Announcing a Library Fines Amnesty – Paving the way for Automatic Renewals

From 11th April until the end of semester, we are offering a fines amnesty*. We would really encourage you to use this as an opportunity to return any overdue loans and to ensure your Library account is clear. Just talk to Library staff at the counters at either site.

Then, to help enhance your experience of using the Library, from 1st July we will:

·         Automatically renew all your loans as long as they have not been reserved by another user, so you won’t be charged fines. Fines will still be charged if a renewal isn't possible due to a reservation by another library user.

·         Send you email reminders if the loan has been reserved and cannot be renewed, so you have time to return it before fines begin. 

·         Send you a monthly statement with everything you currently have on loan - so  keep an eye on your University e-mail account.

* All fines will be waived except those incurred on loans reserved by another borrower. We cannot refund fines already paid and will still charge for the replacement of lost books. All loans must be returned before you leave the University and unreturned items are considered an outstanding debt.

Plugs....

During the summer the Library takes the opportunity of the quieter times by getting improvements and refurbishment work done. For example this summer we're having electrical plugs installed onto many of the study desks around the building, so that you can plug in your laptops, tablets, etc. The work has started on the top floor and should be complete by the end of September.

National silence

Please note that Counter services will be temporarily suspended at 12.00 midday today (3rd July) while the Campus Library observes the National Silence to remember the 38 people killed in the Tunisian beach attack last week.

First for student experience

The TimesHigher Education survey of student experience showed that Keele students rated the Library and its opening hours to be joint top nationally in 2015. This comes on the back of a series of funded improvements in recent years, for example in the variety of learning space available, the extension of Library opening hours at both the Campus and Health libraries and in the range of online and print resources now offered. However, we're definitely not going to rest on our laurels and Library staff will continue to work hard to find ways to improve the student experience in the years to come. 

Want to manage references more easily? Extra 'basic/essentials' RefWorks session at the Keele Campus ...

We are running an additional session on 1 May 2014 in the Library Training Room, 14:00 - 15:30.

The Library Training Room is on the Top Floor of the Campus Library.

Click this link for more info and to book online.

Web of Knowledge ... now Web of Science - major upgrade (Jan 2014)

The service we knew as Web of Knowledge has changed its name - to Web of Science - as part of a recent service upgrade. 

The Web of Science database itself is now called the "Web of Science Core Collection" and, don't forget, also includes the multi-disciplinary Book Citation Indexes and the Index Chemicus.    

There are changes to the searching experience.  There's a simplified search screen for the databases and a prominent link for checking full-text availability ... click the Full-Text button to bring up @Keele, our e-journals checking service; this service checks for full-text availability through both Keele e-journal subscriptions and a range of major Open Access journal collections such as PubMed Central Open Access.

And finally ...

Don't forget, we also now have access to two additional databases to support your research: Current Contents Connect and the Data Citation Index.  For more Information view the "Web of Science" tab on this web page: http://www.keele.ac.uk/library/find/databases/

Semester 2 Training Sessions: details now available

Read about our forthcoming 'Essential Information Skills' training sessions at the Keele Campus Library ... you can also book online: View details here

If you are based at the Hospital Campus view information about training sessions delivered at the Health Library:  View details here

Don't forget we have online tutorials and videos - including videos on using RefWorks: View the Keele Campus Library YouTube channel here

Based at the Health Library and want to develop your searching skills?  View e-tutorials and videos here

Keele Campus Library: reminder about forthcoming training sessions ...

Just a reminder of our forthcoming training sessions at the Keele Campus Library:

The 'Basic RefWorks' session will be delivered twice more, as follows:

• Monday 18th November, 12:00 – 13.30 

• Monday 2nd December, 12:00 – 13.30

'Effective Dissertation Research' will be delivered on: 

Wednesday 27th November, 12:00 – 14.00

Click here to find out more & book a place

Further information:

Based at the Hospital Campus?  You can book on sessions delivered at the Health Library:

click here for more details

No time to attend training sessions?  Try one or more of the following:

• Online guides and videos to help you use a range of resources
• Health Library e-tutorials and videos on searching 

Telephone renewals

Although it has been possible for some years now to renew loans via the catalogue, some library users still prefer to telephone the library to do so. However this service is only available during counter opening hours, and the phone can go unanswered if all members of counter staff are already helping other library users. To this end we've now introduced an automated telephone renewals service.

Callers to the renewals line (01782 733230) will now be greeted by an automated system which can handle renewals, as well as listing your loans and due dates, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The system will recognise either your Keele card number or your library barcode number, to which you must add a # at the end. You can list your loans, renew them, as well as learning of any other information about your library account. If your call is complicated and you still want to speak to a person, there is an option for this, but please be aware that this is only available during counter opening hours.

Please let us know what you think of this new service.

Download Dawsonera e-books to mobile devices ...

We are pleased to announce that Dawsonera e-books can now be downloaded to Android and Apple iOS (e.g. iPad) devices.

Look out for the download icon when using the Dawsonera website - clicking this icon starts the download process.   The download icon looks like this:

Download icon in Dawsonera

The e-books are downloaded to Adobe Reader. If you don't have this app. on your device, please download it via the "Get Adobe Reader" icon displayed on one of the on-screen messages in Dawsonera.

Oxford Medical Handbooks Online: new titles and editions

We are pleased to announce that we have new editions - and a number of new titles - from the popular series of Oxford Medical Handbook online.

For easy access, a list of the titles that are currently available has been compiled: view it here.

It's Spring ... new look for Dawsonera e-books. Click here to read more

Have you noticed that some of our e-books look a bit different?

That's because one of our e-book suppliers (Dawsonera) has changed the way their website looks, so things look a bit different.  

Here are a few hints to help you use a Dawsonera e-book effectively once you've accessed it via (for example) the Keele Library Catalogue:



Click this icon to read a book online (the button was previously labelled "Read Online").

Alternatively ...

You can scroll down the page once you've accessed the e-book, looking out for the image shown left;  choose a section from the contents list displayed beneath.  If you click any of the headings you should next see the corresponding text on the screen.


Handy Hints:

• If you see this button (see right), click it to view sections within chapters: ;
• Once you are viewing an e-book on-screen, click the blue arrow (example shown below) to view sections within chapters:

View an interactive floor plan of the Keele Campus Library!

View our newly-created interactive floor plan to take a stroll around the Keele Campus Library.  You will see photos and key library information as you go.

Click here now to begin your tour! 

New search system under test

http://encore.keele.ac.uk

Locating information for an essay or indeed any kind of research isn't always as quick or easy a process as it ideally should be. Having to repeat your search in multiple information resources such as the Library catalogue and journal databases can be inconvenient
and time-consuming. To meet this need, the Library has set up a new system called Encore which allows searches on the library catalogue and most of our major ejournal databases at the same time. The default search combines books and articles, showing the top 3 or 4 most relevant articles and giving direct access to the full text of journal articles. However if you click on the 'Articles' tab you can choose to focus your search on the most subject-relevant resources. Of course, due to database licensing, the full-text is available only to Keele staff and students, so you must login using either your IT username and password or your library barcode.

Please let us know what you think of the system. Although we've tested it thoroughly we'd be particularly grateful if you notice anything which doesn't appear to work as it should.

Campus Library: Details of Semester Two training sessions now available

Read all about our training sessions at the Keele Campus Library ... you can also book online!
View details of the Keele Campus Library training sessions here

If you are based at the Hospital Campus why view information about training sessions delivered at the Health Library - View details of Health Library Training Sessions

Don't forget we have online tutorials and videos - including videos on using RefWorks and an updated video about e-journals - all available on the Campus Library You Tube channel

Based at the Health Library?  View e-tutorials and videos here: Health Library's e-tutorials page

Campus Library Opening Hours - updated information on Library website

Please check the opening hours up to and including 23 September 2012 on our website.

Please note, the Library & IT Building is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week during: 24 September - 14 December 2012.

Please always remember to check for the opening times for Counter Services.

The following services will help you make the most of 24/7 opening. Some of them are new developments for 2012/13 ...

• Self-service issue and return;


• Online renewals: https://opac.keele.ac.uk/patroninfo;


• New!  You can reserve titles for which copies are currently on loan online, via the Library Catalogue.  This includes Short Loan items. Collect them when they are available (you will be notified via your University e-mail account) at the new self-service Reserved Items Collection Point on the Middle Floor;


• New!  You can pay your library fines via the self-service machines (cash only).

Library fines payment on the self-service machines

As promised a few weeks ago, this is now enabled on the self-service machines at the Campus Library as well as the Health Library. You can now pay your library fines at any time the library is open - and this includes the new 24/7 opening times during semester!

Keele Campus Library: Opening Hours for 1 - 21st September 2012

Please note the details of opening hours at the Campus Library, 1st-21st September 2012 : view them by clicking this link.

To view details of opening hours at the Health Library, visit their website.

Talis Aspire logins improved

For those people who need to login to Talis Aspire our Reading Lists system, it has now been upgraded to use normal IT logins instead of the old 'classic Athens' details. Note that consulting the system normally does not require any login - you will only be asked to login if you want to add personal details to the system or if you have rights to edit lists

For those of you who have logged-in previously there is a one-time migration process to ensure that any details attached to your ID, such as lists which you can edit or personal comments, are made accessible from your IT login. On first login you will be prompted to enter your IT login details, then there will be a message box telling you about the changes and prompting you to login again with your old  'classic Athens' details. Once this information has been entered everything will be copied across and your details will be accessible. Future logins will only ask you for your normal IT login information.

Please let us know if you have any problems.

Science Direct (Elsevier) Journals: maintenance scheduled for 25 & 26 August 2012

Elsevier are carrying out maintenance to their systems.

This will affect access to Science Direct and users will be unable to access our ejournal titles provided by this platform:

** 12:30 PM Saturday, 25 August - 7:30 AM Sunday, 26 August **

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.