Author: Lorna Smith

The Student Text Collection

The Student Text Collection (or otherwise known as the STC) is the Library’s collection of high-use/popular texts, located on level 2 of the Philip Robinson Library…just on the left as you come in the main entrance:

These texts are normally titles that are popular, core readings, recommended by academics or they are rare texts that we only have one copy of in the whole library.  Either way, there should be one copy in the STC for you to consult or borrow (if not, contact your Liaison Librarian).

Student Text Collection (STC) items are usually issued for 4 hours, and you can borrow a maximum of 3 items at any one time. If the item has already been booked (see below re booking STC) then it might be issued for less than 4 hours – always check the receipt!

At the Philip Robinson Library, STC items can be borrowed until the following morning after 6pm (Monday to Thursday), after 5pm(Friday) or after 4pm (Saturday & Sunday).

At the weekends Walton STC overnight loans start at 5pm. Walton STC items cannot be booked.

Remember, if the only copy left in the library is the STC copy, look to see if an eBook version is available, or an older edition (there is normally very little difference between editions), or maybe a similar text.

Why book an item in the Student Texts Collection (Philip Robinson Library only)?

Booking an item allows you to reserve it for a particular time, then you can borrow it for four hours (or overnight, see above).

To book an item in the STC login to Library Search and follow the Request link next to the item you are looking for (remember to sign in to LibrarySearch first): 

Overdue charges

There is an immediate overdue charge of £1 plus £1 per hour or part hour after that.

Self-issue/return

Philip Robinson Library has a self-service unit in the STC so you can issue your own books (either STC or General loans).

Walton Library has a self-service unit in the STC room for the loan and return of STC items only.

Please remember to take the receipt from the machine which shows the date and time the book is due back. All STC books should be returned on the unit in the STC area (not on other self-issue/return units in the library).

Help on Student Text Collection

Check out our FAQs on the STC or contact us via Library Help if you have any further question.

New resources: Natural and Environmental Sciences

This summer we have been very busy buying new journals, databases, eBook collections and print books in hot topics of interdisciplinary interest across Science, Agriculture and Engineering. Here is what we have purchased for Natural and Environmental Sciences:

JOURNALS
EBOOKS AND DATABASES

Click here for a list of all of the new resources we have purchased for the SAgE faculty.

New resources: Mathematics, Statistics and Physics

This summer we have been very busy buying new journals, databases, eBook collections and print books in hot topics of interdisciplinary interest across Science, Agriculture and Engineering. Here is what we have purchased for Mathematics, Statistics and Physics:

Mathematics, Statistics and Physics

JOURNALS

Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics

EBOOKS

Click here for a list of all of the new resources we have purchased for the SAgE faculty.

New resources: Engineering

This summer we have been very busy buying new journals, databases, eBook collections and print books in hot topics of interdisciplinary interest across Science, Agriculture and Engineering. Here is what we have purchased for Engineering:

Engineering

JOURNALS
EBOOKS AND DATABASES

Click here for a list of all of the new resources we have purchased for the SAgE faculty.

New Resources: Computing

This summer we have been very busy buying new journals, databases, eBook collections and print books in hot topics of interdisciplinary interest across Science, Agriculture and Engineering. Here is what we have purchased for Computing:

JOURNALS
EBOOKS

Click here for a list of all of the new resources we have purchased for the SAgE faculty.

How to be a Fake News Ninja

As a University student it is imperative that you arm yourself against the barrage of fake news that can be found in today’s media.  To produce academically sound assignments and research, you need to be able identify and evaluate information quickly and with authority.

Here are 10 tips on how you can be a Fake News Ninja:

  1. Be aware: just simply knowing that not all information is created equal is the first step.
  2. Check the source: Where did the information come from? This can be tricky, especially on social media.
  3. Read more: don’t just rely on the piece of information that’s in front of you… go an find another reliable source and see if the facts are the same.
  4. Check the author: Do a bit of Google stalking to see if the author is credible.
  5. Check the references: does the item have references? What sources have they used? Are they credible?
  6. Check the date: watch out for re-posts old news items.
  7.  Check your biases: You own beliefs and prejudices can have an affect on how you accept information.
  8. Is it a joke?: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
  9. Ask a Librarian: Librarians are the original Fake News Ninjas.  Come and ask us about any reference that you aren’t too sure about and we can help you make an authoritative decision on  the information you use for your research.
  10. Knowledge is power: Read more about Fake News and how you can win the fight. Everything you need to know is in our Fake News Guide.

Read our other blogs on Fake News to be aware of the consequences of Fake News and the history and growth of Fake News.

References
IFLA (2018) How to spot fake news. Available at: https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174 (Accessed: 23 March 18)

History and growth of Fake News

Fake News is nothing new and has been going on since time began!

Have at look at our timeline on our Fake News Guide for a snapshot of how Fake News has shaped history:

With the introduction of mass news with the invention of the printing press, and the massive up-rise in news being created and fed via social media, the growth of the term ‘Fake News’ and the actual production of Fake News stories has grown exponentially in recent years:

  • The term ‘Fake News’ is searched for in web browsers 70.8-118 thousand times a month.
  • #fakenews has over 251.2k mentions on Twitter
  • In 2017 Donald Trump mentioned the term ‘Fake News’ in public correspondence, 320 times!

Not only has the volume of Fake News grown, but also the speed that it spreads.  However, maybe there is a way we can slow it down:

Read our other blogs on Fake News to be aware of the consequences of Fake News and how you can become a Fake News Ninja.

References
Kiely, E. (2018) Trump’s Phony ‘Fake News’ Claims. Available at: https://www.factcheck.org/2018/01/trumps-phony-fake-news-claims/. Accessed: 23 March 2018).
Smith, R. (2017) The Numbers Behind Fake News. Available at: http://www.dailyinfographic.com/numbers-behind-fake-news. (Accessed: 23 March 2018).

Spotlight on Box of Broadcasts

Think a little bit out of the box (no pun intended!) when finding resources for your studies and have a look at Box of Broadcasts – whatever your subject is, there just might be something there fore you.  The short video below will give you tips on where to find BoB, how to use BoB and get the most out of it.

With BoB you can…

• Access 2 million broadcasts dating back to the 1990s

• Record from over 65 free-to-air channels

• Create your own playlists, clips and clip compilations

• Search programme transcripts and subtitles

• Embed content in VLEs and share on social media

• One-click citation for easy academic referencing

• Available on all devices

• Fully accessible by all staff and students

 Access content from…

• BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, ITV, Channel 4, Film4 and more

• 10 foreign language channels: Italian, French and German

• BBC Shakespeare Archive content dating back to the 1950s

Here’s super quick video on how to search in BoB:

and how to create clips:

and how to request programmes:

For more tutorials go here or here.

Check out Lucy’s blog post on getting the most out of our film and televisions resources.

Spotlight on Web of Science

Despite its name, Web of Science provides access to current and retrospective multidisciplinary information from approximately 8,500 high impact journals, including titles within their Social Sciences Citation Index®, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index™ collections.  Web of Science allows cited reference searching where you can navigate forward, backward, and through the literature, searching all disciplines and time spans to uncover all the information relevant to your studies.

Where to find Web of Science:

  • Or you can find it under the Journals and Databases tab in your Subject Guide:

Web of Science coverage:

  • More than 20,000 journal, books, and conference titles
  • Over 69 million records
  • More than 90,000 books
  • Over 10 million conference papers

Web of Science content:

  • Life sciences, biomedical sciences, engineering, social sciences, arts & humanities.
  • Strongest coverage of natural sciences, health sciences, engineering, computer science, materials sciences.

Here’s some advanced search tips from Web of Science…

Where to find theses and dissertations?

Many of you are busy writing your dissertation right now, in the depths of your Masters project or wrestling with your PhD. If you are looking for ideas then look no further than our Theses and Dissertations Guide.

There are many reasons why you would use other theses and dissertations for your studies:

  • Has anyone else done a thesis or dissertation on my topic? If so…
    • How similar is it to my research question? Do I need to change my question slightly?
    • What references/citations did they use? Check them out, they might have used some good references that can help you.
    • Can you use this theses/dissertation as a reference for your research?
  • Inspiration! Maybe you have a vague idea what your research question is, but you want to see what’s been done already.

Our Theses and Dissertations Guide tells you what print and electronic theses NU Library holds, where to find international theses and signposts you to further information on theses/dissertation production.