The Library will be closed on Saturday 29th June

Due to the refurbishment the Library will be closed on Saturday 29th June.
We will be open 12:00 - 17:00 on  Sunday 30th June.

There are alternative study spaces available as follows:

• MB606 (80 spaces)
• MB 5th Floor study area (60 spaces)
• Social study areas on the landings near the sky-lifts on each floor of the Main Building.

If you have any queries about this closure, or any other implications of the refurbishment, please email library@aston.ac.uk 

Need a stapler?

Library Refurbishment, Phase 2 - Building work has started

A momentous occasion was captured this week.  Library staff witnessed the last remnants of the infamous 40 year old green carpet disappear in to the external lift and thrown in to the skip in a cloud of dust.  It is the end of an era!  Further library refurbishment photos are available on Flickr.

 

The Library Catalogue is now updated with all the correct locations for our items.  Please view our Blog post for further details.

 

Please note: The Library will be closed on Saturday 29th June.
We will be open 12:00 - 17:00 on Sunday 30^th June

If you have any queries about this, or any other implications of the refurbishment, please email library@aston.ac.uk 

Kind Regards
Library Photography Team
Kerstin, Nicola and Val

Book locations during Refurbishment

During the refurbishment of the upper floors of the Library we have had to relocate all items previously kept on the 2nd and 3rd floor.  The new details, which are shown on Library SmartSearch are:

• Books/DVDs at class numbers between 0 and 531 SMI can be found on the 1st floor
• Books/DVDs at class numbers between 531 SPI and 999 can be found on the ground floor
• Selected reference items and law journals can be found on the 1st floor
• Short loan items can be found in the Short loan collection on the ground floor
• Projects and Theses are kept in the Library Store

All other stock is inaccessible until the end of the refurbishment and is identified with the location Currently unavailable please contact Library staff.  If you need one of these items please speak to Library staff or email us on library@aston.ac.uk

We also have ebooks available so you may find that although the print copy is unavailable there is still an electronic copy for you to access, as in the example below:

Datastream - webcast training

Are you expected to use Datastream to collate data?

Thomson Reuters are running a webcast training session which will show you how to use Datastream in Excel.  The Excel Datastream Add-in enables you to build complex models and reports without using the Datastream Desktop. Data can be linked in Excel enabling you to create spreadsheets which marry a wealth of different datasets while maintaining links to refresh at the click of a button to keep them up to date. Datastream Charting can also be accessed from Excel, Word and Powerpoint, allowing charts to be refreshed on a regular basis.

By using this intuitive web-based tool designed around your workflow you ...Show More can access key analytical tools allowing you to easily test financial and economic scenarios and share charts with colleagues and peers.

Training Sessions:

1. Thursday 27th June          2:00pm           0.5hr
2. Thursday 11th July          10:00am          1.0hr 
3. Thursday 25th July           2:00pm           1.0hr

Sign up via the Datastream Extranet which you can access from the Datastream computer on the 1st floor of the Library.  Alternatively, you can access the training at http://tinyurl.com/qyv8kes but you will need to register first before you can access the training web page.

Library Refurbishment, Phase 2 - 2nd and 3rd Floors are now empty!

Latest Photos and Videos

The Library Office windows overlook the Health Clinics car park and Library Staff were treated to a first hand view of large panes of glass being removed from the 2nd and 3rd floors.  It was windy and raining but each pane of glass was transported safely.  The main Library Office window is now a mosaic of scaffolding and planks of wood but everything is in place for the builders to start transporting their supplies up to the 3rd floor next week.

The 2nd and 3rd floors are now clear.  All the books, shelving, computers, printers, tables and chairs have been moved and all that is left is the infamous green carpet, dust and the odd revision note from times gone by.  The builders will start work next week so be prepared for a bit more noise.

Just a reminder that you now need to look for books on the 1st Floor and Ground Floor of the Library.  The shelf numbers start from 001-531 on the 1st floor (includes LAW REF) and from 532-900 on the Ground Floor. 

Please note don't rely on our library catalogue records for the moment as they will need to be updated.  We will let you know when this has happened but in the meantime if you can't find a book please speak to a member of staff at the Library Help Desk.

Check out the latest photos on Flickr

The Library Photography Team
Kerstin, Nicola and Val

2012 edition of Journal Citation Reports now available

The 2012 edition of the Journal Citation Reports from Thomson Reuters has now been published.  This will give you the most up-to-date Impact Factors for world-leading journals indexed by the Web of Science.

The Impact Factor for a journal is the average number of citations per article published in that journal.  The 2012 edition considers citations during 2012 to articles published during 2010 and 2011.

You can access the Journal Citation Reports by clicking on the Additional Resources tab within the Web of Knowledge, or directly via the A-Z Resource List.

If you would like further information about Impact Factors, the Journal Citation Reports, or bibliometrics in general, please contact your Information Specialist.

British Library ETHOS service: advance notification of downtime

Please be aware that on Sunday 23 June, the EThOS service will be unavailable all day as the British Library implements a major technical upgrade. Apologies for the inconvenience this will cause.

Accessing Library SmartSearch mobile site?

If you regularly use Library SmartSearch on a small tablet or phone, you will be automatically directed to the the mobile site. You might find it easier to navigate your results if you switch to the Standard view rather than the default Brief view:

• Select the settings icon at the top of the screen

• Select the Standard format and click on Update

You should now see useful links to full-text articles and e-books underneath each record in your results list.

Library Refurbishment Phase 2, 2013 - Book move completed!

Latest Photos and Videos

A team of Library Staff have been working hard over the weekend to erect shelving on the Ground Floor to accommodate the books from the 3rd Floor.  They were so fast that on Monday morning we were ahead of schedule.  By Wednesday the book move had been completed two days ahead of schedule.  You now need to look for books on the 1st Floor and Ground Floor of the Library.  The shelf numbers start from 001-531 on the 1st floor (includes LAW REF) and from 532-900 on the Ground Floor. 

Please note don't rely on our library catalogue records for the moment as they will need to be updated.  We will let you know when this has happened but in the meantime if you can't find a book please speak to a member of staff at the Library Help Desk.

Our non-active stock is being moved to storage and the Library shelving is now being dismantled on the 2nd and 3rd Floors. Furniture is being donated to charity, stored by the University or may even end up as a souvenir!

Check out the latest photos on Flickr

The Library Photography Team
Kerstin, Nicola and Val

Information Resources Team – staff changes

Last week we said goodbye to Jane Brown who was one of our Public Services Assistants. Jane has been a member of library staff for over five years and in that time you may have met her on the Library Help Desk, helping you with an query or if you needed support with the printers. We would like to thank Jane for all her hard work and she will be missed by everyone in the Library. We hope you join us in wishing Jane every success in her new venture working for Estates.

Information Services Team - staff changes

Last month we said goodbye to Malcolm Horne who worked in the Information Services Team.  Malcolm was one of our Information Specialists supporting staff and students in Aston Business School covering a maternity leave post. We would like to thank Malcolm for all his hard work and professionalism over the last year. 

We welcome Nicola Dennis who is now back from maternity leave and will continue in the role.  Nicola supports staff and students in Finance & Accounting, Law, Operations & Information Management, Work & Organisational Psychology and is the lead contact for ABS PG's and Research.

Research Bites 2013 announced!

The programme for the Research Bites 2013 seminars has now been announced. These short, informal seminars will be held in MB146 on Wednesdays at 1pm throughout July and August, and feature topics relevant to researchers at all levels. Whether you want a quick refresher on a single topic or a comprehensive updating of your information and research skills, you will find something for you.

Topics for this year's seminars include:

• Fine-tune your literature searches
• Measuring Research Impact: yours and others’
• Using Endnote to organise your references
• What can Open Access publishing do for you? 
• Managing your Research Data 

You will also receive a copy of vitae's publication, The informed researcher: Because interacting with information is at the very heart of your research, which features a self-assessment tool for information literacy and maps these skills against the Researcher Development Framework.

You can find the full programme and more details about each topic on the Research Bites 2013 webpage.

Library Refurbishment Phase 2, 2013 - Clearing the floors

Phase 2 of the Library Refurbishment has begun! Some of you studying in the Library may have already witnessed staff moving books from the 2nd Floor and reshelving them on the 1st Floor.  There are a number of offices, cupboards and teaching rooms which are being cleared including our Library Plant Room situated on the 3rd Floor.  Staff are working this weekend to erect shelving on the Ground Floor so that we will be ready to start moving 3rd Floor books next week.  We are documenting our refurbishment with photographs that are being uploaded regularly to Flickr.  Please view our latest montage at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lis_refurb/collections/

Library Refurbishment Photography Team
Kerstin, Nicola and Val