Category Archives: Did you know…? – Other

Did you know…? – Taking library books abroad

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Did you know how to seek permission to take library books abroad?

You may need to take library books out of the country so that you can continue reading during your vacation. For items from The Sir Duncan Rice Library, please speak to a member of the Subject & Enquiry team. Staff can be found in the offices on floors 4-6.

It is best to go to the office closest to where the book is from – for example, for books on arts & humanities go to the Floor 4 office, for sciences go to the Floor 5 office, for social sciences & divinity go to the Floor 6 office. For books from Taylor (Law) or Medical libraries, please visit the branch and talk to staff on the issue desk.

You will be asked to fill out a short request form. The staff member will check that the books are suitable for taking abroad and finish filling out the form with you.

Please note that items are still subject to recall even when out of the country. If a book is recalled from you while abroad, you will need to post the book back to us. Make sure you check your University email regularly to avoid any fines.

It’s as simple as that! Please do get in contact if you have any further questions.

Did you know…? – temporary access to additional e-resources: JSTOR

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We would like to remind our users that even though our libraries are physically closed, access to e-resources is unaffected and Library staff are here to help you make the most of our service.

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Previously we told you about our list of additional e-resources made available temporarily by publishers, in support of online teaching, learning and research during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In today’s post we would like to highlight JSTOR, a collection of important scholarly journal literature. This database spans many disciplines and is particularly good for literature searching in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

In addition to the resources already available to us via JSTOR, we also have temporary free access to many thousands of additional full text journal articles and full text books across a wide range of areas. In addition, 26 journal archives in Public Health are available to everyone. Details available at https://about.jstor.org/covid19/.

Please note that this additional free content is not available within our alumni subscription.

Access to JSTOR is via Primo: remember to sign in to Primo and navigate to JSTOR via the Find Databases tab. Once on the JSTOR platform you can click on ‘Browse’ or perform an ‘Advanced Search’. You may find this worksheet useful.

For further information on the resources made available to us via JSTOR, please see the relevant entry on our page: bit.ly/COVID-19LibraryUpdates

Please email us with any questions you may have.
library@abdn.ac.uk

 

Did you know…? – temporary access to additional e-resources: Kortext & VitalSource Helps

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We would like to remind our users that even though our libraries are physically closed, access to e-resources is unaffected and Library staff are here to help you make the most of our service.

SDRL clouds

Previously we told you about our list of additional e-resources made available temporarily by publishers, in support of online teaching, learning and research during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In today’s post we would like to highlight Kortext, an approved third party e-book provider, through whom we have temporary free access to a small selection of online textbooks. The e-books available are listed on our page:
bit.ly/COVID-19LibraryUpdates
(Scroll to section ‘Temporary access to Additional E-Resources’ – Kortext)

Some of the items we have temporary access to via Kortext:

Bryman, Alan. Social Research Methods. 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Available via Kortext at https://app.kortext.com/borrow/242728

Clifford, Nicholas. Key Methods in Geography. 3rd edn. London: Sage, 2016. Available via Kortext at https://app.kortext.com/borrow/169805

O’Keefe, Daniel. Persuasion: Theory and Research. 3rd edn. London: Sage, 2016. Available via Kortext at https://app.kortext.com/borrow/253185

Please note that the first time you log into Kortext, it is necessary to create a Kortext account. Click here for further instructions on how to access and use Kortext.

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We would also like to remind you of VitalSource Helps, another scheme that provides temporary online access to selected textbooks for users who are currently unable to borrow print materials.

Publishers taking part in the scheme include the American Psychological Association, Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor and Francis and others.

Students can create a bookshelf within VitalSource and select up to 7 textbooks from the range of participating publishers.

Please note that some of the textbooks accessible via VitalSource Helps may also be available through existing Library subscriptions or via alternative temporary access providers. Check Primo and other temporary resource providers before selecting and saving your 7 titles to your VitalSource Bookshelf.

For further information on accessing and using VitalSource Helps, please see the relevant entry on our page: bit.ly/COVID-19LibraryUpdates

Please email us with any questions you may have.
library@abdn.ac.uk

 

Did You Know…? – Information for Education Distance Learners

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We may be unable to post books out to our Education Distance Learners at the moment, but we are still here to help. As always, the Distance Learner team are available Monday-Friday from 9am-12pm, responding to your queries. Please get in touch with distancelib@abdn.ac.uk if you need help with anything, as we would be happy to help!  

Since the library building closed, we have been working hard to gain access to more e-books which are available via our online catalogue Primo.  

We also have temporary access to some additional electronic resources; you can find a full list of what we have access to here. VitalSource and EBSCO eBooks are two that you may find particularly useful as they have access to some useful education resources and e-books. First time users of VitalSource: click on ‘Create a VitalSource account’. After setting up an account, VitalSource lets you borrow up to maximum 7 textbooks, you can read more information about VitalSource in one of our blog posts here. 

See our guide to referencing for education students for assistance on how to reference your work.  

Don’t forget to check the library website for up to date information on the library service.  

We hope you are all well and don’t forget to email us if you need any help with anything! 

Did you know…? – Returning books

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Books_creative commons Kenneth Moyle

©Kenneth Moyle Licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Worried about library books being due back?

We can reassure you that you don’t need to worry about returning your library books during the lockdown period.

Your books will be automatically renewed while the library buildings are closed.

So, holding on to your books for now will not incur fines or stop you from graduating.

Returning books would probably involve non-essential travel, which doesn’t comply with Scottish Government guidance.

We’ll get in touch via University email to update you once the situation changes.

If you have any questions, please contact library staff, who will be happy to help, or check out our website for the latest information on your Library services.

Did you know…? – temporary access to additional e-resources: ProQuest

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Even though our libraries are physically closed, remember that access to e-resources is unaffected! Our list of additional e-resources made available temporarily by publishers in support of online teaching, learning and research during the COVID-19 outbreak can be found at bit.ly/COVID-19LibraryUpdates.

In today’s post we would like to highlight ProQuest One Academic. This resource combines four core multidisciplinary resources on one platform: Academic Complete (Ebook Central), Academic Video Online, ProQuest Central, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

screenshot of ProQuest

To access these resources, visit our updates page – section: ‘Temporary Access to Additional Resources’. Access to ProQuest is via institutional login. Please get in touch if you have any queries, as we would be happy to help!
library@abdn.ac.uk

For Information Consultant details please see: bit.ly/InfoConsultants

Did You Know…? – Managing exam stress

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In this post we would like to make you aware of the services which are there to support you. The Student Channel also provides useful tips and advice on studying from home and to help you reduce exam stress.

More information:

Wishing all our students very best of luck with their exams. Please remember to contact Library staff if there is anything we can help with.

Did you know…? – routes for off-campus access to e-resources

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computer

To access the databases and e-book collections that the University of Aberdeen subscribes to you must prove that you are a member of the university. Most resources require a Shibboleth/institutional login, while for others authentication is via IP address (the provider is looking at the physical location of the computer you are using).

Off-campus access information for databases requiring an institutional login (most databases)

To access these resources, use the Find Databases option in Primo. Remember to sign in to Primo before you do any searching. When working off-campus, you may be asked to sign in to a resource via your institution, in which case you must select ‘UK Access Management Federation’. Then select ‘University of Aberdeen’ and lastly, enter your computer username and password.

Off-campus access information for databases requiring an IP address authentication (e.g. OnePetro, Kluwer Arbitration)

To access these resources off-campus, you must use the university’s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). This makes your device look as if it is a campus-based device. Via the VDI you can also access classroom software associated with your login details and your H: drive.

For Instructions on how to use the VDI see our Remote Access section on Toolkit – www.abdn.ac.uk/toolkit/

Useful information

  • To check the authentication route for a database, type its name into the Find Databases search box in Primo, then click on ‘Available Online’. This will take you to the database’s information page
  • A very small selection of academic databases require a special username and password. A list of usernames and passwords for those resources can be found on this password-protected page
  • Please see our Library guide QG DBS005: Accessing Electronic Information

Questions?

For subject-related enquiries, please get in touch with the Information Consultant for your subject. Details can be found at https://bit.ly/InfoConsultants  

For IT-related queries contact the IT Service Desk:
servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk
https://uoa.freshservice.com/support/home

 

Did you know…? – temporary access to additional e-resources: VitalSource Helps

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Even though our libraries are physically closed, access to e-resources is unaffected and Library staff are here to help you make the most of our service.

SDRL April 20

Earlier this week we told you about our list of additional e-resources made available temporarily by publishers, in support of online teaching, learning and research during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In today’s post we would like to highlight VitalSource Helps, a scheme that provides online access to selected textbooks for users who are currently unable to borrow print materials.

VitalSource is an approved third-party e-book provider and the range of publishers taking part in the scheme includes the American Psychological Association, Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor and Francis and others.

Students can create a bookshelf within VitalSource and select up to 7 textbooks from the range of participating publishers. When creating a personal account with VitalSource, make sure to use your University of Aberdeen email address but not your University of Aberdeen password.

Please also note that some of the textbooks accessible via this scheme may also be available through existing Library subscriptions or via alternative temporary access providers. Check Primo and other temporary resource providers before selecting and saving your 7 titles to your VitalSource Bookshelf.

For further information on accessing and using VitalSource Helps, please see the relevant entry on our updates page: bit.ly/COVID-19LibraryUpdates

 

Did you know…? – temporary access to additional e-resources

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Primo gives you access to the university’s subscribed databases and e-book collections. In addition to these resources, many publishers have made portions of their collections temporarily available to support online teaching, learning and research during the COVID-19 outbreak. This additional content is not all available through Primo.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit the relevant page yet, here’s a link to it:
bit.ly/COVID-19LibraryUpdates

Scroll to section ‘Temporary Access to Additional e-Resources’ and discover more books and research material covering several subject areas! Please note that these collections must be searched individually.