There’s still time to let us have your views on the library

There’s still time to let us have your views on the library: our LibQual survey will remain open until midnight on 28 February.  Please do take a few minutes of your time to let us know what you think: we value all feedback and will read and consider all comments with a view to continually trying to improve what we do.  

Please go to https://www.libqual.org/survey/RWSVJA32HUL53VNY.

Thanks

Important changes in payment of student printer budget top-ups from today

From today, 1 August, Queen Mother Library and Taylor Library can no longer accept over-the-counter top-up payments for students’ printer budgets.  There is no change at the Medical Library.

Top-up payments may be made online at any time via the student portal, or by calling in person at the Edward Wright Reception window between the hours of 12.30-14.00 Monday-Friday ONLY.  

Please also note that the minimum payment is now £5.

Enquiries please to John Lemon in the Directorate of Information Technology ( j.s.lemon@abdn.ac.uk).

Reflections on our collections

Could you pen some reflections on our collections, a limerick on librarianship, a haiku for the ‘ice cube’ or a villanelle on QML? For the chance to be printed in a publication to mark the opening of the new library please send us your terse verse or whimsical wordplay on our libraries, museum and special collections and archives. Dirty doggerel will be read with amusement but not published!

[written by Georgia Brooker].

Please send your contribution to factsheet@abdn.ac.uk

Working on your dissertation? Try our ‘Virtual Library’ wiki for help on using e-resources

Go to http://aberdeenuniversityvirtuallibrary.pbworks.com/ and take a look!

We have a brand new resource that we think may be useful to you as you begin work on your dissertation – particularly if you are spending a great deal of your time working away from the University.

The ‘Virtual Library @ Aberdeen‘ is a wiki (the same type of service as Wikipedia) that contains collections of links and instructions, guides and worksheets for electronic resources supplied by the library.

The wiki is called ‘The Virtual Library’ because it focuses on resources (including journals and books) in electronic format. Don’t forget there is a huge amount of printed material in our ‘physical libraries’ too!

Please contact the library if you need advice on using library collections or reference management. Contact details for library branches are available at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/contact.shtml#site-contacts.

Elaine Shallcross
(for Library & Historic Collections staff)

Interested in using Papers with Scopus? Read on…

Do you use the Mac app Papers on your Mac computer, iPhone,  iTouch or iPad?

Members of the University can obtain the ID info needed for the Scopus database from http://tinyurl.com/2w8hv46.

More information on Papers can be found at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/papers/id304655618?mt=8#

Ebrary QuickView has increased functionality

Ebrary (e-book collection) has announced significant additional functionality on QuickView, the reader tool that gives you access to the full text of e-books. QuickView does not require software downloads or installations and is the default reader for the database.

Elaine Shallcross

Quick link icons to our Web 2.0 services now available from the library home page

Quick link icons to our Web 2.0 services have been added to the Library home page. You can now link to the new library construction photostream on Flickr, L&HC InfoLinks blog for University staff and students, L&HC on Facebook and Twitter, and to our ‘Ask a Librarian’ instant messaging service.

Please do take a look – I’m interested to hear what you think, and welcome your participation in the new L&HC Facebook Group.

Springer e-books trial includes the Protocols Series

From now until October 2010 the SpringerProtocols are available on a trial basis from two websites:

1. www.springerprotocols.com – this is a portal site which offers only the Protocol content with additional Web 2.0 features and search capabilities.  The supplier recommends this way to access the Protocol material to make best use of the content.  When searching here you’re only looking at the Protocols.
2. www.springerlink.com – this is where the full e-books trial is held and Protocols can be searched for along with other e-book content.

Further information can be obtained from Principal Information Consultant, Susan McCourt (s.mccourt@abdn.ac.uk).

Two important e-book collections currently on trial

Cambridge Books Online gives us trial access to 7,700 full text e-books until 15th June 2010. The collection covers science, technology and medicine, as well as humanities and social sciences. The URL for access is: http://ebooks.cambridge.org.

There are over 16,000 items in the Springer electronic books trial which runs until October 2010. The collection has a broad scientific content including life and biological sciences and includes the Protocols series. To find out what is there, and to search across it, you need to go to www.springerlink.com/books.

A full list of current trials and new electronic resources is available at www.abdn.ac.uk/library/newtrials.shtml.

Use our services? Your opinion matters

There is still time to complete the Library & Historic Collections annual survey. Whether you visit the library building to study or only use our online resources from a distance, we welcome your views on what we do to support your studies.

Please link to the survey from the email sent by Library & Historic Collections on Tuesday 27 April. The survey closes at midnight on Saturday 8th May. Many thanks.