News, tips and features from the Library.
Whether you’re a fresher or a final year student we want to help you get the most from your Library. From discovering resources to finding the right study space, to where to go to get help with your coursework. We’ve made a short video so if you’ve only a few minutes to spare it’s all you need to get started….
Today celebrates the 190th anniversary of the founding of the Natural History Society of Northumbria, (NHSN) a local voluntary organisation that encourages and supports research in Natural History via lectures, field outings, education courses and publication of scientific papers. The Society also established the brilliant Great North Museum: Hancock, which continues to house its fascinating Library and Archive collections, both important resources for the study of natural history in the North East of England.
The Library, also established in 1829, holds a wealth of material on natural history, with coverage including flora and fauna, ornithology, geology, ecology, the history of natural history and biodiversity. Here you’ll find the latest field guides for birds, plants, mammals and insects from around the world alongside regional, national and international journals and books about ecology, zoology, botany, ornithology, entomology, geology and conservation. The Library is open to everyone, but membership is required for borrowing books.
Meanwhile the Archive holds thousands of artworks, photographs, letters, diaries, and notebooks covering all aspects of natural history, zoology, botany and geology. It also includes internationally important material, notably the original watercolours, pencil drawings and proof engravings by Thomas Bewick, the Northumbria-born naturalist and wood engraver. Archive material is available to view by appointment only.
For a taste of what the collections have to offer, you can visit the Society’s newest exhibition: ‘The Beauty of Plant Science’, on display in the NHSN Library. Curated by postgraduates at Newcastle University, the exhibition presents colourful botanical illustrations alongside myths and poems to show how Science and Art coexist:
New exhibition 'The Beauty of Plant Science: Seeing Art in Botany' open now on floor 2 of the @GNM_Hancock. Created by @ICCHSNewcastle students, @EvdokiaSamara & @DaliaMAizi in collaboration with @ncllibspeccoll. Well worth a visit! pic.twitter.com/crjcd5MFGY
— NHSN (@NENature_) August 6, 2019
You can also find a sister exhibition, ‘The Beauty of Insects: Seeing Art in the Entomological World’ on Level 2 of the Philip Robinson Library:
New exhibition now open 'The Beauty of Insects: Seeing Art in the Entomological World' on Level 2 of @nclroblib in collaboration with @NEE_Naturalist & curated by 2 @ICCHSNewcastle MA Museum Studies placement students @EvdokiaSamara & @DaliaMAizi @FineArtNCL pic.twitter.com/MJxyF4KwCU
— Robinson Speccoll (@ncllibspeccoll) August 6, 2019
Looking for something to read this August – whiling the time away with your toes between the sand, the sound of waves splashing, and the sun warming up your bones? I know a summer read is normally something a bit fluffier, however you might want to read one these top reads that were recommended at two conferences I attended recently here on campus (Professional Services Conference and the SAgE PGR Conference). All three books are conveniently available for you to loan from Newcastle University Library…click on the book cover to take you to the library catalogue entry:
A new search service, Library Hub Discover, has just launched, replacing the old COPAC database (which enabled you to search across UK academic and research libraries) and SUNCAT (which searched for journals elsewhere).
Library Hub Discover offers a new and improved interface to search across the catalogues of 100 UK and Irish academic, national and specialist libraries, with many more libraries due to be added soon.
A new related service, Library Hub Compare, enables you to analyse and compare library collections and identify relative strengths. So, if you want to assess which libraries in a region have particularly strong holdings relating to your research area, this is a neat way of doing it.
Read more about the new services and keep up with developments by following JiscLibraryHub.
Although it’s now the summer vacation, it is time for our academics to start thinking about the reading lists for 2019/20. So, what resources are you going to recommend to your students to support your teaching? How will you ensure the Library has what you need in stock?
Use the Library’s Reading Lists to create, manage and update your own lists online. Or, you can send your list as an attachment to your Library’s Reading List team using our submission form.
Why use this service? Well, your lists will help the Library to order the correct number of copies of the titles you want to recommend, to decide on the appropriate loan periods of those printed books and enable access to electronic resources for your students. CLA scans (digitised book chapters and articles) can easily be requested through Reading Lists too. There’s no need to email us or fill out a separate request form; simply tag the item on your list and leave it to us.
Benefits for you include:
So, Reading Lists are a great way to let your students know what they need to read, and to keep the Library informed too; they are the wise choice.
You can find information about creating and managing your Reading Lists, and making resources available to your students here. And if you have any questions about this service, please do contact us at readinglists@ncl.ac.uk
Have a good summer!
This summer will see the refurbishment of key features of our main Level 2 space as we make it more welcoming, attractive, and efficient for all library users.
Work will be taking place between June and September 2019, during which a temporary service desk will be in place, and the Student Text Collection, exhibition space, book bins, and self-service units will be relocated. Drinks and snacks will still be available from a coffee cart whilst the café is being refurbished.
Library services will continue as normal.
However, there will be building work in progress during library opening times and there will be some noisy periods. Free disposable earplugs will be available at the Service Desk.
Alternative study spaces are available in Walton, Law and Marjorie Robinson Library Rooms, and you can use the Find a PC on the University app to locate alternative cluster PC’s and check availability.
The modernised Level 2 space includes these new features:
The works are due to begin week commencing 17th June. If you have any queries please speak to a member of Customer Services staff at the Service Desk or via Library Help.
The University libraries will be open throughout the Summer vacation, you a can find the opening hours for each library here. Please note that during self-service times, access to the building will be by Newcastle University Smartcard only.
However, there will be building work in progress during library opening times and there may be some noisy periods in some areas. Free disposable earplugs will be available at the Service Desk.
You will still find the Liaison team on levels 3 and 4 of the Philip Robinson Library – we will be the ones wearing hard hats!
You can come to us for Endnote support and 1-1 sessions. Please book an appointment via Library help.
If you have an urgent question, and we are not physically around you will find 24/7 support via our out-of-hours Live Chat Service provided by a co-operative of academic librarians from around the world.
We hope you have a lovely summer!
A strong research project such as an essay, dissertation or thesis will always be supported by good quality information from a wide range of sources. There are a huge variety of resources available to you and being able to make appropriate choices when selecting materials to include in your project and explain why you have chosen them, is an important academic skill that demonstrates a good awareness of your subject and an ability to think critically about ideas and research.
Of course, not all information resources will be relevant to your particular research. You will have to think about the type of information you need then identify the type of resource that will provide that kind information.
For example:
Books will offer an in-depth overview of popular ideas, theories, and opinions in your subject area and are likely to be broader in scope than a journal article or conference paper.
While a conference paper will often discuss ‘work-in-progress’, and therefore can be an ideal way of finding out about up to date research and ideas.
For more information on different resource types, including standards, patents, maps, newspapers and more, take a look at our range of Resource guides.
Your Subject Guide can also help you identify useful sources of information for your research as it contains a carefully curated list of resources that are tailored to your subject area. Here you’ll find useful lists of online reference books, eBook collections and recommended databases for finding relevant journal articles and conference papers. Also, under the Subject Specific Resources tab, you’ll discover a further host of specialised materials relevant to your subject such as audiovisual media, data-sets or professional organisation’s websites.
Depending on your research topic, you might also want to explore the Special Collections tab to see materials held in our Library archives that are relevant to your subject area specifically.
For more advice on finding and evaluating resources for your research take a look at our Finding Information and Evaluating Information Guides.
The Liaison team visited the wonderful Dippy the Dinosaur at the Great North Museum: Hancock this week.
First put on display over 100 years ago, Dippy is a cast of a Diplodocus dinosaur and measures a massive 21.3 metres long – he was an incredible sight to see!
Dippy, who belongs to the Natural History museum, is currently touring the country and will be in Newcastle for this special exhibition until Sunday 6 October 2019. You can find out more about Dippy and book tickets here.
Alongside the brilliant Dippy, the exhibition at the Great North Museum also features a spectacular visual timeline that emphasises the significance of climate change. Beginning in the time of the dinosaurs and highlighting the climate change brought about by the meteor that killed the species, it continues up through the industrial revolution to the climate emergency of today.
The display spotlights academics and teams from Newcastle University who are researching important climate change related issues. You can find out more about the work of these researchers below:
Professor Mark Whittingham (Professor of Applied Ecology)
Find more of Professor Whittingham’s work via his Newcastle University’s ePrints page.
Dr Elizabeth Gibson (Reader in Energy Materials)
Find more of Dr Gibson’s work via her Newcastle University’s ePrints page.
Dr Niki Rust (Research Associate)
Find more of Dr Rust’s work via her Newcastle University’s ePrints page.
Newcastle University’s Urban Observatory collects real-time urban data from across the Tyne and Wear area. With over 50 data types available, including air quality, traffic, sewage and noise levels, it provides the largest set of publicly available real time urban data in the UK.