IS News Blog

The Library and Social Study Zone on Stirling Campus will be closed from 2pm on Friday 23rd December until Thursday 5th January.  If you wish to renew a book you will need to do so via the ‘my library record’ feature on the library catalogue. This is available from http://libcat.stir.ac.uk

 

There is lots of help material on our website http://www.is.stir.ac.uk plus direct links to our services (Succeed, staff and student email, library catalogue).

 

Computing labs 2a15 and 2a17 in the Cottrell building will remain open throughout the closure period for those looking for computer access / study space.

 

We wish all of our Customers a Happy Christmas and New Year.

 

Information Centre

Introductory training sessions on Succeed have been arranged for the following dates (all January 2012) 

• Wednesday 11th (14.00-17.00)
• Friday 13th (10.00-13.00)
• Tuesday 17th (14.00-17.00)
• Thursday 19th (10.00-13.00)

 

These are aimed at staff who will be using Succeed for the first time in the spring semester or who missed out on the last set of sessions.

 

To book onto a session please contact Kirsteen Young via email or Ex 6876

Beautiful hand-crafted paper sculptures have been left in Edinburgh libraries with notes saying they are gifts “in support of libraries, books, words, ideas”.

To view images of the sculptures visit Robert Krulwich’s blog posts: Who Left A Tree, Then A Coffin In The Library? and The Library Phantom Returns!.

There is also a Flickr photostream of images taken by Chrisdonia here.

Elizabeth Andrews

Subject Librarian

New reading lists for Spring 2012

 

Within the TalisList reading list, references link to the book or journal details in the library catalogue, so students can immediately check availability, place holds, etc. References to our electronic journal articles can link directly to the article. Lists can include references to paper materials, as well as links to web sites and other electronic resources. See our Sample Reading List.

 

As a result of the QEC meeting on 5 May 2011, there has been a change in our policy and procedure with respect to reading lists. To enable the Library to create more lists and enhance the student experience for a greater number of students we have implemented a limit of 100 items on any reading list created from July 2011.

 

Send us your reading list – we do the rest

 

All you need to do is attach your reading list as a WORD document in an email to: Reading Lists (reading.lists@stir.ac.uk ) The reading list should not exceed 100 items.

 

Include the following details:
• Module (or programme) code
• Title for the module
• Course coordinator
• Semester (or other dates) the course is running – please provide start dates. If you do not provide start dates we will assume the start of the standard Spring semester, 13 February 2012
• Estimate of student numbers
• Whether the course is a distance learning course
• Please mark on the list whether you would like referenced texts made available in digital format – we will investigate the digitisation options/costs and get back to you with details

 

Please send your new list by 16 January 2012. This is because we do a lot of checking in order to ensure the list is accurate, e.g., we check whether there are enough copies in stock, whether we have the required edition in stock, and order any new materials as this can take several weeks. Reading lists arriving after this deadline will be dealt with on a best endeavours basis. For any non-standard modules starting later in the semester please allow at least 4 weeks for the list to be created.

 

Benefits

We’ve had very positive feedback from students about TalisList reading lists, and reading lists are also an important source of information for the Library, helping us ensure that we hold key student texts and enhance the students’ learning experience. In the recent IS Satisfaction Survey over 80% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the service. “Every module should use TalisList”

 

Lisa Haddow
LLD Team Manager
Library
Information Services
University of Stirling
Stirling FK9 4LA
Tel: 01786 467232
Fax: 01786 466866
Email: l.j.haddow@stir.ac.uk

The Times Digital Archive has been expanded and now covers the period 1785 – 2006. Previously the archive covered 1785 – 1985. The interface has also been upgraded and advanced searching is now much easier. The archive is available from the A-Z list of online resources.

 

The Times Digital Archive provides students and researchers with access to digital replicas of The Times newspaper and is a vast repository of primary source information for many different disciplines. From the French Revolution to the invasion of Iraq via the reign of Queen Victoria, the First and Second World Wars and devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland our staff and students can read newspaper reports about the events and people who have shaped our society.

The latest exhibition in the Library features Archbishop Robert Leighton, who was Bishop of Dunblane and then Archbishop of Glasgow in the 17^th century. You may be familiar with the Leighton Library in Dunblane, which houses Robert Leighton’s personal collection of books. As 2011 is the 400^th anniversary of Leighton’s birth (we don’t know his birthday, unfortunately), the exhibition celebrates this remarkable man and his collection of books.

 

Leighton lived through one of the most turbulent periods in Scottish history. He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister, yet took up the office of Bishop of Dunblane in the restored Episcopal Church, in an attempt to reconcile Presbyterians and Episcopalians in a united Church of Scotland. Aware that he might be accused of seeking self-aggrandisement, he accepted a post in Dunblane, the smallest and poorest see in the country. He was later installed as Archbishop of Glasgow, though he failed to bring about the reconciliation in church affairs which he so desired.

 

Leighton was a learned scholar, with wide ranging interests. He bequeathed some 1500 books and pamphlets to the Cathedral of Dunblane. A library building was erected between 1684 and 1688 in order to house the books for the use of the local clergy. From 1734 the library became one of the first subscription libraries in Scotland and thrived until around 1870. Leighton’s collection of books was supplemented by 18^th and 19th century additions, bringing the total bookstock to around 3350 items. The collection covers a variety of subject areas, including history and politics (particularly 17^th century), theology, medicine, travel, language and the occult. There is also much to interest the book historian.

 

The Leighton Library is open to tourists during the summer months. If you would like to consult a book from the Leighton Library, please contact Helen Beardsley, h.r.beardsley@stir.ac.uk. Researchers are permitted to use the library’s books and manuscripts, but there are no study facilities in the library in Dunblane.  We will fetch the books you require and you can consult them in our Archives Reading Room. All of the Leighton Library’s books are included on our own online catalogue.

 

The exhibition highlights some of the Leighton Library’s treasures, including a 1562 edition of the New Testament in Syriac, a 1667 index of books prohibited by the Catholic Church, as well as volumes of Buffon’s Histoire naturelle (1749-1804) with their superb illustrations. We are grateful to Dr Alastair Mann for contributing his expertise to the exhibition.

 

There is further information and a short film about the Leighton Library at http://www.is.stir.ac.uk/libraries/collections/spcoll/leighton.php.

 

Helen Beardsley

This session chaired by Dr Kevin Brosnan will feature presentations from members of the School of Education reflecting on their experiences of marking ‘electronically’.

 

Kevin will set the scene with an overview of the research into the benefits/drawback of digital feedback. Staff from the School of Education will offer their insights about the advantages and disadvantages of providing digital feedback and adopting a paperless workflow approach.

 

Derek Robertson from the elearning Liaison and Development Team will speak on the tool he has developed to support the Succeed Assignment Tool and a paperless approach. If time permits, Derek will also talk about his work on a video-annotations prototype.

 

The meeting with be in 2B86 at 12.30 on Friday 16th December. Lunch will be available from 12.30 and the talks will start at 1.00pm. To register for the meeting please contact Kirsteen Young (Ex 6876, Kirsteen.young@stir.ac.uk).

 

Kevin Brosnan & Simon Booth

There will be an Information Services Open User Forum on Friday 9 December 2011 at 1.00pm, the Lecture Theatre, Centre for Health Science, Highland Campus. All are welcome and Students’ Union representatives are especially encouraged to attend. 

 

Mark Toole, Director of Information Services will Chair the Forum. The agenda will include Windows 7 – Soliciting Feedback on the Implementation Project; and, Succeed – Soliciting Feedback on the Implementation Project. Please send any further items for the agenda to Anne Gillespie, Campus Librarian (anne.gillespie@stir.ac.uk) before the meeting, and if possible, by noon on Thursday 8 December 2011.
 

Please find below the link to the agenda and previous minutes:
http://www.is.stir.ac.uk/aboutis/groups/index.php

Researchers or students of European cultural history or television history may be interested in the newly relaunched EU Screen Portal, (www.euscreen.eu) This website currently provides access to over 10,000 digital archival television objects from 26 European countries. The collections are expected to grow to contain 30,000 resources by September 2012. EU Screen allows researchers to view and compare coverage of significant historical events from multiple perspectives and provides access to previously difficult to locate materials online. EU Screen is part of the wider Europeana service (www.europeana.eu) which is a portal to millions of digitised cultural resources (painting, museum artifacts, films and books) from across Europe.