We are happy to let you know that the Library has a subscription to Osmosis, a health education platform of 1,800 animated videos and 22,000 integrated practice questions, covering subjects including basic science, physiology, medicine and more.
You can access Osmosis from our list of Databases, where you will find information about registering and the access links.
Osmosis is also included in the list of Databases for Medicine, along with other useful tools and databases for your learning and research.
The subscription is a result of the extensive feedback we received to our trial of Osmosis – thank you for letting us know what you think of this resource! The Library regularly arranges trials to new resources. Publishers are usually willing to provide trial access to allow us to use and evaluate a resource before making a decision about purchase. You can see current e-resource trials on the Library website.
Looking for ways to look after yourself during your studies and exams? The Library’s new Wellbeing Collection provides resources on all aspects of wellbeing, including but not limited to anxiety, exercise, general wellbeing, happiness, relationships, sleeping well and University life.
The collection of books and e-books is available to borrow for all students and staff. In this blog post we highlight just a few of the e-books available in the collection.
To launch our new collection we have a display of Wellbeing Collection books in the Main Library (30 George Square) which is in place until the end of May 2024. In the two weeks since the display was put in place 66 items have already been borrowed!
Wellbeing Collection books on display in the Main Library
What does the Wellbeing Collection cover?
Here we highlight some example e-books from the collection on a few different themes that you might wish to explore:
University life
It’s normal to feel nervous before an exam or overwhelmed with your workload sometimes, but it’s important not to let anxiety or stress have a negative impact on your performance.
Exposure to nature has been shown to have a positive impact on physical health and cognitive function. Spring has sprung in Edinburgh, so now’s the perfect time to get out into nature.
You can read more about using the Library for wellbeing and leisure on our subject guide.
The Wellbeing Collection is managed by a team including Library staff, University Student Wellbeing Advisers and the EUSA Student Opportunities Representative (Wellbeing).
Photo of New College Library Hall, New College, Mound Place
We’re delighted to be able to tell you that New College Library re-opened on Monday 11 September at Mound Place, with access to Library Hall collections (including Reserve collections), study spaces and a range of Library and EdHelp services.
New College Library’s collections were relocated in 2020, as part of a New College site wide Fire Asset Protection project. Approximately 4 km of General Collections were moved to 40 George Square and about 3 km of Heritage Collections were moved to multiple locations, including deep storage. In August this year, library moves began to return the General Collections to their original home in Mound Place. The first students to enter the reopened library on September 11 simply said:
It’s beautiful …
While unanticipated buildings issues have delayed some collections moves, we expect that the collections in Stacks I and II will be fully available by early October. As throughout the move period, we will provide additional interlibrary loans to support access to any collection items which are inaccessible because of this delay. The move of New College Library’s Heritage Collections, originally scheduled for July 2023, has been paused while we ensure we have appropriate environmental conditions in all relevant storage spaces. We are looking forward to the return of Heritage Collections to New College later this academic year.
This article has been cross posted from the October Library Updates newsletter. For more information on what’s new in the library this month you can read all articles here.
LibSmart I is designed to give you an introduction to library resources for your study and research! The course enables you to take control of your learning as you self-enrol (click here to find out how) and choose the modules you cover. I personally love the flexibility of the course as you can recall the information provided by LibSmart easily on Learn.
Students studying in the library [Paul Dodds copyright of the University of Edinburgh]
So what does LibSmart I review?
In short, by completing LibSmart I you will develop your information literacy skills and understand what library support is available to you. For a more detailed overview keep reading or better yet check out the course for yourself!
A brief overview of LibSmart I and its learning objectives
Within the LibSmart I course there are five modules that cover key areas:
Introduction to using the library
Your information landscape
Finding and retrieving information
Managing information
Referencing and avoiding plagiarism
With each topic, you will gain the confidence and knowledge to effectively research and use resources provided by the Library. My favourite module would be “Finding and retrieval”, I found the tips on research strategy construction and explanation to Boolean operators have been extremely useful when exploring a topic area.
The course has clear goals that you can use to guide your learning and ensure you are finding the support you need. There are also activities and reflective quizzes to help you consolidate your learning to discover the subject matter you need. When you’ve completed the course you’ll also be awarded a Digital Badge, which you can use to show off your newfound expertise.
Ready to get started?
Visit the LibSmart webpage to find out more about how to self-enrol for this course. If you’ve completed LibSmart I, you also read more about how to build on these skills with the next level of research support in LibSmart II!
If you have any questions or concerns about LibSmart you can contact us via the EdHelp portal.
If you haven’t heard about LibSmart I and II yet – then what have you been doing?!
To quickly summarise, LibSmart I and II are fully flexible, self-enrol Learn courses designed to help you get started and advance your library resource knowledge. If the description has got you intrigued and you want to know more, do not worry! In this blog, I will give you five reasons why LibSmart I and II can be beneficial to your studies, general university knowledge and digital skills development.
1. Builds awareness on library offerings
Edinburgh University’s Library and University Collections (L&UC) has a range of awesome resources – I am sure you will be aware of DiscoverEd, Special Collections and physical library locations like the Main Library. Well, the department has two new assets by the names of LibSmart I and II. They will help you discover other library-related services that will help you build your information literacy skills.
The Main Library entrance on George Square. [Taken by Paul Dodds, copyright of the University of Edinburgh]
2. Increases your knowledge: LibSmart helps you be more productive
The information contained in LibSmart will not only boost your awareness of library resources but also guide you, so you can use these resources effectively! Throughout the modules, there are activities and quizzes to help you consolidate your knowledge and test yourself.
3. Supports subject specialism
With LibSmart I you build a foundation of knowledge so you can confidently use library resources when researching for a report or topic. LibSmart II enables you to “advance your library research”, supporting you as you complete your thesis or dissertation. The modules in LibSmart II are subject-specific so you can tailor your learning to your project needs. See the image below of the 10 different modules tackled in LibSmart II.
4. Fully-flexible
As mentioned earlier, LibSmart has been created so that you can work independently and interact with the modules as and when you wish. By working at your own pace, you can make the most out of the courses, ensuring you understand the content available. You can still interact with others who are completing the course and Academic Support Librarians (ASLs) using the discussion board whenever you want, so you gain thoughtful insights into the material you are learning.
5. Earn Digital Badges
The final reason you should enrol onto LibSmart is because you have the opportunity to be rewarded for the work you complete with Digital Badges! After finishing a module and subsequent quiz you will be notified that you have earned a LibSmart eBadge that you can share on various digital platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or a website.
Pixabay License. Free for commercial use. No attribution required
Welcome to the Academic Support Librarians blog! You can find out more about the Library Academic Support team here.
We’ll be using this blog to highlight our generic information literacy activity, events and projects. We already have several great ASL blogs for individual Schools, but this will be a blog for every member of the ASL team. Above all we’re aiming to tell the story of the work our team does to support students and staff at the University of Edinburgh.
We are happy to let you know that the Library has a subscription to Osmosis, a health education platform of 1,800 animated videos and 22,000 integrated practice questions, covering subjects including basic science, physiology, medicine and more.
Looking for ways to look after yourself during your studies and exams? The Library’s new Wellbeing Collection provides resources on all aspects of wellbeing, including but not limited to anxiety, exercise, general wellbeing, happiness, relationships, sleeping well and University life.
