Author Archives: ewanag

Maths drop-in sessions for exam preparation in The Sir Duncan Rice Library

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Dr Morgiane Richard of the University’s Student Learning Service (SLS) will be holding Maths drop-in sessions in The Sir Duncan Rice Library next week, to provide the support you may need while you are preparing for your exams.

You will be able to find her on Floor 5 of the library, room 506. There is no need to book, just drop in with your questions. Please note that the whole of Floor 5 is designated as a silent area until the end of the exam period so we ask that you observe the rules while making your way to the room.

Dr Richard will be available at the following times:

  • Tuesday 29 November: 12.00-14.00
  • Wednesday 30 November: 12.00-14.00
  • Thursday 1 December: 12.00-14.00
  • Friday 2 December: 12.00-14.00

Please contact Dr Morgiane Richard if you have any further questions: m.richard@abdn.ac.uk

Online Information Skills workshops for PhD researchers: now open for booking

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As you begin, or continue your PhD, it is important that you feel confident that you are locating and managing all the literature and information you require to achieve your research aims.

The Library Service is here to support your research so we will be running a series of three Online Information Skills Workshops starting at the end of June 2022. The workshops’ aim is to help you understand the resources available to you as researchers here at the University of Aberdeen, and how to get the best out of them. Read on for further information on the workshops.

28 June
Literature searching: Part 1 – Planning a search, resources, access and support

  • Planning your search, using Boolean operators and applying search rules
  • Using Primo to identify possible resources to support your research
  • Accessing resources (authentication – Shibboleth and other routes)
  • Library help and support

28 June
Literature searching: Part 2 – Primo, ebooks and Google

  • How to get the best out of Primo (the library catalogue and discovery tool)
  • Ebook collections
  • Streamlining your searches in Google, Google Scholar and other search engines

29 June
Literature searching: Part 3 – Scopus and Web of Science databases

Overview of the features and options within the two largest and broadest databases that we have access to. The training slot is one hour, however, there is an option to re-join the session later in the morning to ask questions once you have had the chance to try things out for yourself.

Feedback from those who have previously attended these sessions has been positive and highlights how after attending, students felt better equipped to find and manage the materials they need for research. One quote from a previous attendee nicely sums up what we are aiming for with these sessions:

“I will definitely be searching smarter than before”

Our aim is that after you attend, you will also leave feeling this way.

To find out more, and to book onto the different workshops please visit www.abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking and look for Information Skills classes.

Live online sessions for PGT students on literature searching – May 25 & 26

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As many taught postgraduate students begin work on their dissertations or projects, the Library is running a series of online sessions to help you find papers on your dissertation topic, access e-resources, or understand how to get the best out of Google.

The three-part series takes place next week, on Wednesday May 25 and Thursday May 26, and will be delivered online via Collaborate. They are open to all PGT students.

The three parts cover the following:

  • Part 1 – Planning a search, resources, access and support
  • Part 2 – Primo, ebooks and Google
  • Part 3 – Scopus and Web of Science databases

To find out more and to book a place, please visit abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking – just change the category to ‘Library Information Skills’.

You may also find materials in our Refresher series of interest. The recordings in our Refresher series present techniques, tips and resources to help you find scholarly information and reliable support materials. The issues of plagiarism, referencing, planning a dissertation and writing a Literature Review are also covered.

Please do get in touch if you have any questions. e.grant@abdn.ac.uk

Library Event – Gale Primary Sources Seminar, March 9

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The Sir Duncan Rice Library will be holding an event next week to help our students access a wonderful range of historical primary source materials, produced by Gale, that are all available online.

The Gale Primary Sources Seminar will be taking place in the Sir Duncan Rice Library, in the Lower Ground Floor Seminar Room, on Wednesday March 9, at 2.00 – 3.00 p.m.

The seminar will be delivered by the University of Aberdeen’s Gale Student Ambassador, a student here that is passionate about helping fellow students understand and use this great collection of materials that contains historical newspapers including The Times and Financial Times, historical books, and other high quality and varied primary sources. You can see the full range of Gale products available at Aberdeen here.

Please take your own device with you if you choose to attend, so that you can try out the collections yourself.

This is the first in a planned series of events that will be delivered by our Gale Student Ambassador. There is no booking for this event but attendance will be limited, and face-masks will have to be worn.

International Open Access Week 25-31 October

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Information on the Open Access Week for 2021
Open Access Week 2021

This week is International Open Access Week. Check out our Quick Guide to Open Research and join us for an online lunchtime overview of open access publishing on Wednesday October 27 at 12 noon. Book your place and get joining details here: www.abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking/11746

Further information on Open Access can be found on our webpages: www.abdn.ac.uk/library/support/open-access-212.php

Live Q&A sessions for PGR students: Library resources and services

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Unsure how to start looking for library materials? No idea what a Shibboleth login is? Want to find out about the Click and Collect service if you are in Aberdeen? How to access and find electronic content?

If the answer to any of those is “Yes” then join us for some short demonstrations of library resources. You will be able to ask us any questions you may have and we’ll do our best to answer them.

Our Q&A sessions are scheduled for 15, 21 & 24 June and will be delivered via Collaborate. To find out more and to book a place, visit: 
abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking and change the category to ‘Library Information Skills’.

Please get in touch if you have any questions – e.grant@abdn.ac.uk

Click & Collect and Scan & Send Services have now restarted

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The Library’s Click and Collect Service, and the Special Collections and Museums Scan & Send Service, have now restarted, following a short suspension.

Our Click & Collect Service, which allows readers to request items which are currently available in any of our libraries and then collect them from The Sir Duncan Rice Library, will allow our users to place requests by logging in to Primo. Staff will then fetch the items and issue them, and readers will be informed by e-mail when the books are available for collection.

Please note that this service is currently for items that are not on loan. Items held at the Medical and Taylor Libraries may take a little longer to provide, as we will need to retrieve them on demand and bring them to TSDRL.

After you have received an email notifying you that the item is available for collection, you should come to the front of The Sir Duncan Rice Library between 13.00 and 16.00. When collecting items, we ask readers to observe the 2 metre social distancing guidelines. You will require your ID card to collect items and only 1 person at a time will be permitted to enter the collection area.

Any items not collected within 5 working days will be returned and reshelved following quarantining.

Special Collections will also be providing a Scan and Send Service to enable digital rather than physical access by researchers.

Further details on both of these services can be found on the Library website.

Returning Books and Planning for the Restart of Library Services

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Library books can now be returned by using the external book drop slot at The Sir Duncan Rice Library, following the move to Phase 2 of the Scottish route map. Please use this facility for any of your University Library books, irrespective of which of our Library sites you borrowed the book from.

You will need a current student, or staff, ID card to use the book drop slot. If you have any difficulties in using this facility, please contact Library staff on libnotice@abdn.ac.uk.

Also, the Library is now in the process of planning how we can begin to restart some services for our students and the wider academic community. Details on this planning are available on our website.