28 November 2014

Library Opening Hours - 24/6 opening starts on Monday 1 December 2014

Library Opening Hours

24/6 Library Opening Hours
  • Tonight, Friday 28 November the Library is open until 02:00 in the early morning.
  • The Library re-opens at 10:00 on Saturday 29 November and closes at 18:00 on Saturday evening.
  • The Library re-opens on Sunday 30 November at 11:00 and closes at 02:00 in the early morning.
  • The Library opens at 08:00 on Monday 1st December and is then open 24 hours over 6 days so it is open all the time except from 18:00 Saturday evenings until 11:00 Sunday mornings.
  • 24/6 opening continues until Thursday 18 December inclusive
You will need to bring your uniCARD with you whenever you visit the Library.

Please email library@aston.ac.uk if you have any questions or comments about opening hours.
http://www.aston.ac.uk/library/openinghours/openinghours2014-15/


Best of luck with your revision
Library Public Services Team

27 November 2014

Library book loans during the vacation period

The Library closes at 17:00 on Wednesday 24 December for the vacation period and re-opens at 08:00 on Monday 5 January   

  • Please can you return any Library books that you don't need during the vacation period by their due date or by 13:00 on Wednesday 24 December at the latest. 
  • From Wednesday 17 December, 7 day loan books will be issued until Monday 5 January.
  • Please remember to renew your books via your Library Record when your books are due, and / or from the 5 January.
  • However, if your book gets recalled from Wednesday 17 December onwards, then it will be due back on Monday 5 January and you will not be able to renew it.
  • Please be prepared to return your book on the due date, either in person or by post.
    We do not recommend:
      • leaving Library books locked away in residences or your accommodation  
      • taking Library books abroad 
    • Library fines will still apply and you might not be able to renew if someone has reserved the book.
You can return books by post if you are away from the University to:
Public Services Co-ordinator
Library Services
Aston University
Aston Triangle
Birmingham
B4 7ET

Please note: fines of £3.50 per day are charged for overdue books which have been reserved by someone else. However, charges do not apply on the days that the Library is closed from Thursday 25 December - Sunday 4 January inclusive.

E-resources

You can continue to use e-resources throughout the vacation period via your University username and password
  • E-books are available via Library SmartSearch - do a keyword search and then Limit by Material Type and select E-books
  • Please check the LibGuide for your subject if you need guidance on finding resources

If you have any questions in the meantime, please email library@aston.ac.uk

Thank you
Library Public Services Team

24 November 2014

ENDNOTE Library workshops available this week


The Information Services team are offering students the opportunity to sign up for one of our EndNote workshops.  These workshops are aimed at taught postgraduates and final year undergraduate students who are interested in using a reference management tool. We are offering the same workshop at different dates and times so hopefully, you will find one that fits in with your timetable.  Please choose from the following:

Location:
Library Building, 2nd floor - Workshop B

Dates and Times



If you are unable to find a workshop that you can attend. Please speak to your Information Specialist who will be happy to discuss EndNote with you or ask for assistance at the Library Help desk.


21 November 2014

Nexis UK - new interface enhancements go live on Saturday







   

New enhancements for Nexis UK

Nexis UK have refreshed the search interface to their newspaper database on reviewing feedback from their customers.  The enhancements are due to go live on Saturday 22nd November.  Why not take a look and see how Nexis UK can work for you in finding information for your next assignment..
  • New streamlined interface
  • New and refined search options
  • Easier source and index term selections
  • Enhanced delivery options
You can access Nexis UK from your subject LibGuide (go to the News Sources tab) or by the Database A-Z list (just click on the letter N)


Nicola Dennis
Information Specialist

18 November 2014

Medicines Complete: off-campus access: NOW RESOLVED

**Wed 19th Nov: Login has now been restored** We have temporarily lost off-campus access to the e-books platform Medicines Complete. The suppliers are looking into this problem and this post will be updated as soon as it's been resolved.

4 November 2014

Linking to journal articles using Find it @ Aston : NOW RESOLVED

**The Find it @ Aston service started showing links properly again at around 4.30 yesterday. Apologies to all for the disruption** There is currently a problem with linking to journal articles using the Find it @ Aston service. The supplier is looking into this as a matter of urgency - it's affecting all of their customers and isn't just local to us. In the meantime, if you have a journal article citation and you'd like to get the full-text, you can still access it by going via the Journals A-Z. Just type in the title of the journal and then link through to the relevant platform to access the article you need. This blog post will be updated when the problem has been fixed.

Problems accessing Library SmartSearch off campus should now be fixed

Some students have reported a problem with accessing Library SmartSearch off campus.  When they have clicked on the 'Hello Guest' link to log in from with SmartSearch they have been given the following error screen:

We have been in contact with our suppliers who have made some changes to our settings which should have resolved the problem.  If you have been unable to log in to SmartSearch off campus as a result of this issue please try the following:
  1. Clear your cache on the device you were using
  2. Go to http://www.aston.ac.uk/library and click on the Library SmartSearch logo
  3. On the next screen click on the link in the yellow bar at the top of the screen which says 'Hello guest. Login for full access.'
  4. You should now get a screen with a log in box asking for your Aston University username and password.
  5. Enter your username and password and click OK.  You should now be back at the main SmartSearch homepage, logged in and ready to search.
If you are still having problems please let us know by emailing library@aston.ac.uk  We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this issue.