Here comes the summer!

The weather may not be able to quite make up its mind whether (!) we are heading into summer or skipping it entirely and going straight to autumn but this Friday, 22 May, is the end of semester 2 and the beginning of the summer vacation period at the University.

Whether you will be staying in Edinburgh and continuing your studies over the summer period or if you will be away from Edinburgh for the summer here are a few things to bear in mind:

1) This summer both the Library Catalogue and Searcher will be replaced by DiscoverEd.

DiscoverEdLogoWoBWeb

The Library is also replacing the system used by all Library staff in behind-the-scenes work as well. So this summer sees a big change for you, the user, and staff working in the Library.

You can keep up to date with these changes via the Library Discover blog – http://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk/librarydiscovery/. And by following Library social media accounts e.g.

@SPSLibrarian
@EdUniLibraries
@EdUniMainLib
University of Edinburgh Libraries & Museums on Facebook

2) The Main Library and other site libraries remain open for the entire summer vacation period – http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/library-opening

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The Main Library’s opening hours and Helpdesk staffed hours remain as semester time until Thursday 11 June 2015. From Friday 12 June – Tuesday 30 June although the building will be open as normal, 7.30am-2.30am, the Helpdesk staffed hours will reduce. Then from Wednesday 1 July until Sunday 30 August the building opening hours will reduce slightly.

The Main Library opening hours page has full information and keep an eye on @EdUniMainLib for any updates.

*REMEMBER* the loan period for books remain the same over the summer and books can still be requested from you at any time. If you are borrowing books from the Library over the summer and will not be in Edinburgh you must ensure you can return books on time if they are requested from you, otherwise you will still be liable for any fines accumulated.

http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/library-borrowing

3) Will you be away from Edinburgh for the summer but still need to do some study or research?

IFThe SCONUL Access scheme gives students and staff from member universities the opportunity to get access to other member university libraries. So if you are going to be based near another university in the UK and Ireland you may be able to access their library via the SCONUL Access scheme.

You must register with SCONUL Access through your home university library first i.e. us, but you can do this online. Your status at University of Edinburgh (undergraduate, postgraduate or staff) will determine whether you are entitled to borrowing access or reference only access to other libraries.

For more information and how to register please see SCONUL Access for University of Edinburgh students and staff.

For any queries on this please contact IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk or speak to a member of staff at library helpdesk.

*REMEMBER* when away from the University you can still access the e-journals, e-books and online databases the Library subscribes to. Find out more about Accessing e-resources.

Enjoy your summer!

Caroline Stirling – Academic Support Librarian for Social and Political Science

 

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