22 December 2014

Library Christmas vacation book loans

The Library closes at 17:00 on Wednesday 24 December 2014 for the vacation period and re-opens at 08:00 on Monday 5 January 2015.

  • Please can you return any Library books that you don't need during the vacation period by their due date or by 13:00 on Wednesday 24 December at the latest.
  • Please remember to renew your books via your Library Record when your books are due.
  • Please be prepared to return your book on the due date, either in person (during opening hours) or by post.  Books which have been reserved by someone else cannot be renewed.
Please note: fines of £3.50 per day are charged for overdue books which have been reserved. However, charges do not apply on the days that the Library is closed from Thursday 25 December - Sunday 4 January inclusive.  

You can return books by post if you are away from the University to:

Public Services Co-ordinator
Library Services
Aston University
Aston Triangle
Birmingham
B4 7ET
 
Best wishes for the Christmas break.
Library Public Services Team
 

19 December 2014

Library Opening Hours

Today, Friday 19 December, the Library is open until 22:00

Saturday 20 December 2014 -
Wednesday 24 December 2014

Saturday 20 December 10:00 - 18:00
Sunday 21 December 11:00 - 18:00
Monday 22 December 08:00 - 22:00
Tuesday 23 December 08:00 - 22:00
Wednesday 24 December 08:00 - 17:00

Help desk open 09:00 - 17:00 (09:00 - 16:00 on Wednesday).


The Library will be closed from Thursday 25 December - Sunday 4 January inclusive.

The Library re-opens on Monday 5 January 2015 at 08:00 and will be open 24/6.


Printers will be turned off from 30 minutes before closing time, starting on the third floor.
All printers and self-service machines will be turned off by 15 minutes before closing time.

18 December 2014

Do you use the Proquest database? New content has been added to ABI Inform

The largest dataset ever loaded to ABI/INFORM, the Experian Commercial Risk Database provides brief company profiles for over 40M U.S. companies, updated monthly. With over 30 years’ experience in business credit, Experian collects data on both private and public companies, with special expertise in small and medium-sized businesses.

These new reports allow students and researchers to see details such as contact information, size, industry, MSA, sales range, business type, bankruptcy information, credit risk, and more. This information is extremely useful for helping students research industries, market size and companies - for assignments or job prospecting.

Here are a few examples of the searches available for Experian:
•    Pub(Experian)
•    Document type:  Company Profile
•    pub(Experian) AND naics("5111*" ) AND loc(Chicago)
•    Pub(Experian) and "Employee Size Range: 1-4"
•    Pub(Experian) and Bankruptcy filed?: No
•    Pub(Experian) and “year business started: 2005” and county near dupage

To find out what else has been added to ABI Inform please view the Proquest LibGuide


10 December 2014

Library e-resources


You can continue to use e-resources throughout the vacation period using your University username and password
  • E-books are available via Library SmartSearch - do a keyword search and then Limit by Material Type and select E-books
  • Please check the LibGuide for your subject if you need guidance on finding resources

If you have any questions in the meantime, please email library@aston.ac.uk

Thank you
Library Public Services Team

Library book loans during the vacation period

The Library closes at 17:00 on Wednesday 24 December for the vacation period and re-opens at 08:00 on Monday 5 January
  • Please can you return any Library books that you don't need during the vacation period by their due date or by 13:00 on Wednesday 24 December at the latest.
  • From Wednesday 17 December, 7 day loan books will be issued until Monday 5 January.
  • Please remember to renew your books via your Library Record when your books are due, and / or from the 5 January.
  • However, if your book gets recalled from Wednesday 17 December onwards, then it will be due back on Monday 5 January and you will not be able to renew it.
  • Please be prepared to return your book on the due date, either in person or by post.
    We do not recommend:
      • leaving Library books locked away in residences or your accommodation
      • taking Library books abroad
    • Library fines will still apply and you might not be able to renew if someone has reserved the book.
You can return books by post if you are away from the University to:
    Public Services Co-ordinator
    Library Services
    Aston University
    Aston Triangle
    Birmingham
    B4 7ET

    Please note: fines of £3.50 per day are charged for overdue books which have been reserved by someone else. However, charges do not apply on the days that the Library is closed from Thursday 25 December - Sunday 4 January inclusive.

    8 December 2014

    Nexis UK - had any problems searching a specific date range?



    Problems with adding a date range to a search

    Nexis UK have recently released a new version with search enhancements (Blog post 21st November, 2014).  One of the new additions is that Nexis UK have added English (US) as a default language setting.  We have noted that this is causing problems when trying to add a date range to a search request - date disappears, reverts to today's date etc.

    To resolve this issue you will need to change the default language to English (UK)

    Go to Nexis UK (via your subject LibGuide and the News tab)
    Click on My Settings on the top right hand side of the screen















    Then change the default language setting to English (UK)