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February 5, 2026
New to the Library: Osmosis
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.
Report from the annual LILAC information literacy conference
Between 25-27 March a host of librarians from across the globe descended on Leeds Beckett University for the annual LILAC information literacy conference. Information literacy is a key concept in the work of the Academic Support Librarians, covering all the skills that we teach, from referencing through to critical thinking. Here are our key takeaways from three days of keynotes, workshops, and poster presentations.
AI, AI, and more AI
As you might imagine AI featured heavily across the conference. The keynote on the first day was framed as a Q&A between the audience and four information professionals on the topic “Artificial Intelligence and Information Literacy: Seismic Shift or Passing Fad?”. The discussion brought up some interesting ideas, including:
- AI as a chance for us to take information literacy teaching to a new level, as the bias within AI generated content and training data is the same biases present in the literary canon and the majority of academic and scientific content. It’s the same challenges but at a greater amount/speed and possibly people are more aware of it.
- We need to be aware of the “hype cycle” of AI adoption, acknowledge that we are all learning together about AI, and be more comfortable living in a messy world and working with others to find a way forward – we need to be able to adapt and apply the skills we learn to new things and we can apply the principles of information literacy to this new technology.
- AI can only be a great leveller if everyone is digitally literate. Should libraries subscribe to AI models to increase access for all students?
- It’s important to consider the context in which AI is being used and the existing digital skills of the students and staff using it. It may be necessary to establish a foundation of digital literacy skills first and then layer additional skills building up to using AI. Also, there may be significant disciplinary differences in ways of using AI, so support and guidance may need to be tailored.
- In response to a question about the potential of AI to disrupt traditional research practices, the power of AI to make sense of unstructured research data, e.g., transcribing audio data, translation and providing metadata summaries, was mentioned, along with the need to open up support structures in universities to enable AI specialists to train researchers. A good question to ask yourself: Are you using AI to help you work better or using it to cut corners? This is a key question (although not the only one) when considering whether use of AI is cheating or not.
Additional sessions on the first day also focussed on AI and information literacy and libraries. We heard from Emily Dott and Terry Charlton from the Library and the Learning and Teaching Development Service at Newcastle University who presented their work in developing the University’s approach to AI literacy. They spoke about the institutional AI journey over 2022 to 2024, including: growing awareness about the potential impact of AI on education; the launch of guidance resources; developing and running workshops; editing their existing information literacy framework to align with AI literacy; launching new resources; and planning future developments. They highlighted Newcastle’s principle-led approach to AI and work on developing collaborative models for working with academic staff and students and defining AI literacy alongside IL literacy. Guidance and learning materials for students and academic colleagues were also showcased, including the AI and Your Learning website and AI for Learning Canvas course.
Erin Nephin from Leeds Beckett University gave an overview of the Library Academic Team’s work over the last year in playing a key role in developing the University’s guidance and principles on AI. Erin outlined how the team have updated their academic integrity module and referencing guidance and developed sessions for professional services and academic staff. The collaborative nature of this work with colleagues in Academic Quality Enhancement, Academic Integrity Leads, the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Library and Student Services, and the Students’ Union Advice Services was emphasised.
Erin highlighted the University’s pragmatic view of AI technologies as here to stay and needing a user education that focusses on ethical and responsible use. The focus of information literacy (IL) teaching at Leeds Beckett is very much on how AI tools work, particularly in information IL contexts such as misinformation, privacy/IP, and ethics, rather than how to use them. The success of teaching and guidance has been largely measured through post-session feedback. Key impacts of the work so far have been in incorporating IL more overtly into all teaching sessions and materials, improving staff understanding of IL and AI, information sharing, and building collaborations. Erin also recommended several sources of support, including the JISC National Centre for AI, ALDinHE AI Forum and Community of Practice, ILFA AI Special Interest Group, and AI4LAM community. On the Tuesday we had a keynote from the inspiring Maha Bali. She focused on critical AI literacy and what this might look like. For her, critical AI literacy will also be contextual, differing depending on the student, the discipline, the location etc. That said, her basic model argues that everyone should:
- Understand how it works
- Asses appropriate use
- Craft effective prompts
- Recognize inequalities and biases
- Examine ethical issues
She provided lots of links and resources to investigate further but we will definitely be incorporating some of her ideas into the teaching we do around use of generative AI in HE. A commitment to Open Educational Resources and sharing of material was also prevalent throughout the conference (and the librarian community more generally). For example, instructional designers from Ohio State University shared details of their online course around AI and information literacy, particularly how they used scaffolded assignments, and we will be considering how we can deliver something similar.
Topics other than AI still exist
Despite the prevalence of AI, there were plenty of sessions on other topics. Examples include a discussion of information literacy links with employability and how this can help encourage engagement, consideration of how we could deliver more staff-focused training on information literacy and using an informed learning design model for teaching. There were also some interesting talks about new-to-me research methods, such as photovoice and narrative inquiry, which can be used to understand individual’s experiences in a more experiential way.
A really interesting talk from the final day related to encouraging help-seeking behaviour at the same time as supporting students through transition periods at university. Beth Black of Ohio State University talked about the creation of an innovative online course aimed at new undergraduate students. The course uses scenarios based on the real experiences of other students to help students understand the support available, to encourage them to access it, and also to help them see that they are not alone in the issues they face. When they analysed retention rates, they saw that students who had completed this course were more like to stay on at university, showing the value of this approach for students and the university.
If you would like to see the slides from this and previous year’s conference, they are available on the LILAC Slideshare account.
Anna Richards & Robert O’Brien, Academic Support Librarians
Keith Munro, new Research Data Support Assistant
Hello, my name is Keith Munro and on March 4th 2024 I began my new role as a Research Data Support Assistant. Immediately prior to joining the Research Data Service (RDS), I studied for a PhD in Computer and Information Science at the University of Strathclyde. My thesis studied the information behaviour of hikers on the West Highland Way, see below for a photo of me during data gathering, with a particular focus on embodied information that walkers encountered, the classification of information behaviour in situ and well-being benefits resulting from the activity. I was lucky to present at the Information Seeking In Context conference in Berlin in 2022 and I am still working on getting a number of the findings from my thesis published in the months ahead. I passed my viva on Feb 2nd, so the timing of starting this job has been excellent.
Before my PhD, I studied for a MSc in Information and Library Studies, also from the University of Strathclyde, so there was always a plan to work in the library and information sector, but as my Masters degree was finishing during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Spring/Summer 2020, I decided to take an interesting diversion, the scenic route, if you will, with the PhD! My Masters thesis was on the information behaviour of DJ’s, motivated by my own, lucky to do it but not exactly high-profile, experience as a DJ. From this, I was very fortunate to win the International Association of Music Librarians (UK & Ireland branch) E.T. Bryant Memorial Prize, awarded for a significant contribution to the literature in the field of music information. Subsequently, findings from this have been published in the Journal of Documentation and Brio.
Since starting my new role I have been greatly impressed by the team I have joined, who all bring a wealth of experience from across the academic spectrum and have also been very warm in welcoming me and in sharing knowledge. I hope I can bring my study and research experience to complement what the RDS team is doing and I am excited to be learning more about research data management. The size of the University of Edinburgh can be daunting and learning all the acronyms will take some time I suspect, but the range of research I have already encountered in reviewing submissions to DataShare has been fascinating, including Martian rock impacts and horse knees, something I’m sure will continue to be the case!
Is that Vegan…? Conscious conservation changes during the One Health Project and beyond.
By Amanda Dodd, Projects Conservator, Heritage Collections
In this week’s blog, Amanda Dodd reviews the work she did on the One Health Project with a particular focus on this use of more sustainable materials when conserving collections.
Above: Rehoused R(D)SVS photograph and ornate frame of O.C. Bradley.
In October 2023 I took over as Project conservator for The One Health initiative. A little bit of background: The project, generously funded by the Wellcome Trust, was a monumental effort to catalogue, preserve, and provide access to three distinct archival collections pertaining to the evolution of animal health and welfare in Scotland from the 1840s onwards. These collections include the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (R(D)SVS), OneKind Animal Charity, and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).
RESP Outreach Intern – April
Written by: James Rice, RESP Outreach Intern
April was the last month before the launch of the online exhibition curated by Rebekah Day. As such, my main priority was ensuring that everything related to the event was set and ready.
However, as a student balancing my role with my studies and volunteering, this month was filled with deadlines that I had to prioritise. As such, I learnt very quickly what to prioritise during this time.
For starters, I ensured that the final text for both Eventbrite and our invites were completed and sent out to our guests made up of staff, volunteers, and interviewees alike. Additionally, I ensured that signage and the designs of our postcards were likewise completed after Rebekah shared her new updated design for the RESP website. Finally, liaising with the team, we updated our food order to include a variety of drinks and sent it off.
In the following weeks, I completed another draft video tutorial that I shared with the team, wrote up summaries in preparation for these blogs and briefed our planned speakers for the event.
Finally, in the leadup to the 1st of May, I began scheduling relevant posts from the RESP archive for our X (Twitter) account, before sending out a follow up email for attendance. On the 1st itself when the online exhibition launched, a specific post was shared celebrating the event and encouraging the public to view Rebekah’s work.
Evidently, this month primarily focused on the final elements of the launch event. I was overall pleased with the progress made here, and as the event seemed ever closer, I was increasingly excited to see how our work would pay off.
Launch Event Tweet (X) promoting the ‘Animal Encounters in the RESP Archive’, 1st May 2024.
RESP Outreach Intern – March
Written by: James Rice, RESP Outreach Intern
Going into March, now with my responsibilities made more clear, my internship primarily focused upon organising the event itself and invites. Before this, I had no idea how much planning has to go into event management and outreach, even for a relatively small space such as the research suite at the CRC.
Front of ‘Postcard 2’, designed by James Rice.
While liaising with the team, we confirmed speakers for the event, their schedule, and a guest list made up of colleagues, volunteers, and interviewers for the RESP. We also decided that I would be the best fit as the Master of Ceremonies to lead the event, guide guests, and ensure that the event ran as scheduled. On top of all of this I continued to produce draft iterations of my proposed postcards for outreach using
Front of ‘Postcard 2’, designed by James Rice.
‘Canva’.
As someone with little experience working in design, this online tool was incredibly helpful, allowing me to make significant changes often within literally seconds. This was especially useful as I was able to share my designs with the team, allowing them to make their own adjustments or suggestions with their own copies of my work.
As the month progressed, several designs for my Oral History document, as well as a signage sheet for the launch event were circulated. Alongside this, Rebekah shared with us an updated logo for the RESP that we could apply to our designs going forward. As such, further iterations for two postcard designs were produced, as well as another two video tutorials. Through feedback, I was able to edit my designs to be consistent with font, while we agreed that making my tutorial videos shorter would be ideal.
Updated RESP Logo Design, by Rebekah Day.
Signage for the Animal Encounters in the RESP Archive on-line exhibition.
While I would continue playing with designs and video editing, I was still concerned with the practical elements of running a launch event in the CRC space. This involved discussions with engagement officer, Bianca, on using equipment such as laptops and Ipads on the day. Additionally, I confirmed that the Research Suite would be booked and cleaned on the day itself, while a catering order was made that met a variety of dietary needs. With this, and the confirmation of the room capacity for the event sorted, I was left with finalising the text for Eventbrite and the invites ready to be sent the following month.
For me, March represented a big step toward meeting my goals for my internship by making a large amount of progress on the ideas that I pitched at the end of January. I had begun to feel far more confident with my responsibilities, and knew exactly how and what to deliver for the RESP.
RESP Outreach Intern – February
Written by: James Rice, RESP Outreach Intern
With my pitch given and what I hoped to achieve with my internship outlined, I could begin planning how to carry out my responsibilities.
In the first week of February, I dedicated a lot of my time to exploring our online archive for a few reasons. First and foremost, having decided to produce a number of activity sheets, I wanted to determine what themes I would focus upon, as well as what entries I could potentially use for their recordings. Eventually, after meeting with the team, we decided that themes relating to ‘Sport and Games’, toys, transport, the changing environment, and food to name a few, were ideal for worksheets aimed at kids. We also thought that an Oral History worksheet that described the significance of oral histories and the ability to record spoken stories was perfect here, as it would bring more attention to the reason why the RESP archive is so special. By the end of the month, I had begun to draft some of these sheets for this purpose.
‘Oral Histories with the RESP’ worksheet, page 1, created by James Rice
Second to this, in regard to producing promotional materials such as postcards, having a variety of images from the entries within the project itself on-hand was important. While we did consider using images from Scottish archives with permission for some of our postcards, we concluded that it would be more appropriate to use our own images to invite the public to see what our archive could offer them. In this light, I decided with my colleague, Rebekah, that I would use ‘Canva’ as a free editing software to produce these materials.
Third and finally, having also decided to eventually produce a video tutorial for the website, being hands on with the archive was the best way to familiarise myself in preparation for the video itself. Fortunately, the process of editing and finalising this video wasn’t too much of a challenge, as I already had some experience with recording software and using ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’ for short videos I made with friends. Yet, as we hoped that this video would be relatively short, I admittedly struggled to be as informative as possible while keeping this limited. Nevertheless, I was prepared to start recording raw footage and audio for several drafts to be discussed with the team.
Alongside these responsibilities, I had also begun planning the launch event on the 1st of May for our online exhibition led by curator Rebekah Day. This involved organising and booking the physical space for the event in the CRC, as well as liaising with Daryl Green, Head of Heritage Collections at the University, to organise an opening speech on the day. I also started putting together an ‘Eventbrite’ page for the launch itself, giving guests a platform to accept their invites and a relatively easy way for myself to keep track of those attending.
While this period involved a lot of planning ahead for my role, there was still a lot for me to do over the next coming months ahead of the launch. Nevertheless, I was particularly proud of what I had been able to accomplish thus far, and felt far more confident in my role in light of the previous month, when I was still finding my footing for what I wanted to achieve.
RESP Outreach Intern – January
Written by: James Rice, RESP Outreach Intern
Going into the new year, January was a particularly important period of my internship that saw me shaping what I hoped to achieve through my work with the RESP. By the end of the month, I hoped to pitch my ideas to the team at St Cecilia’s Hall to determine what was feasible within the time frame of my internship.
Concert Room, St Cecilia’s Hall
However, this was not as straight forward as it initially seemed. When it comes to outreach and bringing attention to a project such as this, there are so many avenues that could be taken. For example, I first contacted the Scottish Society for Northern Studies to determine if they would be willing to publish an article that I would write on the RESP. Then, I emailed the Student Newspaper for the University of Edinburgh, with the intention of bringing awareness among students to the archive.
Unfortunately, I found little success in either of these two options. Nevertheless, I decided that I would continue with listing contacts and colleagues I work with at the CRC to determine what opportunities may be available for me going forward.
As I still hoped to engage students at the University with the project, I began looking into student societies relating to poetry and drama after seeing an outreach event at the National Archives. While volunteering in London, with a local university the archive put together a performance based off of archival material with students. With this, I considered contacting poet and writer in residence, Michael Pedersen, to see if he would be interested in writing something for the project. Yet, when pitching this idea, we decided that this would be difficult to achieve in the short time that I had to organise an event for this.
In another case, I met with Laura, the Engagement Officer for the Heritage Collections at the University. Through Laura, we discussed engagement opportunities through the creation of an ‘Activity Pack’ aimed at local primary and secondary schools. While we decided later that interacting with schools was not a route we hoped to look into, my team agreed that creating a few worksheet resources and a dedicated ‘Kids Page’ on the RESP website would be a great idea for the project.
At the pitch, myself and my team felt that alongside these sheets, producing promotional material and a video tutorial for the online archive itself was best for what we hoped to achieve. Promotional items like themed postcards and pencils were a simple way to get people curious about the RESP, while a video tutorial improved accessibility among users unfamiliar to our website or online archives in general.
Overall, while at times I felt discouraged as I found myself scrapping ideas or running into dead ends when thinking about how to engage in outreach, January was an important personnel step for me; allowing me to realise that some ideas falling through is just a natural part of the process. Without that, I wouldn’t have decided upon how to promote the RESP going forward.
Recreating Connections: Exploring Charles Lyell’s Offprint Collection
An offprint is a separate printing of a work that originally appeared as part of a larger publication, such as an academic journal, magazine, or edited book. Offprints are used by authors to promote their work and ensure a wider dissemination and longer life than might have been achieved through the original publication alone. They are valued by collectors as akin to the first separate edition of a work and, as they are often given away, and may bear an inscription from the author. Historically, the exchange of offprints has been a method of correspondence between scholars; by studying Lyell’s offprints, we will be able to extend our understanding of his network, for example, contrasting the correspondence files, or by following up references in his notebooks, but, to do that, first we need a list! Please welcome Harriet Mack and Claire Bottoms, who are now charged with that task….
Hi, we are Harriet and Claire, and we have been working for about a month on Charles Lyell’s collection of offprints held by Heritage Collections. These offprints are a series of publications collected and kept by Charles Lyell (1797-1875) assisting with his understanding of scientific principles. Their numerous locations and authors help expose the extensive network of researchers publishing – from Paris, Geneva, Berlin, Sicily to North America – as well as being a record of Lyell’s wide-reaching interests – from geology, history, science, anatomy and civil engineering – to name a few! Using Lyell’s own work and his archive collection, and by listing these offprints, we are recreating Lyell’s network and reference library, providing researchers with a route to Lyell’s own reading and research.
Catalogue of Land Shells in the Royal Collection of the late King of Denmark. Fam. Cochleadea. Trib.1. Vitrinida, by Henrik Hendriksen Beck.
Map of Hindostan and the Countries Adjoining, showing the tracks of the most remarkable earthquakes since 1819, the principal volcanoes and hot wells, the localities of hailstorms, direction of the wind in the rainy season, etc. by George Buist
From the get-go we were focusing on the specific primary metadata that could be taken from each offprint. These include the title, author, paginations, language, date, publisher, and any handwritten notes. Titles are often long and specific to geological terminology with many in German, Italian, French, and English with some outliers of Latin and Swedish – we’ve been spending a lot of time on Google translate! What is interesting is that the dates follow a huge range across Lyell’s lifetime, with some early works from 1811 and later works dated in the months before his death in 1875. We are pulling out publishers and journal titles as they provide crucial information concerning the works of learned societies, publications of similar dates, similar interests at the time, and an understanding of the priorities in each year. So far, we have recorded over 200 offprints covering a wide range of topics.
Of great interest are the handwritten notes that accompany the printed works – which reveal hidden details. These appear often on the cover of the offprints and contain dedications by the authors, as well as notes made by Lyell and his team – wife Mary Lyell (1808–1873) and secretary Arabella Buckley (1840 – 1929). Working through the collection, we have uncovered these additional layers to Lyell’s administrative organisation; these added names and dates ensure that the offprint can be identified by the cover as well as the title page.
One of our favourite dedications so far is on the cover of Notes on the Vegetation of Buenos Ayres and the neighbouring districts by Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury (1809-1886) dated 1854. The dedication stands out as it is to Mary Lyell rather than Charles: ‘to Mary E. Lyell with the Author’s love’. Charles Bunbury married Mary’s sister, Frances (1814–1894). Lyell’s wider archival collection holds correspondence that details their family and working relationship – it’s gratifying to see this extend to the sharing of offprints.
Surprisingly colourful, Lyell’s offprints come in a range of pastel shades
Lyell’s offprints have been fascinating to look through. We have gained a colourful wealth of knowledge on specific regions and geological phenomena, as well as an understanding of broader nineteenth century scientific knowledge. At the same time, it is easy to get lost; a common rabbit hole has been the pink journal Revue des Sciences. For this title, Lyell kept specific monthly editions in full. By doing this, he has enabled us to see what else was printed in each edition, widening our understanding of what he and his contemporaries (his network of ‘able investigators’) were reading in connection with one another.
We are really looking forward to continuing looking, and finding more!
Le Plesiosaurus Dolichodeirus conyb. Du Musee Teyler, By T.C. Winkler
RESP Outreach Intern – Late November & December
Written by: James Rice, RESP Outreach Intern
Hi there, I’m James, a part-time MSc student in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Edinburgh, and the Outreach Intern for the Regional Ethnology of Scotland Project. I have had an amazing time working with the team, while building experience and a sense of responsibility working in the Heritage Sector. As such, I thought it would be a great idea to keep note of my thoughts, goals, and some of the challenges I have experienced along the way and share them with you through this blog. I intend to look back upon this blog to recall my experiences and reflect on the work that I have accomplished, while sharing my journey with others who may also be looking to begin a career in the sector.
For this reason, I thought I would begin by summarising my experiences month by month from the start of my internship up until now and the end of my contract.
After having gone through the interview process for two positions for the RESP, I was successful in being selected as the new RESP Archive Project Outreach Intern in November. As I work once a week while balancing my studies, you can imagine that my first two weeks were largely induction based, involving setting up my new work email, login details, work laptop and so on. Aside from this and the important (but often mundane) online training modules, this involved meeting the RESP team and becoming familiar with the Centre for Research Collections at the University.
The team is made up of Archivist Lesley Bryson and Assistant Archivist Caroline Milligan, who previously interviewed me for my role. I also caught up with fellow intern Rebekah Day. I first met Rebekah through the CRC’s Summer Heritage School organised by Student Engagement Officer, Serena Fredrick; who later advertised these positions for the RESP. As I found out on my first day, Rebekah had coincidentally applied for these roles, and was selected for the position of RESP Archive Project Curatorial Intern.
After these first two weeks and being informed of my responsibilities and what I could expect in my role, I tasked myself with gathering materials from the RESP archive for the project’s ‘Advent Calendar’ X (Twitter) feed; which involved writing and scheduling posts for the month of December, presenting users with an archival entry relevant to a Christmas themed hashtag. For this, I was provided with the login details to manage the RESP’s twitter feed hence forth. This was a great way for me to familiarise myself with the online archive itself and navigating the material available.
Soon after this period, I decided to start scheduling weekly posts under the hashtag ‘ThrowbackThursday’ that presented an interesting archival entry from our collection. During this, I thought I would try posting these ‘X’s at different times in the day to test engagement with the public:
The following week in the middle of December, Lesley, Caroline, and myself travelled to see a showing of the film ‘A film about life and work in the Musselburgh Mills’ in Tranent put together by The European Ethnological Research Centre (EERC). The film told the story of the mills through the words of those who worked and lived in the town and beyond. This was a great opportunity to see in person the significance of oral history and the impact of these stories upon local communities:
This first month gave me a lot to consider when it came to my responsibilities going forward and what was expected from me. While I have previously volunteered for the National Archives in London and the Heritage Collection for the CRC, this internship already gave me a new insight into the inner workings of the Heritage Sector!
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Projects
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