Borrowed a book lately?

Festive self-issue

It’s that time of year when the Christmas decorations are up and we’re getting festive. Do come in to the Library and stock up on books for the Christmas period – surely there’ll be study time amidst all the over-eating and partying! –  and enjoy this year’s winter theme on the self-issue machines too. (If you’re a bah humbug, that’s okay too – there are options on the screen to change the theme, so everyone’s happy.)

You can also use the machines to check your account, renew all your items to avoid any worries over the Christmas period, check reservations, and pay off any fines… if you haven’t spent all your money on presents!

Our self-issue machines have been a huge success and we hope you enjoy their new festive look. Do be sure to let us know any feedback on them.

Library Elf wants to help you!

One elf is a real life librarian…

As Christmas draws ever closer, elves are surely on your mind, but have you taken a look at Library Elf? Brunel Library has a subscription, and it’s a system (presumably run by elves) where you sign up for free, provide your library account details, and choose which reminders you’d like and on what timescales. The elves then send you emails or RSS entries reminding you about items due or reservations available, with calendars and links through to our renewals page.

Whilst our Library system sends out a variety of notices, we are unable to customise these to different timescales for each user, so this can be a great extra way to keep on top of your account. (If you give the Library your UK mobile phone number, though, we’ll send you reminders by SMS, too!)

There are a lot of libraries signed up to Library Elf – click here for the full list - so if you use other subscribing libraries, you can add those accounts too, and get reminders covering those as well as your Brunel account. Very handy!

Also this year, the elves have been working hard on a mobile version of the site, amongst other new features. You can try out the beta version of Mobile Elf by entering https://www.libraryelf.mobi in your mobile device’s browser. Let us know what you think!

Important updates about Inter Library Loans through the British Library

The British Library has been going through exciting developments to update their document supply system and workflow.  Although a lot of the changes have been behind the scenes at the British Library and here at Brunel University, there are some important updates that you, the user, should be aware of. 

Inter Library Loans Charges

We have reviewed and updated our inter library loan charges so that they are in line with the British Library charges.  Please see below the new inter library loan charges which are effective from the 1^st October 2012:

Electronic Delivery of Journal Article        £7.50

Photocopy of a Journal Article                      £7.75

Loan                                                                            £11.60

Renewal of a Loan                                                 £4.30

What else has changed?

Previously inter library loans were issued for 3 weeks, which were guaranteed and then another 3 weeks if no other user had requested the item.  You were able to return the book to Brunel Library by the due date listed in the book and we sent it back to the British Library.

 This has now been changed so that books are issued for 6 weeks and there is only one date listed inside the book.  However this date is when the book is due back at the British Library.  Overdue fees are payable by you for books returned a day late. To avoid incurring overdue fines and guarantee that books will get back to the British Library by the due date, books will be issued to you for 5 weeks. 

 Can I renew Inter Library Loan books?

 Yes you will be apply for a renewal for your inter library loan books at a cost of £4.30.  This is payable by you or your department, as applicable.   Please note that you must return the book to Brunel Library for us to be able to process your renewal.  If a renewal is successful then it will be issued to you for another 2 weeks.

Scheduled disruption to some e-book services

Due to scheduled work by one of our suppliers, users of some of our e-books may experience access problems between 23:00 and 01:00 tonight (Wednesday 10th October).

If you experience problems accessing our e-books during this time, please try again after 01:00 on Thursday 11th October.

Are you an Engineering and Design final year project student?

Don’t know where to start with your literature search?
Drop-in at the POD (Ground floor, Library) from 5-7 on Thursday 11 October 2012 for 1-2-1 advice.

Resources covered:
Summon search tips
Web of Science
Referencing and much more

No need to book, just come along and have your questions answered by Shazia, your Librarian.

Library Inductions

Missed your Library induction or forgotten what was covered in it?

Want to know more about how to search for and borrow resources, what the ASK service offers, or who your Subject Librarian is and how they can help you? 

If the answer to any of the above is Yes, or if you would just like to learn more about using your Library, please come along to a Library induction session, at one of the below times:

• Tues 9th Oct      midday
• Tues 16th Oct    midday
• Tues 23rd Oct   midday
• Tues 20th Nov   midday
• Tues 4th Dec     midday

There’s no need to book, just come and see us in the ASK workshop room on the ground floor of the Library on the day!

 

When is the Library Open?

Currently, the Library is open from 8.40am – 9pm Monday to Friday, 12noon – 5pm on Saturdays, and 12noon-7pm on Sundays.

From Sunday 14th October we move to our full term time opening, which is 12noon Sunday – 9pm Friday, and 10am – 5pm on Saturdays. 

You can find more details at http://www.brunel.ac.uk/services/library/about/opening-hours.

Want to chat?

If you need help from us whilst at your PC (at home or on campus) or on your mobile device you now have the option of chatting to us online. Currently available Monday – Friday 09.30 – 16.30, LibChat is a new service which will put you straight through to Library staff who can answer questions, help you with your Library account, or give you more information about using the Library. Look out for the logo on our webpages.

Remember, you can also search for help anytime using LibAnswers, our online database of information about the Library.

Returning Student? Don’t let old fines block your account!

If you’re a returning student, please remember that any fines or charges on your Library account from previous academic years need to be cleared by  October 25th to prevent your account being barred. If you have queries about charges or fines or believe there has been a mistake, please don’t ignore it, let us know now by sending an email to library@brunel.ac.uk and explain what has happened.

Welcome Freshers

We have a whole programme of events to help you get started with the library.
Inductions for each school are taking place in week 0 (students should check their school’s Freshers’ week timetable for details) and Library tours will also be on offer every day during Freshers’ week at midday and 2pm
If you can’t get to any of these then there will be another opportunity on the Tuesday and Thursday of Week 1 at midday and 2pm
There will also be induction sessions throughout term 1 held at the following times:
o Tues 9th Oct midday
o Tues 16th Oct midday
o Tues 23rd Oct midday
o Tues 20th Nov midday
o Tues 4th Dec midday

In any event, come and see us early on so that you can familiarise yourself with the facilities and services that are available to you. There will be open access during Freshers’ and Returners’ weeks before we return to controlled access in Week 2 but you will still need your ID card to borrow books, print, photocopy etc. so please don’t forget to carry it with you always.