pots and glitter into our user education sessions here at SMU!! I first came to SMU when it was still Swansea Institute of HE. I was then based in Townhill library and helped look after the education and art subject areas. I took a break from (paid!) work when my children were small and came back to SMU in 2009.

I love reading and riffling through books! I get through a huge range of material - anything that takes my fancy, from the big prize winners through to the potboilers I read on the bus. I'm a sucker for history and historical fiction tomes. I'm currently working my way through C J Sansom's Shardlake series - fab writing, with lots of historical mystery, and high (generally grisly) body count. What's not to like?? I've also been known to sneak a peek at my childrens' reads. Having spent two weeks travelling round Scotland in the summer, enclosed in the car with the whole family and a cache of Horrible History CDs, my current party trick is to be virtually word perfect in the wonderful spoof songs from the BBC series. If you've not yet encountered The Viking Song, have a look on YouTube...

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.