Thursday 5 August 2010

Need your inter-library loan material quickly?

University staff and postgraduate researchers can now submit requests for books and documents held outside the University Library electronically. From the Library tab in MUSE, click on the myInterLibrary requests link, complete the web form and press ‘send’. We’ll let you know as soon as your item becomes available.

If you’re an undergraduate or postgraduate on a taught course you can continue to make your request using the paper forms, and you should obtain an authorisation voucher from your department.

This is a three-month trial and feedback would be very welcome. Your comments can be emailed to library@sheffield.ac.uk

More information about the service can be found at http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/services/ill2.html

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Magnificent Maps

Just a reminder about the marvellous Magnificent Maps exhibition running at the British Library St Pancras until 19 September 2010. If you haven't had a chance to visit it yet, do try to - it's free!  The website supports the exhibition and in addition to visitor information it also has some great online features. These include interactive images of some historic maps including the Psalter world map and the Fra Mauro map with background information on their content and importance.

If you missed the recent BBC series The Beauty of Maps the BBC website has some video highlights of the maps featured and a link to Maptube,  a free resource for viewing, sharing, mixing and mashing maps online, created by UCL's Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis.

East Asia Image Collections

The East Asia Image Collections is an open-access archive of digitized photographs, negatives, postcards, and slides of colonial Taiwan (1900-1945) and occupied Japan (1947-52).

The site forms part of the Lafayette College Digital Library. It provides free access to over 1,000 images from the Skillman Library Special Collections.  Of key importance to historians are the Michael Lewis Taiwan postcards - 517 colonial-era (1895-1945) postcards from Japanese governed Taiwan, colonial era photographic albums which contain examples of propaganda promoting the benefits of Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan in 1938. Images show daily life and political events. The site may be searched or browsed. Copyright information is provided.