Open Students - changing the way that research is disseminated

I’ve mentioned Open Access a few times in this blog, for example here and here, in this post about the Depot, in a post entitled Open Access - some pointers, and in a follow-up post on Open Access - more updates. 

The Open Access - some pointers post tries to explain what Open Access is all about. 

In the information world, Open Access is a big talking point, but amongst lecturers and students, there seems to be much less interest, despite the fact that Open Access is an important issue for all scholars.  That’s why I was very interested to see that a new blog about Open Access, aimed at students, had been created.  The new blog is called Open Students.  It says on the Open Students website:

We’re students – the next generation of scholars.

We believe that science should be open, for everyone to learn.

We’re changing the way that research is disseminated.

We are Open Students.

Open Students is a platform to engage the student community, and a forum to encourage dialogue.

Roddy MacLeod
Senior Subject Librarian

New books in the Library - January 26

Added to the library recently have been several books on economics and microeconomics, plus new titles on quadratic differentials, auditing and several other topics.

Some choice titles include A new heritage of horror: the English gothic cinema, by David Pirie, and The art of loving, by Erich Fromm. Both have been added to Riccarton Library.

Two copies of Principles of auditing: an introduction to international standards on auditing, by Rick Hayes and others have also been added. Both are on week loan.

For the full list of new books, go to the New Books section of the Catalogue.

Information on how to place a reservation for a book is available.

Roddy MacLeod
Senior Subject Librarian

Library takes part in national eBooks survey

As part of the JISC E-Books Observatory Project, through which the Library is able to provide access to nearly forty eBook titles, CIBER research group at University College London have been commissioned to carry out a national survey about eBooks.

The aim of this survey, the largest of its type yet conducted in the UK, is to provide an initial user benchmark regarding a range of eBook issues by getting some basic information about eBooks. The survey is open to any member of the university, be they an undergraduate, a professor or support staff.

Please complete this survey as a high response rate will make it much more useful. By participating in the survey you will be given the opportunity to enter a prize draw, with the chance to win £200 in Amazon vouchers. To complete the survey Click here

The survey closes at midnight on Friday 15 February.

Iain Young
Resources Manager

Times Higher Education

The Times Higher Education (formerly Times Higher Education Supplement (THES)) has undergone a considerable change, and has moved from newsprint to a magazine format.

Published by TSL Education, it is described as ”the UK’s most authoritative source of information about higher education. Designed specifically for professional people working in higher education and research, The Times Higher was founded in 1971 and has been online since 1995.”

The Times Higher Education is available in both Riccarton Library (Newspapers section, Level 2) and the Scottish Borders Campus Library (Periodicals SBC).

A Times Higher Education website is available, along with various RSS feeds.

Roddy MacLeod
Senior Subject Librarian

spineless? featured in the press

I was really pleased to see that this spineless? blog had been featured in the January issue of Information World Review, which describes itself as Europe’s leading newspaper for the information industry.

An online version of the article is available.  

Roddy MacLeod
Senior Subject Librarian

e-Journals milestone reached

A significant milestone has been reached in the Library provision of electronic resources. Lynn Burns, who is responsible for keeping the e-journals database updated, today added the 5,000^th title (and the 5,001^st, 5,002^nd and 5,003^rd).

All of these subscribed e-Journal titles are available to University students and staff from both on and off campus. A full title list of the e-Journals available can be viewed online, or individual titles can be searched for in the Library OPAC.

This number is likely to continue increasing as the Library continues to support electronic access to the most relevant available resources.

Iain Young
Resources Manager

Reminder - vacation loans due back Friday 11 January

All books which you borrowed for the Christmas vacation are due for return today, Friday 11 January.

If you wish to keep them for longer, you can renew them at any time before the end of the day by logging on to your Library record (via Patron functions) in the catalogue. Simply select the books you want to renew, and then click on the “Renew Items” button. Remember - you cannot renew a book if someone else has reserved it, if you have any overdue books, or if you have more than £2.00 outstanding in unpaid fines.

If you need help renewing your books, or of you have any questions about borrowing, contact the Service Desks in the Riccarton or Galashiels Libraries.

Gill McDonald
Reader Services Manager

Updated: How To Find Out in the Built Environment

Once again, I’ve updated the How To Find Out in the Built Environment guide.  I’ve deleted many of the references to print materials, as these have become out of date, I’ve rearranged some of the sections, and have updated some of the links to websites of interest.

Whether you’re looking for information for a project or dissertation, or just an article or some facts, figures, or addresses, this guide should point you in the right direction with respect to information on and about the built environment.

It’s quite a detailed guide, and gives sources of information on books, journals, articles, digital repositories, news, technical reports, standards, patents, theses and many more types of publications, along with advice on making a literature search and taking references.

This is one of a series of Library guides to finding information by subject.

Each time the guide is updated, I find new resources and others which have moved, or changed their names.  Hopefully, all of the links in How To Find Out in the Built Environment will now be up to date, but if you find something which does not work, or if you need more advice, please get in touch.

Roddy MacLeod
Senior Subject Librarian

Get a SnapFax and give to charity

Help us to raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society and save yourself some money too!

We have a supply of SnapFax cards giving students discounts on a range of goods and services in Edinburgh. Pick up a SnapFax card from the Service Desk in Riccarton Library, and leave your donation - we suggest at least £2.00. All money donated will be given to the Library’s chosen charity, the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Thank you for your generosity.
Gill McDonald
Reader Services Manager

For information about the Multiple Sclerosis Society, click on the logo.

New project - Gold Dust

Heriot-Watt Library, and the ICBL, are involved in an exciting new project called Gold Dust.  Gold Dust has been funded by JISC under the Users & Innovation Programme: Personalising Technologies, which is also the prime funder for the ticTOCs Project, in which Heriot-Watt is a partner.  I blogged about ticTOCs back in August.

The two projects are connected, in that Gold Dust will use ticTOCs usage logs for a controlled group of testers in order to produce Personal Interest Profiles (PIPs).  Text mining techniques will then used to match these PIPs with content found from numerous selected, potentially relevant, RSS feeds, and the results will then delivered in a flexible way at a place of the user’s choice.

The intention is to develop practical solutions to identifying highly relevant (personalised) items of interest from amongst a mass of potentially relevant current awareness information.

Hull University Library are leading the project, and Heriot-Watt will do much of the technical development. More information is available at the Gold Dust website.

Roddy MacLeod
Senior Subject Librarian