Tag Archives: DiscoverEd

How to…read your reading list and search for readings in the Library

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Got your reading list but not sure what you’re being asked to read (is it a book, is it an article, is it a bird, is it a plane…)? Or are you just not sure how you’re meant to search for and find these items in the Library (in print or online)?

It may just be the first week of semester but many of you will already be required to start reading material in preparation for your lectures, seminars or tutorials. Finding and accessing this material can be an early hurdle for many new students but don’t panic, it can be a lot easier than you think.

Learning how to read your reading list and recognise references now will make you more confident using the Library and will save you a lot of time in your studies later. And these skills will be of use to you at all stages of your University life and beyond.

What’s in a reading list?

Reading lists are just lists of essential, recommended or further readings for your course. They can include a wide range of material including books, book chapters, journal articles, documentaries, films, newspaper articles, websites, blogs, etc., but I am going to concentrate on the 3 most common:

  • Books
  • Book chapters
  • Journal articles

Continue reading →

5 things to remember if using the Library this summer, 2017

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I wrote a “5 things to remember if using the Library this summer” post last year and it is the second most viewed post on this site. So shamelessly clinging to the coat-tails of that post, this is an updated version for 2017.

We’re creeping ever closer to the official end of the academic year (Friday 26 May) and while some of you may already have finished, to those that haven’t, keep going you are almost there!

While many of you are probably thinking the last thing you’d want to do is use or visit the Library over your summer break, there will be a large number of students who want to or need to use the Library during the summer vacation period to continue with their studies or research.

So if you are one of the many who is planning on using Library facilities or services over the summer then read on. And for those of you who aren’t planning on this maybe you should read on anyway just in case (particularly if you have not returned borrowed books).

1) The Main Library and other site libraries remain open throughout the summer vacation period.

Opening hours and Helpdesk staffed hours will be reduced in some libraries so keep an eye on the opening hours web site and follow the Library on social media for updates e.g. @EdUniLibraries, @EdUniMainLib, Facebook, etc. Continue reading →

Beginner’s guide to finding a book in DiscoverEd

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Got a book you need to find in the Library but not sure how to search for it in DiscoverEd? This beginner’s guide should help.

If searching for a known book use a combination of title and author keywords.

–> Search DiscoverEd

For example, if you were looking for this book:

A.A.M. Duncan, Scotland: the making of the kingdom (Edinburgh, 1992).

You could do a search using the keywords “duncan”, “Scotland”, “making” and “kingdom”. DiscoverEd will look for items that include all the keywords in the item record.

IF Continue reading →

Reading your reading list and recognising references

Posted on by

Got your reading list but not sure what you’re being asked to read (is it a book, is it an article, is it a bird, is it a plane…)? Or are you just not sure how you’re meant to search for and find these items in the Library (in print or online)?

lego_book_puzzled_othershelf2_resized

Being unsure about this is very common for new students so you’re not alone but if you can learn how to read your reading list and recognise references now it will make you more confident using the Library and will save you a lot of time and effort in your studies. And these skills will be of use to you at all stages of your University life and beyond.

What’s in a reading list?

Reading lists are just lists of essential, recommended or further readings for your course. They can include a wide range of material including books, book chapters, journal articles, documentaries, films, newspaper articles, websites, blogs, etc., but I am going to concentrate on the 3 most common:

  • Book
  • Book chapter
  • Journal article

Continue reading →