In May we tweeted about our newest tech resource – the smart table, available on Level 1 of the Library. We’ve just taken delivery of our second search table which can be found on Level 4 and expect the final two search tables delivered before the start of the new semester.
What are they? Smart tables are a new digital tool to help you make better use of your library by providing instant access to library information and resources. Continue reading
The University Executive recently approved an Open Educational Resources (OER) policy. This policy places GCU among the key players in open practice in Scotland and the UK. You can view the policy on the university website.
What are OERs? OERs are digital materials that are made available online to be used or re-purposed for teaching, learning and research. They can include images, audio, video, animations, content modules and other digital resources. Continue reading
Study space in the library is in high demand.
Please don’t leave personal belongings to reserve a space in the Library.
Not only do you risk having your belongings stolen you are also depriving your fellow students of the opportunity to use a much-needed study space.
Following consultation with the Students’ Association, and after a poll on the topic – from Monday 23rd March 2015 library staff will implement a policy of removing unattended belongings to make PCs and study space available for other people to use.
The PCs in the Library will also auto log-off after periods of inactivity, and any PC which isn’t logged on will be made available for use by another person.
Do not leave your work station and belongings unattended at any time. Removed property can be collected from the Campus Security Office.
As part of the Library’s regular review of stock, we strive to ethically disposal of any withdrawn material. We are pleased to note that through the online sale of our withdrawn books between 1st February & 31st October 2014, our charity partners, The Book Rescuers, raised almost £15,000 for the African Children’s Educational Trust (A-CET).
The trust supports the education of African children through provision of scholarships and the upgrading of community elementary rural schools.
There are a number of measures used for journal quality, article impact and assessing your personal research output.
You may find lists of quality journals designated by experts in particular fields. For example, the Association of Business Schools (ABS) publishes a guide on journal quality which uses citation data, peer review and expert opinion to provide a list of academic journal titles for management and business researchers. Thomson Reuters publishes annual Journal Citation Reports (JCR) which provide impact factors and quality rankings for academic journals. The library provides access to the current JCR Social Sciences and JCR Science editions (log in with your Domain username and password).
Altmetric provide article level metrics to researchers. They collect data on citations within social media sites, government papers and newspapers as alternative counts to the academic data in JCR mentioned above. There is a free bookmarklet for researchers.
In 1995, Jorge E. Hirsch proposed the H-index as a measure of the output of individual researchers. This is still used widely within academia (and you will find many articles discussing it). Google Scholar provides H-index measures for articles and scholars. See their metrics pages for details. You can also find or calculate your own H-index using Journal Citation Reports or Google Scholar.
The academic librarians are here to support you in your research and can offer tailored workshops for groups or one-to-one support. Please contact us if you want to follow up on anything or if you want to arrange an appointment. See our contact details.
References
HIRSCH, J. E., 2005. An index to Quantify an Individual’s Scientific Research Output. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(46) pp. 16569-16572.
The way to connect to electronic resources has changed. This post explains the new process to connect to your Refworks account.
To connect to your Refworks account, choose Refworks from the database A-Z or from the Refworks quick link at the bottom of the library home page. You will be prompted to log in with your Domain username and password.
You may occasionally connect to your account from the Refworks home page. To do this Continue reading
As an existing Refworks user you need to follow the steps below to retain access to your account. This is a necessary step as we are moving to domain username and password for the library’s online resources – the one you use for GCU Learn or a GCU computer.
Any questions or issues please email your librarian – ertenq@gcu.ac.uk.
Not sure whether to use that image in your presentation? Afraid to add content to GCULearn? Just confused in general?
Well, worry no more – we now have a library copyright advisor! If you can’t find the information you need on our copyright pages, or have a specific question, then contact Marion Kelt of the DDIL team. You can email her on m.kelt@gcu.ac.uk
If you can’t find a free computer in the Saltire Centre, why not borrow a netbook from the base? All you need is your library card.
Here is a list of other computer labs on campus. Remember, you can use the labs in any building.
Why not try the 24 hour computer lab in the basement of the Student Association?
If you are having trouble connecting to ebooks, ejournals, databases or any other electronic resources, then contact your librarian. They should be able to help you.