News archive 2011

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How to access e-books which say "On order" on the Library Catalogue

Dec. 20th 2011 - If you spot an e-book on the library catalogue but are disappointed because it says "On order", don't give up! If you go directly into Ebrary or MyiLibrary on- or off-campus and search for the book by title, you will be able to read the full book before it appears on our catalogue. Try Ebrary first, then if the book isn't there, try MyiLibrary.

Study Room Door Controllers

Dec. 6th 2011 - We have experienced intermittent problems with some of the door controllers to the study rooms.  A replacement piece of hardware is being installed in all the door controllers this Friday, 09/12/11.  This means that the study rooms will be unavailable for a period to allow the engineer time to install and test these.

SCONUL 'Other' Library Use Survey with Prize Draw

SCONUL (the Society of College, National and University Libraries) wants to understand better the requirements and expectations of students, researchers and staff for library use away from their ‘home’ institution - and how they are being or might be satisfied. So this survey is about identifying and providing the services people need.

This survey is a key part of this work. It is open to any person currently involved in higher education in the UK or in Ireland, running from Wednesday 16th November to Friday 9th December. The survey is being conducted for SCONUL by Sero Consulting.

The survey is relevant to any HE library user even if you never used an access scheme. It covers your expectations as well as your experiences of actual visits

It should only take 5-6 minutes of your time and so it is set up to complete – you cannot return without re-starting.

Prize draw: You are invited to provide your email address if you wish to be entered in to our prize draw – your chance to win one of SIX £30 Amazon vouchers drawn at random.

To ensure your privacy, and in line with the principles of the Data Protection Act, the survey data will be stored securely by Sero Consulting Ltd and will not be disclosed in any way that can be traced to you as an individual.

Take the survey now: www.sero.co.uk/sconul_access

Library Website Issues

30th Nov. 2011 - We apologise for problems you may have experienced when visiting our website recently. This was due to a change of server and DNS addressing. Unfortunately there can be delays in the propagation of DNS changes to DNS servers around the world, but by now most people should now be able to view the website correctly.

If you are still experiencing problems you can try restarting your computer to ensure you pick up the updated DNS address. If this doesn't work, your internet service provider may be able to tell you when their DNS service will be updated and/or suggest another solution.

ProQuest® Downtime Dec. 4th

Nov. 22nd - ProQuest® will be performing infrastructure maintenance on December 3rd/4th, 2011. A twelve (12) hour window will be required for this maintenance starting on Sunday 4th Dec. at 03:00 GMT

For further details, and outage time in other time zones, please see the full news release

Free Access to Routledge Area Studies Journals

Nov. 4th 2011 - Routledge are providing free access to their Area Studies journals from now until Dec. 16th. From the Routledge press release:

"Routledge is delighted to announce its latest free access campaign,
Access All Areas, offering free online access to its complete range of
Area Studies journals for six weeks, available from the 3rd November to
16th December 2011 inclusive.

Routledge is the Number One Area Studies publisher with the largest
number of journals and articles in the Area Studies category of the
JCR(r).  Specialising in African, American, Asian, Central Asian,
Russian & Eastern European, European, Latin American & Hispanic and
Middle Eastern Studies, Routledge Area Studies journals are a must-read
for academics and professionals.

Access All Areas incorporates more than 150 journals within the Area
Studies classification, with 30 additional titles now included such as
Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Journal of Asian Public Policy and Chinese
Journal of Communication which publish a significant amount of research
that is specific to a particular region.

Make the most of this unique opportunity now and start browsing and
downloading content today at www.tandfonline.com/r/accessallareas "

Self Service Terminals

Oct. 21st 2011 We are rolling out new self-service terminals to enable users to borrow and return books after the staffed points are closed, or to help jump the queues at busy times. 
 
We plan to add payment options to the terminals in the near future; and, in response to user feedback, we have also enabled our users to borrow items even if they have a small amount of fines outstanding.

'Thing of the Day' Adds 1000th Thing

Oct. 21st  2011 -  Our Thing of the Day blog has been rounding up the 'bizarre and the brilliant' of the web for four years.  Today sees the 1000th posting on the blog and you can revisit some of the fun of the past here: http://reden.wordpress.com

Keep sending in contributions, we always appreciate them and here's to another 1000 posts!

Changes to Accessing the Lexis Library

14th Oct. 2011 - Due to demand from 3rd year students who wish to use the very useful tools available under personalisation the IP access to Lexis has been disabled. You now need to follow the Shibboleth route to logging in by clicking on 'Academic Sign-in'

Problem: Not loading automatically on Campus

Solution: Follow Academic sign-in route

Library Catalogue Upgrade

Oct. 13th 2011 - The Library has upgraded its online catalogue. While many of the changes are behind the scenes, catalogue users will benefit from a revised user interface and improved indexing.

Anyone who has created web links to the Library Catalogue should note that the web address has changed. The new catalogue should be accessed using the URL http://prism.talis.com/port/

Group Study Rooms Booking

The Library's 6 group study rooms located on the 1st and 2nd floor of the new extension have been equipped with door controllers. This means that if a room is free, and not already booked you can book yourself into a room using your campus card and the door controller at any time. You can also now book a room online up to 14 days in advance.

Please see our Group Study Rooms page for full details.

Jordan's Family Law now Available

Following a successful trial period, Jordan Publishing's Family Law Journals and Reports  including Family Law Journal, Child and Family Law Quarterly, International Family Law and Family Law Reports dating back to 1986 are available to Portsmouth students and staff online.

To access these, go to our Off-Campus Passwords page (under Jordan) for URL and login details.

Problems Using Science Direct Off Campus

Oct 7th 2011 - Off campus users  may find that login and search work but no articles display and strange page numbering appears.

Solution: Activate the "personalisation link" that appears top-right of the screen. This resolves the problem and grants access to saving search histories and setting alerts.

Once activated users can also call up their account when using University computers by following the Shibboleth Institutional route – as well as a login box you will be asked to select "Nesli University of Portsmouth Shibboleth"

Trial Access to Future Science Group Publications until Dec. 31st

The Future Science Group have provided the University of Portsmouth with free trial access until the end of 2011 to a range of publications. These include:

Trial Access to De Gruyter Databases until Aug. 2nd

De Gruyter are providing University of Portsmouth with a free 30 day trial access to their collection of 49 databases and reference works.

Jordan's Family Law on Free Trial until July 31st

Jordan Publishing is offering Portsmouth a free trial of their Family Law Journals and Reports until the end of July including Family Law Journal, Child and Family Law Quarterly, International Family Law and Family Law Reports dating back to 1986

To access the trial, go to our Off-Campus Passwords page (under Jordan) for URL and login details.

Key Note Trial for 10 weeks at the University of Portsmouth

Key Note market research reports analyse every major market sector, including brand strategy, buying behaviour, competitor analysis, market forecasts, SWOT/PEST analysis, etc. Key Note have now upgraded their service, by combining market research with company information on one platform, providing access to up to 5 years of company financial information for more than 7 million UK companies, including a ‘People Search’ for directors, secretaries and shareholders. As this is a trial, only minimal amounts may be downloaded.

60 day free trial to the Journal of Telemedicine & Telecare

For the next two months we have access to this journal title as a trial, so please make the most of it and let us know how useful you find it. We'll be looking at feedback, usage and cost when making a decision subsequently on whether to purchase it or not.

To access the journal please go to our Off-Campus Passwords page. You will need a user name and password to view the articles

Nature Publications Problem Using Shibboleth

Nature and IS are working to resolve a Shibboleth problem with accessing Nature Publications (including British Dental Journal). In the meantime please login to our Off Campus Page to get a special link and "magic word" to gain access.

CSA Revamped as 'Proquest'

The CSA database  service has been revamped as Proquest. Although slightly changed the Advanced Search still offers a good searching strategy.

Note that some databases have changed supplier so do remember to look for them using the databases option from the Library home page search panel.

Antifascistas - An exhibition about the Spanish Civil War

Ground Floor of the University Library until May 13th 2011.

Exhibition talk Tuesday 3rd May, Library Seminar Room 2, 19.00 - 20.30.

The University Library is hosting an exhibition by the International Brigade Memorial Trust, telling the story of the men and women who joined the International Brigade to defend democracy during the Spanish Civil War. The display of photographs and stories chronicling the experiences of the 2,500 British and Irish volunteers who risked their lives to fight against Fascism in a foreign war will be on show in the University of Portsmouth Library until May 13th.

There will be an exhibition talk in Library Seminar Room 2 on 3rd May 2011 at 7pm by Dr Richard Baxell, author of British Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War: The British Battalion in the International Brigades, 1936-1939. Advanced booking is not required.

Free online access to all Routledge Education journals throughout April 2011!

As part of Routledge's Education Free for All campaign you can enjoy free online access to over 200 Routledge Education journals throughout April

A wide range of subjects are covered in this promotion including Curriculum Studies, Education Research, Early Years Education, Higher Education, Teacher Education, Educational Psychology, History of Education and more. From 1st April until 30th April, you can benefit from high quality research from the latest journal issues as well as the entire archive content back to 1900. To view a full list of Education journals, please visit: www.educationarena.com/journals/bySubject.asp

Below is a selection of prestigious journals included in Education Free for All: