Need help looking for information? Try our LibGuides...

Have you been set an assignment?  Starting a literature review?  Preparing a presentation?  Take a look at the LibGuides prepared by your team of Information Specialists.

LibGuides are a series of webpages that provide information and links to books, journals, databases and webpages you can use to research your subject area.

You can access the LibGuides via the Library homepage by choosing the icon at the bottom right of the screen.  You can also view all the LibGuides via the Library SmartSearch link
You can choose any subject area from the list and you will be taken to the subject Welcome page.  The LibGuide will suggest the databases to use to find journal articles, e-books, company information, datasets, market reports, newspapers, country profiles, industry analysis and much more.  Just click the tabs along the top of the guide for more information



Have a browse and see if LibGuides can help you discover something new!

Information Services Team

Are you looking for datasets? Have you tried Quandl?

Quandl is a search engine that has indexed millions of time-series datasets from over 400 sources. All of Quandl's datasets are open and free. You can download any Quandl dataset in any format that you want. You can also visualize, save, share, authenticate, validate, upload, index, merge and transform data. You can find data on commodities, interest rates, exchange rates, global stock indices and much more..

Try scrolling down the Quandl home page to the “browse pages” section to get an overview of the coverage, and also look at the Quandl data sources page.

You can also search Quandl using API.  Quandl is really just a light web app that sits on top of an API.   The basic idea is that every dataset is identified by a unique id. The Prague Stock Index is uniquely identified by the code 'PRAGUESE/PX'. The unique code for any dataset is always visible on the dataset page beside the word "Quandl Code".  New for 2014, you can download  CSV files containing Quandl codes for all stock tickers, futures symbols, country codes and currencies.

If you would like to keep up to date with Quandl news they have a Twitter feed, Blog, YouTube tutorials and much more.  Just click on the Blogcontact to find out more.

NEW - Sustainable Organization Library

 


    NEW for 2014



Are you studying or researching Corporate Social Responsibility, Governance, Environmental issues or a related field?  Then this new collection may be able to help your research needs...

The Sustainable Organization Library contains more than 8000 individually searchable chapters, case studies and journal papers drawn from more than 600 book and journal volumes, published by the leading independent sustainability publisher, Greenleaf Publishing, and a number of partner organizations. Each item carries its own metadata, which means that the collection is fully searchable at the chapter/article level.

The Sustainable Organization Library 2014 gives instant access to:

• Leading international authors, commentators and researchers on sustainability
• Case studies on best practice from international organizations
• Evidence-based research to inspire the next generation of leaders and environmental researchers.

SOL is a unique, focused library of key texts in sustainability. 

How to access the Sustainable Organization Library
Unfortunately, it is not accessible via the Library SmartSearch search engine so you will need to choose to:

• Access the Sustainable Organization Library from the Business & Management LibGuide and then choose the Journals tab.  
• Access the Sustainable Organization Library directly from Library SmartSearch and then click on the Databases tab in the grey toolbar at the top of the screen. 

 If you would like assistance using this collection, please visit the Library Help Desk on the Ground Floor of the Library or contact us at library@aston.ac.uk

Kind Regards
Nicola Dennis
Information Specialist

Library 24/6 Opening

Welcome Back and Happy New Year

The Library is currently open 24/6 and this will continue until Friday 7 February inclusive.
We hope that you can make good use of the Library during this revision and examination period. 

During 24/6 the Library is open all the time from 11:00 on Sunday mornings through to 18:00 on Saturday evenings. 

• Please bring your uniCARD each time you visit the Library to swipe in
• Do take regular breaks - you can eat your snacks on Ground floor
• Please switch phones to silent mode as you go upstairs - if you need to take a call, then please move to the stairwells so that you don't disturb other students studying for exams.

If you need somewhere really quiet to study, then the 3rd floor of the Library is the place to go.  It is a very peaceful and quiet study environment.  Aston University students get top marks for dedicated, silent study!

Best of luck for revision and exams and please let us know if we can help you - speak to a member of Library staff or email library@aston.ac.uk

Library Public Services Team

Changes to the Web of Knowledge

Over this weekend (Sunday 12 Jan 1400 GMT until Monday 13 Jan 0200 GMT), the Web of Knowledge will be changing its look and feel.

• The Web of Knowledge will, in future, be known as the Web of Science
• The group of databases that used to form the Web of Science will now be known as "Web of Science Core Collection"
• Access to databases via the new Web of Science will remain unchanged to our subscriptions in the Web of Knowledge (i.e. Web of Science Core Collection, BIOSYS Citation Index up to 2008, MEDLINE)
• All search functionality will remain the same, so you can continue to search the new Web of Science in the same way you previously searched the Web of Knowledge

For a brief introduction to the new Web of Science interface, watch this video.

If you have any further questions about the changes to the Web of Knowledge, please contact your Information Specialist.