Working on an assignment over the holiday?

Some of you will have assignment deadlines in January and will be working hard over the Christmas holiday period researching information and writing up your essays and reports.  The University Buildings are closed from the 23rd December 2017 and re-open from the 2nd of January 2018 but you can access information 24/7.

Where can you find information?

Start with your reading list.  Go to your module on Blackboard and find the link on the menu page called Readings.  This will link through to your My Module Reading List.  Check out the relevant sections in the textbooks that might help with your assessment and view the "Further Reading" at the end of the chapter(s).  This usually recommends other books or journal articles that you can read.

Then use Library SmartSearch.  This is a search engine that allows you to search across the books and journal articles in our Library.  You can use the search box to find a particular book or journal article title but you can also search across the collections by topic.  If you are looking for articles on a topic then use the Advanced Search feature to allow you to type in your key search terms.




 Looking for other types of information...you may find the subject LibGuides a useful place to look.  The LibGuides provide access to individual research databases covering a wide

range of subject areas including industry reports, standards, statistics, company profiles, financial data, case studies and much more.

The Great Library Brain Boost
In Week 6 and 7 of the academic term, the Library Information Services Team provided a workshop programme to support students through their first assessments across the Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes.  

You can review the presentation slides and in a lot of cases there are also lecture recordings via the The Great Library Brain Boost LibGuide .  Some of the highlights include:

• Strictly Business Data - finding company and industry reports​
• Advanced Literature Searching
• Getting more out of Google    

Information Specialists
You can also contact your Information Specialists for advice on talking through your assessment task, finding different kinds of information sources and evaluating information to add in to you essays and reports.  There is an Information Specialist for each School and the names and contact details are available from the LibGuides and the Library contact pages 

Finally...
If you have a question while the Library Building is closed over the vacation, please try viewing the Ask the Library Frequently Asked Questions or browse the Library website for information and advice.

Good Luck everyone.

Hello to Katie Mann

I have recently been welcomed into the library as the new Information Specialist for Languages and Social Sciences. Having previously worked at Bradford University Library and then completed my postgraduate studies at Loughborough, I am excited to begin my career as a new professional here at Aston.

Everyone has been exceptionally nice whilst I've been settling in, so I’m really looking forward to working as part of the team here in the library, and offering my support to the Languages and Social Sciences School. I can’t wait to get stuck into my work, and hope to be able to bring lots of fresh ideas to the table (as well as really bad jokes).

When not in the library, I can probably be found either roller skating, dabbling in some social activism, or avidly watching prison dramas.

Information Specialists speak at EFYE Conference

Clare Langman and Lydia Matheson, two of our Information Specialists in the Library, are currently speaking at the European First Year Experience Network Conference in Nottingham.   

They are leading a presentation about the Like Your Library Induction that 1st year students experienced in October 2013 and the student information literacy life cycle at Aston University.  

 The picture shows Clare talking delegates through their poster presentation of the information literacy activities covered this academic year

A win for the Information Services Team

Congratulations to Clare Langman, one of our Information Specialists in the Information Services Team, who has won access to Industrial Analysis data worth £5,000 until 31st March 2014 for Aston University staff and students.

The Library subscribes to a market analysis database called Passport which is supplied by Euromonitor.  Clare attended a webinar on new developments within this market analysis database.  At the end of the webinar, Clare answered all the quiz questions correctly and was offered the prize to the additional Industrial Analysis data by our academic account manager Ruth Bysshe.

• To read more about the additional Passport Industrials data please view Euromonitor's publicity
• To access the additional Passport Industrials data please view our Business & Management LibGuide 
• Choose the Databases tab and then Market Research from the menu
• Choose Passport
• Once you have logged in, choose Industries 
• The Industrials module is located in the far right column.

The Business Information Specialists, Nicola and Lydia would like to thank

• Clare for this addition to the Library's portfolio of databases
  
•   for providing the prize

Visit us in The Hub!

Every lunchtime, 1pm to 2pm, in Welcome Week and in the first week of term, one of your Information Specialists will be guests at The Hub.

Why not drop in to see us to ask any questions you have about the Library and Information Services?

We can provide you with more information about the Library Matters Live sessions for new students, show you the brand new Library SmartSearch and LibGuides, or help you carry out a preliminary literature search for your final year dissertation.

We'd love to see you!

Libraries Supporting Research

Research Libraries UK (RLUK) has recently published Re-skilling for Research, a major report on the changing needs of researchers and the effect on the Information Specialist role within libraries. The information needs of researchers are always changing and this report will be a useful tool to ensure that libraries can stay ahead of the demands placed on them.

This short extract from the 112-page reports highlights the importance of on-going dialogue between researchers and libraries:

"Libraries, and their staff (including [Information Specialists]) who have a responsibility to support and provide services for researchers, face a huge challenge that could be turned into a huge opportunity. ... Libraries will need to respond to this challenge by developing a unique role in consultation with their institution for the part they will play in the support of meeting researchers' information and related needs."

At Aston University Library & Information Services, we are always looking for ways to maintain this dialogue with researchers.  The activities we are already involved with include: at School and subject group levels, Information Specialists attend School Research Committees and staff meetings; individual researchers are always welcome to make an appointment to see their Information Specialist to discuss their needs on a one-to-one basis; in summer 2011, we ran a series of Research Bites, which were very well received; and AURA makes Aston's research freely and easily available to everyone and is managed by the Repository Officer (Erica Wine).

If you have any comments or suggestions for research support that you would like to receive from your Library & Information Services and your Information Specialist, from suggesting a topic for Research Bites 2012 to a whole new approach, don't hesitate to comment on this post or contact us directly.