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! 

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.

International Arts Education Week

You'll find loads of art books and journals downstairs
 in Griffith Library!

The third annual UNESCO International Arts Education Week runs from the 19^th to the 23^rd May this year, so it’s nearly upon us. UWTSD Swansea has a rich heritage of arts education, so we’re sure it’s a topic close to your hearts! This year, the theme is Arts for Peace, which builds on the vision laid out in the UNESCO document Seoul Agenda: Goals forthe Development of Arts Education.

Griffith Library at Dynevor is, as you’d expect, the place to go for art books, journals and dvds, but Townhill Library has recently had some new books in about education and the arts too. So, if you’re looking for a book to help you Understand Art History or one on Inspiring Writing in Art and Design, you know where to come!

We’ve also got tons of resources online, so if you want e-books or e-journals, take a look at our catalogue. We’ve also got a whole host of databases to help you find images, journal articles and other information.

Phew! With all that, it looks as though we are definitely ready for International Arts in Education Week!

Some of the art books on offer in Townhill Library

12 days of Christmas at the library

Have you spotted our 12 days of Christmas on the library Facebook page yet? We’ve been using the run up to the festive period to let you know about some of the resources and services available from your UWTSD Swansea libraries. In case you missed it, here they are, with links to more details!

On the first day of Christmas, my library gave to me… a subject librarian to advise me,

 

On the second day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 2 external borrowing schemes to use other libraries,

On the third day of Christmas, my library gave to me… lots of books to borrow, some for 3 weeks,

On the fourth day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 4 amazing campus libraries in Swansea,

On the fifth day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 5 Open Access IT zones with internet and printing facilities,

On the sixth day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 6 ways to get in touch with your library,

On the seventh day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 7 fabulous Ebsco databases with access to 1000s of journals for your subject,

On the eighth day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 8 more amazing databases offering journal articles and more to help with my research and assignments,

On the ninth day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 9 great study skills books,

On the tenth day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 10 popular Ebooks to read online

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 11 subject areas to choose from

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my library gave to me… 12 months of open libraries!

So there you go, there’s lots on offer to help you with your studies all year round. Please get in touch if you have any questions. Nadolig Llawen!

How about some free journal articles to help with your dissertation?

It seems cruel to mention this on a lovely August day, but while most of you are enjoying the summer vacation and taking a break from your studies, we know there are quite a few of you who are busy planning and writing your dissertation. One of the key elements of your dissertation, once you’ve decided on the topic, is to decide on appropriate research methods to use. You might find it useful to take a look at the free, peer-reviewed articles from Sage on that very subject. They are part of Sage’s open access content, which is a collection of scholarly journal articles that have been made freely available for you to access. There’s no need to pay, and no need to login with your university ID!

Remember, we’ve also got lots of books and journal articles to help you in the library. As a student or member of staff, they’re free for you to access too! Try looking for books to help with your dissertation on our Catalogue and journal articles about research methods on our Digital Library. We wish you all the best if you are currently slogging your way through your dissertation. It’s definitely worth it in the end! Please get in touch if you need any assistance in finding resources to help.

Swansea Met closed due to snow!

Swansea Met has announced that it will be closed today (Friday18th Jan), so that means the libraries are closed too, sorry. Our online resources are still available, of course, so please take a look at our databases and ebooks if you have any studying to do. Online resources are accessible from the library website. Find ebooks using the Library Catalogue Quick Search near the top of the homepage. To access online journal articles, try the Digital Library by clicking the blue link on the homepage, or our databases, which you can access by clicking on your subject area near the bottom of the homepage.

If you are planning to visit one of our libraries over the weekend, please phone before you set out as some or all libraries may be unable to open if there is still a lot of snow around. Contact numbers for each library are on the website and below:-

Griffith Library (Dynevor) 01792 481030
Owen Library (Mount Pleasant) 01792 481141
Swansea Business School Library 01792 481023
Townhill Library 01782 482113

You could also try Swansea Met's main switchboard on 01792 481000. Stay safe everyone!

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!

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.

Having trouble finding relevant journal articles?

You’re very welcome to call in to your SMU library and ask to speak to a librarian for help, of course, but you might also like to take a look at some guidance from the National Library of Wales.: http://welshjournals.llgc.org.uk/content/students. The guidance includes some very useful tips on Effective Searching that can be used to help you find better results when using internet search engines and library databases. This brief guide provides a nice overview of how search engines work and how you can get the best out of them. It’s well worth spending a couple of minutes clicking in and finding out how to apply some simple strategies that will help you to find more relevant journal articles and resources!

This information is available on the Natioanl Library of Wales’ database Welsh Journals Online. This is a freely available database which is accessible via the SMU library web pages or by accessing the database directly. The database holds digitised versions of Welsh journals that can be browsed and read online.

If you would like to develop your internet search skills further, don’t forget to look at the Internet Detective tutorial, which we looked at on the blog back in November. Or just come in and ask a librarian!

Change to 'Art Full Text' database

If you use our 'Art Full Text' database, you will now see a change to how it looks! The resource has been taken over by EBSCO Publishing, and is now running from their platform.

On a practical note, SMU staff and students can still access the database both on and off-campus via the 'Art Full Text' link on the library webpages. Plus you still have access to the same breadth of Art & Design e-journals as before.

However, if you do need help navigating your way around the new screens, please don't hesitate to contact myself or one of the other SMU Librarians for assistance!

Need a journal article at 2am? No problem!

You can access thousands of journals from the Library website at any time of the day or night. Use the e-Journal Quick Search on the Library homepage (www.smu.ac.uk/library) to check if we have online access to the journal you need. Just type the journal title into the search box and follow the links to the issue you need. You can read articles on screen or print them out if you’d rather.

Database of the day - Art Full Text

For all you SMU Art & Design students (and staff!), Art Full Text is an excellent resource for journal articles, offering access to over 600 electronic titles. Featuring full-text articles, abstracting and indexing of an international array of peer-selected publications, podcasts, and page images, Art Full Text is an unmatched resource for art information.

The database covers fine, decorative, and commercial art as well as photography, folk art, film, architecture, and much more. In recent years, coverage of Latin American, Canadian, Asian, and non-Western art has expanded greatly, along with its material on new artists, contemporary art, exhibition reviews, and feminist criticism.

You can access Art Full Text both on and off-campus too, via the library webpages www.smu.ac.uk/library. Click on the Art & Design subject area link followed by the Databases link - you'll see it at the top of the list! Lastly if you have any queries or need any help, please contact the Art & Design Librarian.

New read aloud feature on some databases

Our EBSCO databases – Business Source Premier, CINAHL Plus, Education Research Complete, GreenFILE, PsycARTICLES and SPORTDiscus – have a brand new look and some exciting features ready for the new academic year. One development means that you’ll be able to listen to some journal articles being read aloud through your computer. You’ll even have the option to choose the accent you hear – British, American or Australian! A similar feature is available on Art Full Text.

To listen to an article on any of these databases, simply look for one that is available in HTML Full-Text. Click on the HTML option and look for the Listen option at the top of the article. You’ll need headphones to use this feature in the Library. You can bring your own, or buy them at the Library counter. As ever, if you have any trouble, please ask a librarian for help.

Calling all sports fans!

Were you doing a victory dance or crying into your beer after watching Manchester United’s 3-0 victory over Newcastle this week? Whatever your reaction, as a keen sports fan you’ll always want to be kept up-to-date with the latest news and information about your favourite team or sport...and your library can help!

· Why not try Sport Discus, one of our full-text Journal databases?
· Look for all the latest regional, national and international sporting news on Newsbank.
· Visit one of our recommended websites, such as London 2012 or the Department for Culture Media & Sport.
· Browse our extensive collection of sport related e-books.

All this information and much more is available online now via the library website (www.smu.ac.uk/library).

Top five most popular SMU Library databases!

Following on from our top five most borrowed books post, we can now reveal details of our top five most popular databases, from September 2009 through to the end of June 2010...

1. Ebsco Business Source Premier
2. PsycARTICLES
3. Art Full Text
4. Science Direct
5. Education Research Complete

All of the above are available both on and off-campus, and if you need any help using them please contact your subject librarian!

Library e-resources

Don't forget you have 24/7 access to hundreds of journal articles, e-books and other useful e-resources via our library website. And if you need help using these, please contact your subject librarian who will be able to advise!