Library catalogue enhancement - Spell Check

A Spell Check feature, providing assistance with keyword searching, has now been added to the Catalogue. In addition to offering a best guess ("Did you mean...?") suggestion, Spell Check provides a list of other spelling suggestions for single and multiple words.
For example, a slip of the fingers typing meterial sience as a keywords search would get you this:

KEYWORD SEARCH

NO ENTRIES FOUND

Did you mean material science? Other suggestions >>

You then get the option of choosing the best guess offer or selecting from a list of alternative suggestions for each word.

The dictionary is British English, which includes common American variations and we'll be adding French, Spanish, medical and legal dictionaries shortly.

Happy typing!

Information skills surgeries: new dates

Due to popular demand, we have added some new dates for Drop-in Information Skills Surgeries at the Harold Cohen Library:

Mon 27th Nov 12-1pm HCC2 (ground floor)
Wed 29th Nov 1-2pm Wolfson Suite (1st floor)
Mon 4th Dec 12-1pm HCC2 (ground floor)
Wed 6th Dec 1-2pm Wolfson Suite (1st floor)
Mon 11th Dec 12-1pm Wolfson Suite (1st floor)

Information skills surgeries for Science, Engineering, Medical and Vet Science students

Having trouble tracking down the right information?
Finding that Google isn't good enough?
Struggling to use library e-resources off-campus?

Why not drop in to one of the Harold Cohen Library's information skills surgeries? There you will find library subject specialists in Science, Engineering, Medicine & Vet Science ready to help you with some hands-on searching.

Learn the ins and outs of the library catalogue
Find your way around the library Web pages
Expand your search beyond your reading list
Track down recent publications on your subject
Access electronic journals and get the full-text on screen

Whatever your question, we will do our best to help. No need to book, just turn up.

Book and Copy Delivery Service: Special Introductory Offer

The library has introduced a Book and Copy Delivery Service

This is open to all and for £3 we will retrieve the book or copy a chapter or journal article and post it directly to the requester's home or work address. Extra book loan time is allocated to allow for postage. The responsibility for returning the book lies with the requester. Loan items are checked out to the requester's library record. Photocopies are for retention.

We have a special offer for an introductory period. When users make a request we will post it out enclosing a voucher that can be used for a complimentary request next time. They simply attach the voucher to the request form as payment.

Read more about the Book Copy and Delivery Service and how to use it.

If you need any advice please contact Lesley Butler, Inter Library Loans, Harold Cohen Library, tel. 0151 794 5414

DiscoveryGate Training - Tuesday 5th December 2006

DiscoveryGate provides web access to CrossFire Beilstein and Gmelin plus many other chemical information sources.

Find out how to get the best out of this new software to support your research, by attending some training being offered by Elsevier MDL at:

Harold Cohen Library, Seminar Room

Tuesday 5th December 2006 @ 12.00pm until 2pm.

If you would like to attend this session, please contact Clair Sharpe

NEW e-journals Big Deal: Taylor & Francis STM Collection

We now have access to the Taylor & Francis STM Collection of over 500 e-journals in all areas of science, engineering and medicine. We currently only subscribe to about 50 of these journals.

Catalogue records for these journals will be created soon but these journals can be accessed now from the Taylor & Francis Online Journals site or from their new informaworld site.

We already have access to the Taylor & Francis Social Sciences & Humanities Collection.

Science podcasts - listen now!

The Guardian Science & Technology Team produces a weekly science podcast where they discuss a range of science topics and interview experts about the week’s science news. The podcasts give an entertaining look at current concerns and an insight into how the Team decides which issues to include in the daily science page and other areas of the newspaper.

Check the archives for past science podcasts including biologist Steve Jones explaining his difficulties with intelligent design, a report on the BA Festival of Science in Norwich and an interview with British astronaut Piers Sellers.

Library materials for PGR students

The Library has instituted a new fund specifically for book requests from PhD and MPhil students. This is because in our last LibQual Survey, PGR students expressed concern that the materials they needed weren’t available to them.

So if you are a registered PGR student, please get in touch with your subject librarian directly if there are any books or other non-recurrent items that you need for your research.

If you are either a member of staff or a student who would like to see material on your subject in the library (including new journals) – you can submit a bid for discretionary funds. The deadline for bids is 6th December 2006.

So if you would like any library materials, please contact your subject librarian!

TRIAL: Library PressDisplay

The Library has a trial of Library PressDisplay until 30th November 2006.

To access this trial on campus just go to Library PressDisplay. Off-campus users will need to login with the trial username and password.

You can then search, or use the Select Newspaper icon near the top right hand newspaper to choose a particular newspaper. Use the Help icon to learn more about the features of Library PressDisplay. Note that Library PressDisplay only contains 60-days of back issues. It would complement, not replace, LexisNexis and/or Dialog News.

Library PressDisplay site provides a traditional 2-page newspaper view, table of contents, article jumps (linking article sections) and easy to read text views. Library PressDisplay further improves on newspaper reading with instant translation. Now readers can translate their newspaper into one of ten major foreign languages. Page and article sharing, RSS and blogging features enhance the traditional newspaper and magazine experience.

After trying Library PressDisplay please leave a comment on the E-Resources: News & Trials blog.

RefWorks demonstration - today 13th Nov, 2.15pm in the Harold Cohen Library

We currently have a trial of RefWorks. Just like Endnote and Reference Manager, RefWorks allows you to import records, search resources from within RefWorks, and export RefWorks records from databases like Scopus. You can also import records from journal RSS feeds and share references with others (e.g. with your students in VITAL).

You can learn more about RefWorks and how you could use it in your teaching and research by attending a demonstration:

Harold Cohen Library, Seminar Room
Monday 13th November 2006 @ 2.15pm

If you would like to attend this session, please contact Terry Bucknell.

Collarity Relevance Web Engine

The 'Collarity Relevance Engine' aims to personalize your search results, tailoring them according to your personal interests and preferences.

When you search, 'it follows the choices you’ve made and it then uses that information to guide and rank results'. To get the most out of Collarity you will need to register (free).

Phil Bradley has written about Collarity on the Searching Engine Watch blog if you'd like to find out more.

Engineering education: new journal

Engineering Education is a new peer-reviewed, international journal produced by the Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre. First issue contents:

1. Implications of introducing problem-based learning in a traditionally taught course
2. Computer-based formative assessment to promote reflection and learner autonomy
3. A curriculum model for transferable skills development
4. Making reflection count
5. Engineering students’ knowledge of mechanics upon arrival: Expectation and reality
6. The interaction of engineering ‘types’: A study of group dynamics and its relationship to self and peer assessment during computer-based exercises
7. Individualising students' scores using blind and holistic peer assessment

Link from the library catalogue.

Keep a Record of Things You Borrow from the Library

You can use Your Library Record to keep a record for you of things you borrow from the Library.

Your Library Record will keep your borrowing history for you IF you choose to 'Opt In'. Click on 'Borrowing History' and then on 'Opt In'. From then onwards anything you borrow from the Library will appear in a list when you click on 'Borrowing History'.

Only you can see what is listed in your own Borrowing History. You can delete individual items from your Borrowing History by marking them in the 'Mark' box and clicking on the 'Delete Marked Items' button. You can Opt Out of having your borrowing history kept by clicking on 'Delete Entire History' and then clicking on 'Opt Out'. Now, your borrowing history is deleted. There is no way of getting it back again!

Let the Library catalogue tell you about new books in your subject

You can set the Library catalogue to let you know by email about new books that are added to the Library's stock matching any criteria you choose.

When you are logged-in to Your Library Record and you search the catalogue (starting with the search box at the top of Your Library Record) you can save your search to run again later. Click on the 'Save Search for Future Use' button. Searches you have saved are shown when you click on the 'Saved Searches' button.

The search will be run automatically for you once a week to find new items added to the Library matching your search if you tick the 'Mark for Email' box and click on 'Update'. The search will run early on Monday mornings and the results will be emailed to you then.

TRIAL: xPharm and PharmaPendium

The Library has a trial of xPharm and PharmaPendium on the Elsevier MDL DiscoveryGate Platform until 30th November 2006.

To access this trial go to DiscoveryGate. You will see icons for xPharm and PharmaPendium in the central QuickSearch Applications pane.

xPharm is a web-hosted reference work of authoritative pharmacological information that contains detailed data and analysis about pharmacological targets, agents, principles and disorders, along with comprehensive and easy to understand information about the mechanisms that govern their interaction.

PharmaPendium brings together the best sources of preclinical and clinical data and integrates this with post-market surveillance reports for a wide selection of approved drugs.

After you have tried xPharm or PharmaPendium please leave a comment below.