2009 Library Survey November 16, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in library.add a comment
The library wants to know what you think about our services and how you use them. Do you love e-books or do you want to see more books on the shelves? Is it easy to find what you want? Is the library too noisy or too quiet?
Tell us what you think by completing our survey. It only takes five minutes to complete and you could win one of three £50 Amazon vouchers in our prize draw!
Take the survey now at: www.imperial.ac.uk/library/survey
The survey closes on Mon, 30 Nov so don’t wait too long!
We’ll be publishing the results of the survey in early 2010 and what you say will help inform us how we can improve services for you.
Paper copies of the survey are available on request.
What do you think of e-books? October 30, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in e-books.add a comment
Do you love ebooks?
Or do you loathe them?
Have your say in the latest library poll. We’d like to know what you think.
Searching ISI Web of Knowledge: widgets, gadgets & additional tools. October 22, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in Web of Knowledge.add a comment
ISI Web of Knowledge has some new tools that may be of interest to you. The tools allow you to conduct a search across the ISI Web of Knowledge and easily perform an ‘All Databases search’.
1. Web Browser search extension
The search extension allows you to easily perform an ‘All Databases search’ directly from your browser’s search bar.
(Please note that only FireFox 2 and above and IE 7 and above are supported.)
Internet Explorer at: http://isiwebofknowledge.com/webtools/browsersearch/
Firefox at: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/11624
Note: there is also an add-on for Firefox that searches Thomson Reuters’ Master Journal List at:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8749
2. The ISI Web of Knowledge Widget for your Desktop.
http://wokinfo.com/wok/webtools/widget/
The widget is an icon that you can download directly your Desktop to perform a search of ISI Web of Knowledge. Search terms can be entered directly into the box.
If you have any problems using these tools or widgets, please contact the Mimas ISI Web of Knowledge helpdesk at: wok@mimas.ac.uk.
New mapping tool on Digimap Ordnance Survey collection October 6, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in digimap.add a comment
Digimap have released a new mapping tool through its Ordnance Survey Collection to all registered users. It’s known as Roam.
Roam currently offers ‘click and drag’ functions to locate your map, 12 map views at different scales, printing in PDF at both A3 and A4 sizes, search by place name, postcode or grid reference, seamless scrolling through the fixed scale maps and 5 customisable map views. You can access Roam from the icon above Classic in Digimap’s Ordnance Survey Collection home page.
Roam is available as a BETA service and will therefore be subject to various improvements over the next few months.
Roam will replace the current Classic facility in January 2010.
Changes to the British Standards Online interface from 27 Sept September 23, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in british standards.add a comment
The British Standards Online (BSOL) interface is set to change on 27 September 2009.
If you are off-campus you will need to log into BSOL via VPN (or remote) access. To find out how you can get VPN access on your computer, please see the ICT website.
For a demonstration of the new interface please see the 11 minute video clip on the British Standards website. Click on the tab labelled ‘Demonstrations’ to access the clip. Ignore the section at the beginning which comments on logging into BSOL with a username and password. You will not be required to do this. This is because Imperial College has an institutional subscription to BSOL and you will automatically get access if you are based on-campus. If you are off-campus you will also get automatic access so long as you are connected to the College network via VPN.
If you require any further assistance, please contact me at lawrence.jones@imperial.ac.uk.
Library catalogue not available on 17 & 18 Sept September 15, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in library.add a comment
The web-based library catalogue will be unavailable on Thursday 17th and Friday 18th September because essential maintenance work needs to be carried out. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Whilst the catalogue is unavailable you can search for titles using MetaLib – however, details of locations and availability are not available via MetaLib. If you need to know these details please email the library via our website or contact the Help Desk directly on 020 7594 8820.
Changes to Concrete Society Reference Search database September 10, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in databases.add a comment
The Concrete Society Reference Search database has changed its name to the ‘Concrete Vault’. It also has a new URL or web address: http://www.concrete.org.uk/services/vault.asp
To search the Concrete Vault you will first need to login using a username/password which are available in the password list (PDF) on the library website.
The Concrete Vault is a bibliographic database which contains a wealth of information about concrete. It helps you identify books, journal articles, conference papers as well as technical reports on the subject. Whilst there is no full-text available via the Concrete Vault, if you want to read a paper, report or book make sure you take a look at the library catalogue to see if the library has it available. If we don’t you can request the library obtain material for you via inter-library loan.
Urban Water Journal access August 24, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in e-journals.add a comment
The library now provides you with online access to holdings from the Urban Water Journal from volume 1 (2004). To access this e-journal go to either:
1. Informaworld
OR
New books in Civil Engineering Dept Library for Aug 2009 August 7, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in new books.add a comment
Here is a list of new books (Word file) added to the Civil Engineering Dept Library collection this month.
Don’t forget to email Nicole Lau at n.lau@imperial.ac.uk if you have any book suggestions.
Athens access ceases 31 July 2009 July 27, 2009
Posted by Lawrence in databases.add a comment
All Athens access to Imperial College e-resources will end this Friday, 31 July 2009. Athens is an access system that provides you with on or off-campus access to e-resources regardless of where you are located.
Most of our e-resources have now been set up to use the new UK Federation access system (also known as Shibboleth) and you therefore probably won’t notice much change when you try to access any e-resources from 1 Aug. Your login will remain your college username and password.
However, you may experience problems if you have been using Athens to access e-resources up until now or if the resource is not yet set up with UK Federation access. If you do experience any problems please don’t hesitate to contact me at: lawrence.jones@imperial.ac.uk.
You can find more information on accessing e-resources via the UK Federation route as well as accessing them off-campus by following these two links:
A final reminder to RefWorks users: the way you will access RefWorks will change after 31 July 2009.
You will need to move references from the old system (Athens) to the new system (Shibboleth/UK Federated Access) to maintain access to your Refworks database. Full instructions on how to do this can be found here.
