Mathematical Association now on COPAC

When, I say now, I really mean they did it in August but this blog didn't exist then so...that's my excuse for only mentioning it now.

The Mathematical Association started in 1871 with the fantastic name of the Association for the Improvement of Geometrical Teaching but it is still going. The University takes many of their publications. The University of Leicester's Library houses the MA's full collection which goes back to a 1533 copy of Euclid's Elements [shown here].

You can discover what's in the collection by checking COPAC's online catalogue: http://copac.ac.uk/. This includes the holdings of over 70 British and Irish academic and special libraries.

The University of Leicester, like almost all HE libraries, belongs to the SCONUL Access scheme. So, students of UoB can apply for a SCONUL card for Leicester. Depending on what kind of course you get, you'll qualify for different types of membership.

Spot the difference

Over Christmas, Bedford campus has lost the towering chimney to make way for new buildings. With some spectacular wrangling and wrecking by people in hard hats.  Don't fret: the accommodation tower block is still standing so you can still find your way to campus from all angles in Bedford.

 

This was the first Christamas season since the library went 24/365 and four students were in on Christmas day (and there were people around on the other days too.) The campus is back-to-life now and the library is staffed again so if you've got queries about referencing or finding literature for your assignments, we're around.

UCMK drop-ins

During term-time, one of the Academic Liaison Librarians is at the UCMK site every Thursday. The whole team is happy to help with queries about literature searching, using online resources or referencing. But if you particularly want to see one of the education subject specialists, Adele will be onsite all day on 9th January and Hilary on 30th January. Alternatively, just drop either Adele or Hilary an email and they can arrange to visit the site on another day as well.

Honestly, it's not IKEA

Like Bedford (Polhill) Library, University Square in Luton's LRC is open 24/365. Over the summer the ground floor IT Suite (which used to just house rows of computers and occasional printers), was refurbished to provide more study spaces for group and individual study.

Study pods with power sockets and data points. They vary in size to fit groups of 6-8, pairs and people working independently. New light fittings have brightened and warmed the space.

Over 200 computers, with a retractable screen to stop exams closing access to the area. Even though there are over 25 more computers than before and they've been moved to one half of the room, the computer area feels less cramped than before.  

Bill Rammell, Vice-Chancellor, opened the new facility. The cubes on the wall seem to muffle sound so, although foot-fall in the suite has risen, it is a less stressful environment to study in.

The library managers worked closely with a specialist design team to make a welcoming, colourful but study-friendly space. They visited new or redesigned HE libraries from Scotland to Wales to see how furniture catalogues and 'mood boards' translate into real working spaces. 

The refurbishment is part of the Academic and Student Experience Enhancement Project and is a small testing ground for some of the design ideas being planned the new Academic Building in Bedford and the new Luton LRC which should both open in 2015.

To get more of a feel of how the space looks and works see the photos on the UOB Flickr pages. And tell us what you think @uoblibrary on Twitter, Facebook or the 'Tell Us' page. In the first week, the space had already been vandalised - was that a message too?

Going home for the holidays?

If you're hoping to get some study time in over the holidays but you're going to be away from Luton and Bedford's 24/365 libraries, remember you will be eligible for the SCONUL Access scheme so you can use the library of an HEI near your holiday base. 

When and how much you can use each library depends on what kind of course you're doing: 

• a postgraduate research student registered for a PhD, MPhil or similar qualification

• a part-time, distance learning and placement student

• or a full-time postgraduate

To check which universities belong - pretty much all of the university libraries in the UK and Ireland, really - and find out how you join, follow the link above or type 'Sconul access' into a search engine; it'll be the top hit.

Copyright-free images: finding and acknowledging

To find content you can share, use and remix online look materials which have been stamped with 'Creative Commons' licenses. There are options for this within a lot of online media sites (like Flickr or YouTube) but you may need to dig to find the search filter. It is much easier to go to the Creative Commons search hub where you can search all the main media sites from one place: http://search.creativecommons.org/.

Then you can paste or insert CC license buttons (which are little thumbnail images) to indicate what kind of resource you're using or remixing. The CC license buttons can be downloaded from the CC website.

It gives different file-type options, for whether you're producing a print or digital publication. So, if I'm putting together a Powerpoint presentation, I insert the 'png' version (using Insert>Picture) and re-size (as necessary) within the slide. The 'Bring to Front' and 'Send to Back' (accessible from your right-click) help you to layer the original image and the buttons.

RefWorks problems: What's the 'group code'?

People have been ringing to ask for the 'RefWorks Group Code' so they can access RefWorks off campus or via WiFi whilst on campus.

Logging in to RefWorks site

 A 'Group Code' message comes up if an authentication step is skipped.

Usually you'll see a log-in screen a bit like this picture. It is tempting to immediately type your BREO/library account details in the log-in boxes. That's where the problem comes in!! The system needs to know which institution you belong to first. RefWorks is used by hundreds of organisations, you see. 

To avoid the 'Group Code' message, you need to select your institution. So, ignore the log-in box and look underneath. There is a blue hyperlink saying 'Login through your institution' (this is known as the 'Shibboleth route' as well. Choose the University of Bedfordshire from the menu [Top tip: click 'U' to skip all the As, Bs etc] and then you'll be prompted for your usual username and password.

Installing Write-N-Cite

The other time you may see a dialogue box asking for the 'Group Code' is when you install the plug-in Write-N-Cite 4 (for which helps you create references in MS Word (step 5.2 on the Five Steps helpsheet). Underneath that box, you'll also see an alternative route which asks you to put in a log in code. That's the option you want.

When you found the download file for Write-N-Cite (by going to Tools>Write-N-Cite), you'll have seen the code above the 'Downloads' heading. Just copy the long code in the white box and then paste it into the relevant dialogue box in Write-N-Cite. 

This is something you only need to do once per device, when you first install Write-N-Cite 4. If you find Write-N-Cite 4 doesn't perform well on your machine - RefWorks are aware that it is glitchy for some operating systems/versions of Word - then we'd recommend installing Write-N-Cite III instead. The link to that download is under the heading 'Other Versions' on the download page.