Resolved – access problems with ScienceDirect

We are pleased to say that the remaining problems with access to ScienceDirect have been resolved and you should be able to use this resource as normal.

If you experience difficulties accessing any of our resources please fill in the E-resources problem report form and we will do our best to assist you.

Apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.

Lucy Ardill – E-resources Team

Count on Statistics! Info Tip

You’ve come up with a great argument for your essay, but how do you prove it one way or the other? Well one way is by using statistical evidence to support your position, and it might just get you a few extra marks as well.

What statistical sources are available?

Pie chart showing energy sourcesThe Library can provide you with access to a wealth of statistics covering a wide range of countries and subject areas.

The best sources of current statistics are online. For help on where to start looking go to the detailed guide to finding statistics.

A host of British statistics, covering agriculture, the environment, business, economic indicators, law, health, population and education, are freely available via the Office for National Statistics or as part of the Census data.

European statistics covering many of the same areas as the British statistics are available via the Eurostat service.

Comparative international statistics are produced by a number of bodies, UNESCO, the IMF, the OECD and the World Bank amongst others, and many of these are available via the UK Data Service (don’t let the name fool you). You do have to register separately with this provider but it is free.

If statistics are particularly relevant to your subject area, your liaison librarian may have written a guide to statistical sources in your subject – check for one for your subject.

Some historical statistics are available online, for example in International Historical Statistics Online, but you may also find what you are looking for amongst our books and periodicals. Search the Enterprise catalogue and include the words ‘statistics’ with the subject of your choice. Try not to be too specific – a more general search will produce better results.

 

Need further help?

If you need further help contact your subject liaison librarian who will be happy to help!

This is one of a series of tips to help you save time and effort finding or using information.

This tip was written by Gordon Connell, Liaison Team Managers for Business & Social Sciences.

‘Careers on tour’: 28 February: Three

Black outline of large 3 with black flame-like lines insideFancy working for Three? Call on them Tuesday 28 February, 12:00-14:00 on the Library’s Ground Floor – where UoR Careers come to share their expertise and introduce employers most Tuesday lunchtimes.

Three say, “We’re an innovative communications company, driven by a passion to reinvent the rules and make mobile better. We believe everyone has the power to think outside the box and use their imagination to reinvent and make a real difference. We are visiting the University of Reading to talk about opportunities at Three and within the telecommunications industry.

We will also be letting you know about our three-day training programme for undergraduates, Reimagined Learning, where you get to visit us at HQ to work and deliver a business project with employees from across the business. This is a great boost for your CV, experience and confidence in presenting and team projects. Come along to our pop up stand in the Library to find out more and chat to us! We look forward to seeing you there.”

Further information

For more from Careers follow UoR Careers on Twitter. (UoR Job Shop covers news of part-time or vacation work).

Rachel Redrup, Marketing Co-ordinator for
Isabella Masciaga, Careers Events Assistant

Need maps? Try Digimap – info tip

If you need maps of Great Britain, think aDigimapbout using Digimap – Digimap delivers maps and map data from official sources to UK higher education, and you can easily create authoratative location and site maps.  There are five different collections available to members of the University of Reading:

  • historic_promo_smallDigimap – contemporary Ordnance Survey maps and data, ranging from small scale base maps to detailed large scale plans
  • Historic Digimap – historic Ordnance Survey maps from 1840 to the 1990s.  They can be compared side-by-side to help follow changes in the landscape
  • Geology Digimap – geology maps and data from the British Geological Survey (BGS)
  • Environment Digimap – landcover maps for different years, from the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology (CEH).  This collection includes scans of the Dudley Stamp Land Use maps from the 1930s
  • Aerial Digimap – contemporary aerial photography from Getmapping plc.

You will need to register to use Digimap – it is quick and easy to do.  Follow the instructions on our Digimap page.

geology_promo_smallOnce registered, you can select and print maps of Great Britain using the ‘Roam’ interface from whichever collection you want.  Roam includes tools to annotate your maps, and you can save them for future use. You can also measure distances and areas. Printing is possible at sizes from A4 up to A0, or you can save it as a pdf or a jpg to insert in Word.

If you prefer, you can download the map data to use in a Geographical Information System such as ArcGIS or QGIS.

environment_promo_smallExtensive help is available from the Digimap Resource Centre and from the Digimap YouTube channel, or you can email your Site Representative – Judith Fox, the Map Librarian.

To find out more about maps in the Library see our Maps guide.

This is one of a series of tips to help save you time and effort finding or using information

This tip was written by Judith Fox, Map Librarian

Library refurbishment works 20 February – 13 March

Image of refurbished University Library surrounded by seating, trees and hedges.Between Monday 20 February and Monday 13 March the majority of refurbishment work will focus on re-cladding the Library’s exterior and will involve drilling – students may wish to use alternative study spaces if they are not comfortable with the noise around the Library.

The following construction work is expected to be carried out around the outside of the Library:

  • Re-cladding the outside: The majority of work will focus on re-cladding the Library’s exterior – these works will involve drilling and so may be noisy. The work will move around all sides of the Library. Students may wish to use alternative study spaces if they are not comfortable with the noise around the Library.
  • Ground works: Ground works will be evident around all sides of the Library.

For details of alternative spaces and the latest project news, please visit our Library refurbishment project page: www.reading.ac.uk/library/refurb.

Rachel Redrup, Library Marketing Co-ordinator for University Communications

Library study space moves to URS Building

Three femal studetns walk infront of orange building with protruding sturts and undercroft on a sunny dayThe University will shortly be able to offer the URS Building instead of studying in the Library during its major refurbishment. We will be moving furniture and IT equipment from the Library into URS so that students can study in a comfortable and quiet space away from construction works.

What we are doing

  • Studying in URS will be quieter as it is further away from Library building works.
  • The URS Building will be open 24 hours in term (except Saturday night) just like the Library is now.
  • Course Collection will move into URS to maintain full access.
  • Books will remain in the Library and will be borrowed as usual.
  • Although Library staff will be based in URS, they will also run an information service in the Library building to help you find and borrow books there.
  • Using URS means the refurbishment will be finished earlier than originally planned.

838 study spaces (including 145 computers) will move into URS along with Library staff – so there’ll always be someone on hand to help. Cafélibro will also relocate to URS.

All books (excluding the Course Collection) will stay inside the Library and will be available to use and borrow as usual. The Course Collection will move into URS and will continue to be accessible for 24 hours in term-time, as the Library offers now.

As well as providing a quiet and convenient alternative space for students, using the URS Building will mean that the length of the refurbishment programme will be shortened by approximately six months, ending mid 2019 as opposed to late 2019 / early 2020 as originally planned.

The URS Building was vacated in December 2016 in preparation for the building’s own major redevelopment – as the programme is still under revision in light of the URS Building’s grade two listing, the University is now in a position to offer it up as relief space to students. We expect URS to be available until at least August 2018.

RUSU are supportive of the move as it helps provide a suitable environment for work and study in the wake of such a major project. Ben Cooper, RUSU President, said:

“RUSU is committed to campaigning for more study space and better facilities for students on campus. We highlighted that the University must do everything it can to mitigate issues such as noise from the building work and access to books, especially for students currently studying here.

RUSU believes that this move of study space to URS is a good option and will result in less overall problems for students to face. It means that some of the noise problems will be reduced and there will be adequate study space in the busy periods whilst the Library refurbishment is being completed.”

The University is working hard to implement these plans ready for the 2017 Quiet Period. Logistics are still being finalised – we will share final plans as soon as possible. If the move is at risk of affecting the exam period it will be postponed until after exams have finished.

Don’t forget that as well as the URS Building, there are many additional alternative study spaces around campus – a full list is available online and our Free Room Finder helps identify available rooms on a daily basis. For more details of additional study space available on campus, project benefits and the latest news, please visit the Library Refurbishment Project webpage.

Rachel Redrup
for University Communications

Eye spy… try out our new resource showing Britain from the air

Avebury Aerial DigimapWe now have access to Aerial Digimap, a new addition to the Digimap suite of mapping databases. It consists of detailed vertical aerial photography, which can be viewed, annotated, printed or downloaded.  Maps are viewed in Aerial Roam as a single seamless coverage of Great Britain, with optional Ordnance Survey background mapping.

The imagery is provided by Getmapping plc in a jpg format, and can be printed at scales from 1:250 to 1:175,000. A sliding control in Aerial Roam allows you to choose how much of the background mapping you show, and the data will be regularly updated. Downloaded data can be combined in a geographical information system (GIS) with other Digimap data such as OS MasterMap or used to produce 3D models in conjunction with, for example, OS Terrain DTM.

Why should I use it?

  • Henley Business School Aerial DigimapIf you are studying archaeology it will aid visualisation of a site within its landscape, and may allow things not visible at ground level to be discerned.
  • Environmental and biological scientists can use it to help to identify conservation areas and habitats, and to measure specific land uses.
  • Studying architecture and urban planning? Use Aerial Digimap to view infrastructure networks, and to closely examine buildings using the detailed, 25 cm resolution of the imagery.

Using Aerial Digimap

To use Aerial Digimap you will need to accept the licence terms and conditions.  It will prompt you to do this the first time you use it.

Help is available in the Digimap Resource Centre, and there are useful videos available on the Digimap YouTube channel.  Alternatively, contact the Map Librarian for information and help.

Judith Fox, Map Librarian

Getting help with your dissertation – info tip

A pen on a notebook next to a laptopNo matter how many essays you’ve written, working on a dissertation or research project can be overwhelming. They can involve lots of new skills from deciding on research questions through to those tricky final citations.

Whatever stage you are at there is lots of help available from the Library and Study Advice team!

Starting out: Search strategies and finding information

It can be a little daunting starting such a big project so you might want to start with the Study Advice guide on Dissertations and major projects or their video on defining your research question.

Once you have sorted your research questions you will need to start researching your topic. Look at the Library subject guide for your department to find key databases in your area. There is also a guide to doing a literature search, the LibLearn tutorials on Blackboard, or you could watch our videos on literature searching if you would like a break from reading!

If you are struggling to find the information that you need then you can contact the Liaison Librarian for your subject.

railroad tracksStaying on track

Once you have started your research the Study Advice team have some resources to help you keep going. If you are trying to tackle the literature you have found it might be a good idea to watch their videos on reading academic texts and critical notetaking.

With large projects like dissertations it is easy to feel like you have lots of time left only to find the deadline creeping up on you. When you are trying to balance your dissertation with lectures, other coursework and revision it is easy to fall behind so take a look at the Study Advice video on managing your time to get some tips.

Dissertations and research projects can also be harder to structure than a normal essay due to their size, this Study Advice video on structuring your dissertation has some helpful suggestions to get you started.

Writing up and referencing

Woman using MacBook

From wocintechchat.com

When you have a structure in place you will be ready to start writing up, if this seems a little overwhelming take a look at the Study Advice guidance on writing up your dissertation.

As it is a longer piece of writing than you are likely to have written before it is a good idea not to leave your referencing until the last minute, you do not want to lose precious marks because you ran out of time to format your bibliography! Luckily there is a way you can speed this process up; EndNote Web is a reference manager which can store details of what you have read, insert references into Word and automatically format your bibliography. There is a detailed guide on the Library website to get you started.

If you choose to insert your citations manually, and are not sure how to reference a particular resource or would like a refresher, there is lots of guidance on the Citing References guide. But don’t forget to check your student handbook for details of the referencing style required by your department.

Further Help

If you would like more information you can contact your Liaison Librarian or the Study Advice team.

Good luck with your research!

This is one of a series of tips to help save you time and effort finding or using information

This tip was written by Jackie Skinner, Liaison Librarian English Language and Applied Linguistics & Food and Nutritional Sciences

‘Careers on tour’: 7 February

UoR Careers Ambassadors will be back on Tuesday 7 February on the Ground Floor foyer of the University Library. Drop in between 12:00 – 14:00 to find out more about their services available to you, including:

Further information

For more from Careers follow UoR Careers on Twitter. (UoR Job Shop covers news of part-time or vacation work).

Rachel Redrup, Marketing Co-ordinator for
Isabella Masciaga, Careers Events Assistant

Book Desktop EndNote training for easy referencing!

Student studyingThere are spaces still available on next week’s beginner’s Desktop EndNote workshop for postgraduate students, researchers and staff.

Come along to learn how to use EndNote to…

  • store details of the books and articles you read
  • download references from databases such as the Web of Science
  • insert citations in your Word documents
  • build a bibliography in a style of your choosing at the click of a button

Workshop time

Wednesday 8 February, 14:00 – 16:00

Book your place

Book your place via the ‘Library course bookings’ link on the RISISweb portal. The bookings link is located in the ‘Actions’ tab if you’re a student.   If you’re a member of staff click on ‘Specialist Actions’ in the ‘Specialist Actions’ tab.

This workshop is part of the Student Training and Experience Programme (STEP) and counts towards the RED Award.

Unable to make this date?

Check the EndNote training webpage for other dates when this workshop is running this term.

Sally Smith, Learning Support Co-ordinator

Play fair and share!

Male students reading booksHelp make the Library work effectively by respecting everyone’s right to resources and space. Just a minute checking when your Library loans are due back or clearing a desk space for others can help make this term a success for everyone!

Here’s some simple suggestions on how to keep on top of your Library account, save time and money, help your friends and provide a pleasant and productive working environment for all:

  • Return Library items on time, even if the Library is closed – don’t forget you can also post items back to us
  • Ensure nothing is overdue and avoid fines by keeping up to date with your loans online 24/7 through your Enterprise account
  • Print a receipt when borrowing items, as a reminder of when they are due back
  • Check your University email account regularly for Library messages – standard loan items can be recalled from you before the original due date
  • Don’t leave belongings behind to reserve study areas especially in revision time – our Library space is for the benefit of everyone
  • Find a study area with a sound level that suits you – from Group Study Rooms on the 2nd and 4th floors to silent study on the 5th

Check out our ‘Using the Library’ and ‘Policies and Rules’ pages for more information.

Lucy Shott, Library User Services
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