Library opening 24/7 during January exams

Information Services and Libraries are happy to announce that the University Library will be open 24/7 from 8.30am on the 4th January to 12am on the 22nd January for the examination period.

A decision on extending 24/7 opening to the Summer examination period will depend on the numbers using the services and on a reduction in the number of complaints received from local residents and fellow students – so in other words use it (but nicely!) or lose it…

For this reason the following rules have been agreed. Library users must

* Not disrupt other students learning
* Respect the designated use of the floors of the Library
* Leave the University premises quietly
* Not bring hot food into the Library – this can be consumed in the Student Union
* Must arrange pick ups and drops to take place outside the Student Union on Spencer Street and should stay out of Northampton Square
* Must only smoke in designated areas in groups of no more than 3

Anyone in breach of these rules will receive an immediate ban from Library and Student Union services and may be reported for further disciplinary action.

The demand for 24/7 opening has come from students themselves over a number of years. Please ensure that we will be able to provide it in future by coming and using our services and by respecting the rules that are put in place for your benefit.

Liz Harris, Head of Library Services, Northampton Square
SU President

IEEE Webinar – tomorrow

IEEE’s 125th Anniversary Celebration Webcast
Live from The Royal Institution of Great Britain on 6th October.

6 October 2009,  16:30-19:00

Register Today

The programme
Welcome Address        

Dr. John Vig,  2009 IEEE President & CEO

Keynote Lectures

Dame Wendy Hall, Professor of Computer Science at University of Southampton, and 2009 President of the Association for Computing Machinery

Chris Toumazou, Professor of Circuit Design and Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London

New page

A new page has been added to bring together the growing collection of online guides and tutorials that you can use – have a look at what’s already available and let me know if there is anything you would find useful or would like to see!

More content will be added as time goes on… currently, plans include:

• Using advanced features of Google Scholar
• Database demos
• Using the Library catalogue (basic and advanced)
• Vancouver/Numerical referencing

Lots of information, resources and guides are already available on Upgrade, so check there if you can’t wait.

Essay writing and presentation workshops

Learning Success in the Student Centre are running some workhops over the new few weeks to help you prepare and complete your assignments.

You don’t have to book, so just come along! All sessions are run between 1pm and 2pm.

• Academic English and different types of assignement: essays, reports, reflective writing, literature reviews etc.
  Thursday 8th October, Room CG05
• Interpreting essay titles and organising essays
  Thursday 15th October, Room CG05
• Writing introductions, conclusions and body paragraphs
  Thursday 22nd October, Room CG05
• Citation and referencing
  Thursday 29th October, Room CG05
• Effective note-taking
  Monday 2nd November, Room E212
• Grammar and punctuation
  Monday 9th November, Room E212
• Presentation preparation
  Monday 16th November, Room E212
• Presentation practice
  Monday 23rd November, Room E212

For more information on training and support that you can access through Learning Success, see their website. Or why not check out the resources they have created in Upgrade, our new CitySpace module with resources to help you develop your study skills, research skills and give you the inside edge on thinking about your career?

Library changes

A warm welcome to new students coming to City and a welcome back to all returning staff and students.

Over the summer we have been very busy and there are quite  a few changes that have taken place. Why not view this short slideshow which talks you through some of the changes that have taken place?

New resource: Upgrade

Want to get better marks for your all your efforts at uni? Check out our new resource on CitySpace, Upgrade.

Upgrade has interactive resources to help you develop your information and research skills, use the Library to it’s full potential as well as handy hints and tips to save you time. It also has a growing collection of materials on developing better study skills, careers advice and thinking about your professional development.

To find out more, watch this short presentation, or contact Catherine. Look out for Upgrade appearing in your course lists in the new year.

Multimedia and the moon

The Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast this week looks at the Apollo 11 moon landings which happened 40 years ago this month.

This year it’s also the 100th anniversary of City University aeronatuics department. Have a look at this footage on the website of the Apollo 15 astronauts visiting City in 1971.

Google Scholar preferences

Did you know that you can tell Google Scholar that you’re a City University student and it will tell you what you can access?

When you search the Internet you may find references to lots of articles that you want to read – but then when you click on the link they ask for a password…at City we use a different password management system (with the barcode and PIN). Instead of logging in on the resource, we log in on the Library catalogue – which is why we always tell you to access resources through the catalogue.

You can however use Google Scholar and tell it you’re a City student, so that if you do get a result that we have access to an extra link will appear that will let you log in using your barcode and PIN – saving you the hassle of going back to the catalogue to check if we have the journal and then logging in…neat! Have a look at this simple slideshow talking you through how to do it. There is audio, so you will need headphones, or expand the ‘notes’ tab on the right hand side to view the script.

Suggestions for other slideshows you might like to see? Let me know!

Library over the summer

The Library is getting refurbishment work done over the summer, and so you’ll find a couple of changes when you come to visit.

The entrance and service desk are now on Level 5 whilst work is carried our on levels 2 and 3. This means that levels 2 and 3 are shut. To access the Library, you’ll need to use the lift (or stairs!) beside the Student Centre and head up to Level 5. If you’re only dropping off books, then you can use the temporary drop box which is just outside of the Student Centre on level 2.

If you want a sneaky look at the plans for the Library they are available on the website.

Support in using the Library and information resources is available over the summer so if you need any help, please let me know.

An alternative to Google?

Having a peak at the BBC News technology section today you will have seen the story about a new search engine on the block.

Enter Wolfram Alpha, a search engine which doesn’t aim to point you to the page that might have the answer you’re searching for, but answer your question directly. It aims to take all objective data to ‘compute’ the answer for you – interesting!

I typed in my date of birth and was told exactly how old I am.  In  days, weeks, months and years (something I’m not going to put on here!)  It is also able to work out how long it will take you to type out 3,000 words – great when your planning your time for your assignment! But there are lots of sensible uses that you can use this for: for a far more expert and in-depth overview, have a look at the screencast (you’ll need headphones).  It’s worth it to get a handle on what you can use this for.

What do others think of it? Here are some reviews available on the BBC website. As someone pointed out, perhaps less a rival for Google as a search engine, but one for Wikipedia to look out for?

To get an idea about how you might want to use it, check out the Engineering and Mathematics pages of sample searches…

It’s not perfect but something to keep an eye on in the future…what do you think?