A-Z of UWTSD Libraries...

Image courtesy of: Josh Filhol / Library A-Z

We’ve been working our way through the alphabet to highlight some of the great services your UWTSD libraries offer! Today we continue with the letter F…

F is for:

·      Facebook: Like us on Facebook and we’ll keep you up-to-date with all the latest news and developments within your UWTSD library service. If the library has to close at short notice or there are problems with the IT network, you’ll hear it here first…if we’ve got a fab new journal database or some new books have just arrived, we’ll publicise it via Facebook…or if you just want to have a laugh at photos of the library staff in fancy dress for World Book Day (tomorrow!!) this is where you’ll find them!         

·         Fiction: If you want a break from the serious textbooks you have to read for your course, why not borrow a novel from your UWTSD library too? You’ll find plenty of fiction available - take look at our library catalogue to locate something of interest. Swansea students will also find a selection of novels chosen by the librarian on display at each campus library to whet your appetite, plus items can be requested from other sites if required.

·     Films: You’ll find a vast selection of films available for loan from your UWTSD libraries. From mainstream to art-house or foreign language cinema, we have something for everyone! We’ve got all your entertainment needs covered!

·        Free: The best part about our library service is that it’s completely FREE! Free to loan books and other items (including laptops!), free computers, free WI-FI, free scanning, free newspapers, free online library, and free professional advice from your subject librarian! The only thing you’ll ever need to pay for is printing and photocopying…and perhaps the odd fine if you’re late returning your books!

Access to Research – free access to scholarly journals via Swansea Public Library Service

This one is mainly for our final year students! During your years as a UWTSD student, you have access to a huge range of academic books and journals, both online and in the library, which can help you with your assignments and keep you up to date in your field. Unfortunately, though, once you’ve graduated and are no longer members of the university, we are quite limited in what we can offer you. This is quite frustrating for those of you who are keen to keep up that good practice you developed at university and maintain your awareness of current research. Luckily, publishers and librarians have come together to offer a solution via the public library service – Access to Research!

Access to Research offers free, walk-in access to over a million scholarly journal articles across a range of subjects. Public libraries in Swansea are part of the scheme, so you will be able to take advantage of this material at your local library in the area. There is more information on the Swansea Council website and a specially produced Frequently Asked Questions leaflet (there are a few good search tips which can be used with our Digital Library on here too – worth a look even if you’re not interested in the scheme!). If you’re not local to Swansea, you can check the list of participating libraries on the Access to Research website to see if your home library service is a part of the scheme.

This, of course, is in addition to all the great stuff already available to you at Swansea public libraries! It’s well worth joining if you haven’t already. And finally, if you are graduating this year, but would still like to borrow from UWTSD libraries, public library members in South West and Mid Wales can join us through the Libraries Together scheme, which will let you borrow up to five ordinary loans from us at any one time. Just get in touch if you’d like more information.

More freebies from Emerald!

You may remember our blog post earlier this month which told you about Emerald’s Journals of the Week which gives you free access to articles from two journals each week. (If you missed it, find out more here.) Well, it seems as though Emerald likes a freebie nearly as much as we do! For a limited time, you can also download articles from three new journals: International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, Journal for Entrepreneurship and Public Policy and Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies. Articles from these journals will be available until the 1^st December from the Emerald website. An early Christmas present for us all!

Freebie journal articles from Emerald

Everyone loves a freebie and with Emerald you get two per week! Emerald is a company which publishes academic books and journals covering a whole host of subjects. Each week, they choose two ‘Journals of the Week’ and offer free access to articles from recent issues. There’s no catch, so it’s well worth a look! Current and upcoming journals of the week are:-

5/11/12           EuroMed Journal of Business

                        Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy

12/11/12         Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning

                        Journal of Organizational Ethnography

19/11/12         Quality in Ageing and Older Adults

                        Journal of Children’s Services

26/11/12        Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal

                        Management Research

3/12/12          Smart and Sustainable Built Environment

                        British Journal of Forensic Practice

10/12/12        International Journal of Emerging Markets

                        Critical Perspectives on International Business

17/12/12        Social Care and Neurodisability

                        Safer Communities

Something for nearly everyone! You can find out more from Emerald’s Journal of the Week web page.  These journals will only be available for a week each, so be quick if you want to take a look at any articles! Remember, though, some of these titles are available to you anyway as part of the library’s database subscriptions. To check, just search our catalogue for the journal title you’re interested in.