10 of the best: 6 Information skills tutorials

9-13 November 2009 is information literacy week

How do you know that?
How do you know it is right?
How are you going to use that information?
Will you act ethically?

How highly would you rank your information literacy skills?

Did you know that students who can demonstrate the skills of information literacy not only perform better academically but also have better career prospects? In the field of health care information literacy skills are the key to becoming an effective evidence based practitioner.
Many students learn these skills from the University of Sheffield Library’s online tutorials.

Be an information literate graduate by learning how to:
Define a search question
Search for information
Evaluate information
Synthesise information
Cite and reference information

Visit the tutorials at:
www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk
Vic

Drop-In Clinic

Medline or CINAHL causing you problems?
Successful literature searching rather elusive?
What is WOK, who is Cochrane?

Come along to the Drop-In Clinic:

1pm-2pm every Tuesday - NHS IT room
(Through the double doors, on the right, just past the university's computer rooms).

Fancy winning an iPod Touch?

The image on the right is a QR or 'quick response' code. Originating in Japan they were initially used by companies as tracking devices. Unlike traditional barcodes QR codes are two dimensional and are able to store both alpha and numerical content (up to 7000 numerical or 4300 alpha-numerical characters long). The information stored within these codes can be anything from urls, to telephone numbers, to addresses or even entire poems.

The QR code above converts into the Library homepage. For you to be able to read this you’ll need a mobile camera phone and reader software. Some of the later Nokia phones already have the software installed and for iPhones it’s easy to pick something up from the app store, like BeeTagg or Quickmark. You could try Googling your phone’s make and model to find out what software you need or alternatively try some of the following:

• Kaywa ;


• Upcode ;


• Quickmark;


• BeeTagg.

To read the code you just need to take a photograph with your phone’s camera and allow the reader software to do the rest. For those of you with Internet enabled phones you’ll be directed straight to the URL via your mobile browser. To find out more about QR codes visit the library news page and for details on connecting your phone to the university’s wireless network have a look at the instructions via CiCS.

The University Library is currently piloting the use of QR codes and we are keen to discuss your ideas on how we could be making use of this technology to support our library services. Some suggestions have included codes which link to the library catalogue and our library blogs for mobile bookmarking purposes or the inclusion of codes on catalogue records to save bibliographic details. We are also working on attaching QR codes to a sample of our paper journal runs to link users to their electronic equivalents via Find it @ Sheffield.

If you have any ideas about how we can use QR codes in the Library we'd like to hear them. By leaving a comment against this blog post you'll automatically be entered into our competition to win a brand spanking new iPod Touch.

The deadline for entries is 30 November and the competition is open to all University of Sheffield students, via the four library blogs:

• Science & Engineering;


• Arts;


• Social Sciences;


• Medicine, Dentistry and Health.

Important Customer Services Notice

Change to Library loan periods September 2009

The Library constantly reviews its practices with regard to loans, and recent modifications to the reservations system have prompted us to try to further improve the way in which material is circulated. We have changed the lending service so that Library material ‘manages itself’. An in-demand item automatically has a shorter loan period which then reverts back to a normal loan period once the demand has been satisfied.

Why change the system?

• In the past when you requested a book it was arbitrary which item you received – it may have been a normal loan or a short loan. You’ve told us this is unfair.


• Short loan items were not in-demand all the time, and it was difficult to understand why you couldn’t have items for longer if no-one else needed them. Also, you had to remember to renew short loans every other day and it was easy to build up large fines.


• Part-time and distance-learning students found it difficult to borrow short loan items.

With the new system what will happen when I borrow a book?

All items in stock in the Library now have a ‘normal’ loan period, the length of which is determined by the type of student, as previously. So, if you’re a full-time undergraduate or a postgraduate on a taught course books are issued for 1 week, if you’re a part-time student books are issued for 2 weeks, and if you’re a research student books are issued for 4 weeks.

If no-one else wants the book you can keep renewing it and each time it will be issued for the standard loan period.

We have also increased the number of self-renewals to 20, so staff don’t need to renew items for you until you reach that limit.

Full details of the new lending service can be found on the Library website under using the library. Remember - it’s essential to check myLibrary Account via MUSE regularly to avoid fines and check no-one has reserved the items you have on loan.

Summer reading

Before you leave for the summer have a look at our check list for a quick reminder about what you need to do and where you can access information:

Get your library accounts up-to-date - Why not pay off your debts (remember final year students will not be allowed to graduate with outstanding debts), return all the books you won’t be needing and cancel any outstanding reservations (give your fellow students a chance of getting what they need too);

- Check all your books have been renewed and that you KNOW YOUR PIN to access your account online - Longer vacation loans begin at 9am on Monday 8 June for standard loans and Thursday 11 June for short loans;
Ring the renewals hotline on 0114 222 7201 if you’re unable to access the Internet;

Practice your information skills with our online tutorials and screencasts;

Follow our Twitter feed to be kept in the loop about what’s going on whilst you’re away;

And remember - we’re always here to help! Contact the library if you’re having any problems accessing information or alternatively get in touch with either Frances or myself for subject specific help.

Vic

v.grant@sheffield.ac.uk
f.ludlow@sheffield.ac.uk

Looking for a swine flu information finder? Intute could be your best provider. 10 of the best 5: Intute

Looking for a swine flu information finder? Intute could be your best provider .

10 of the best: 5 Intute http://www.intute.ac.uk/healthandlifesciences/



So that's how it started ...

Intute: Health and life sciences   is a free online service providing access to the very best web resources for education and research, evaluated and selected by a network of subject specialists.

It has links to major information sources on the developing swine influenza A (H1N1) situation.

These sources include the World Health Organization (monitoring the global situation), the Health Protection Agency (UK advice), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (for the situation in the United States), and the Royal College of General Practitioners, which has issued Pandemic Flu Guidance jointly with the British Medical Association.

As the situation develops Intute will add any significant new resources to its collection.

For all current links please see http://www.intute.ac.uk/healthandlifesciences/cgi-bin/search.pl?term1=swine+influenza&limit=0&subject=healthandlifesciences


Vic

EXAM REVISION: late night opening at HSL-RHH

The Health Sciences Library at RHH is opening late for exam revision. Details below.



EXAM REVISION: late night opening at HSL-RHH

The importance to students of late-night opening of the Health Sciences Library at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital has been raised by many Medical and Dental Students and in particular by your MedSoc Student Reps. As a result, the Library is extending the opening hours of HSL-RHH, over the coming examination period, as follows:

Tuesday 5 May to Friday 8 May, open till 21.30
Monday 11 May to Friday 15 , open till 21.30
Tuesday 26 May to Friday 29 May, open till 21.30

The Library will open 09.00-17.00 on both May bank holidays (4 and 25 May)

On all other weekdays the Library will close at 19.00; Saturday and Sunday opening is unchanged.

The periods are offered as ‘revision opening’, providing access to books, journals and computers. The Library will be unstaffed apart from a porter.

We will monitor usage of the Library at these times.

Good luck in your exams

Vic