Getting to know Birkbeck Library's resources

Library basics

• Entrance on the ground floor – next to the café
• Covers 5 levels of the main building
• Once you are fully registered, you have access to the Library
• Your student ID card is also your Library card
• You will need your IT Services account details to access the eLibrary

Get to know the Library

• Tours: Monday-Friday at 5.30pm to 16th Oct.
• Tours last about 20 minutes
• Read the ‘Welcome to the Library’ guide

Get to know the Library

• Library website: www.bbk.ac.uk/lib
• Introduction to the Library video
• Library and Information Skills guide on Moodle

Get to know the Library website

• Opening times and service information
• Library catalogue and eLibrary
• Detailed Subject Guides
• Information about finding materials for essays and dissertations
• Information on using other libraries

Library homepage

Get to know the layout of the Library

• 300,000 books
• A/V Collection – DVDs, CDs
• Journals – print journals are on 4th floor
• Study areas on every floor
• Reading Room – a silent study area

Get to know the layout of the Library

• Workstations / access to wireless network
• Printing and photocopying
• Self-service machines
• Help Desk and Issue Desk

Opening hours

• Term time: 08.30 – 23.45 (self-service: before 10.00 & after 22.30 weekdays, before 10.00 & after 18.00 weekends) Changes to these times and vacation times are advertised on the Library website.

Library catalogue

• Search for books, electronic books, journals, DVDs & CDs via the online Library catalogue.

Borrowing

• Undergraduates - 10 items at a time
• Postgraduates - 15 items at a time
• Many books can be borrowed for 3 weeks
• Some books are 1 week loan, 1 day loan or reference only
• eBooks are accessible from outside Birkbeck with your ITS username and password

Borrowing

• Renewals - Once you have borrowed books, you can renew them as long as no-one else requests them
• Reservations - If all copies of the book you wish to read are out on loan you can place a request and the next available copy will be held for you

Get to know the eLibrary

• Over 30,000 electronic journal and newspaper titles
• Over 90 research databases to find out what has been published in your subject area
• Exam papers from 2002 onwards
• Accessible from anywhere with internet access

Accessing the eLibrary

• Accessible without coming into the Library
• Accessible 24 hours a day
• Log in using your ITS username and password
• For off-site access: register your computer by setting up a cookie
• See http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/elib

What are ejournals?

• Ejournals are online versions of print journals
• ‘Magazines’ with academic content
• Usually published monthly or quarterly
• Contain current research
• Contain articles by different academics
• Useful for getting a range of different opinions about a subject

Understanding a journal reference

Finding a specific article in an ejournal

• Make a note of the name of the journal
• Go to the Library website and select eLibrary
• Type the name of the journal in the ejournal search box
• If the Library subscribes, a link to the ejournal will appear
• Select the year, volume and then issue that you require

What are databases?

• Online tools to help you research your topic
• Many cover a specific subject
• Others are multidisciplinary
• Some contain the full text of journals, magazines and newspapers
• Others are index and abstract services but may link to the full-text if the Library has a subscription to the journal

Search tips for databases

• All databases have different interfaces but the same search principles apply
• Think about your keywords carefully before you start
• Consider alternative terms for the same concept

Getting to know the databases

• Go to Subject Guides on the Library website to see which databases are best for your subject
• There is also an A-Z list of all databases in the eLibrary - select Databases and Online Resources
• Make use of the help sections within the databases
• Read our guide

Getting a head start

• Get to know your library early on!
• Familiarise yourself with your reading list
• Allow plenty of time to gather resources needed for essays
• Improve your library skills – use the Moodle Library and Information skills tutorials
• Reserve books which are on loan

Access to other libraries

• Reference access to University of London libraries
• SCONUL Access scheme
• British Library
• See the Other Libraries section of the website
• You can also request items not available at Birkbeck via the Interlibrary Loan Service

Services for students with a disability or dyslexia

• Access Support Service
• LAMP service – postal loans
• Assistive Technology Centre
• The Disability Office is your first contact point and will be able to register you.

Further help

Saturday Workshops

• 28th May and 25th June
• See Library website for details and booking

Follow us

• Facebook
• Twitter (twitter.com/BirkbeckLibrary)
• Blog (http://birkbecklibrary.blogspot.co.uk/)

Any questions?

Consider the relationship between text and photographic image on the internet.

Keywords

• Text
• Photographic image
• Internet

Synonyms

• text, word, writing
• photograph, image, picture
• internet, website, online

Truncation

• text*, word*
• photograph*, image*
• web*

(text* OR word*) AND (photograph* OR image*) AND (internet OR web* OR online)

Untitled Slide

Untitled Slide

Too many/irrelevant results?

• Limit by date
• Try using NOT
• Rethink your search terms

Too few results?

• Check your spelling
• Try alternative terms/spelling
• Use truncation and wildcards
• Reduce number of concepts

Search techniques