Christmas Vacation 2015

If you’re away from Sheffield for the Christmas Vacation remember that the Library can offer support to students in various ways:

• The Information Skills Resource features helpful tutorials on literature searching, referencing, plagiarism and more

• If you have a question about the Library, take a look at Library Connect, a database of frequently asked questions

• If you’re having trouble accessing electronic resources check the eResources service status page

• For further help you can contact the Library HelpDesk in the following ways:

        Email: library@sheffield.ac.uk
        Phone: 0114 222 7200
       
      
(Please note that the HelpDesk will not be staffed during Christmas closure days: Friday 25 December to Sunday 3 January inclusive)

Merry Christmas!  

The Map Collection

Western Bank Library houses the library's map collection. The whole country is covered at a scale of 1:25,000 and 1:50,000. Larger scale maps are available for local areas (North Derbyshire, South Yorkshire) at a scale of 1:2,500 and 1:10,000. Sheffield is covered in greater detail; 1:500 and 1:1,250.  There is a wide range of historical maps (mainly 1850s onward) as well as geology maps for England, Scotland and Wales at a scale 1:50,000. The collection also includes:

• Aerial photos covering Sheffield and Rotherham for 1992
• A good range of atlases and gazetteers
• A small collection of foreign maps used for teaching and research.

Alongside the physical map collection the library also has a subscription to Digimap

For information on how to consult maps in Western Bank Library see our Subject guide: Maps in the Library and on the Internet

Literature Review Help

Creating your first literature review can be a complex process requiring a number of skills. It involves identifying, evaluating and synthesising previous research in your field of study. Structured around research ideas, its purpose is to set the research scene by highlighting the main arguments and identifying gaps or shortcomings which need to be addressed with further research.

For help with writing your literature review take a look at the Library’s online tutorial: Producing a literature review. This tutorial will guide you through the process of writing a literature review in 7 steps. It also suggests sources of further advice and provides recommended reading.

 

Renew your books for Christmas

As you know, we usually renew your books for you automatically. But over the Christmas holidays things are a bit different.

Renewals

• We will try to automatically renew your loans on 12 December, but just in case there's any problems, such as another student requesting your book, please remember to check your library account through StarPlus, and renew any items due for return before going home for the holiday period.

• Once the book has been renewed, you’ll be able to keep it over the vacation period, and as long as no-one else requests it, we will continue to renew it for you once term starts.

• However, if someone does make a request for a book that you have on loan, we won’t be able to renew it after the vacation and you will need to bring it back to us by 18 January.

  Requests

 

• If we don’t have a physical copy of the book you need, remember to check StarPlus to see if we have it as an e-book.
• If you have made any requests for books that you no longer need over Christmas, please remember to cancel them online.
• If you need any more information about borrowing items from the University library, please contact library@sheffield.ac.uk

 

For more information, take a look at the video on this web page

 

 

Data Playground - database of political attitudes and choices

The Data Playground enables you to analyse the political opinions of tens of thousands of British people surveyed between February 2014 and May 2015. The data, which has been made available by the British Election Study, can be accessed by anyone who has an interest in politics. It can be used to create graphs and charts without the need for statistical expertise or specialist software. Find out the British public’s attitudes to a range of political issues, such as public spending and immigration, and compare these attitudes to the demographic details of the people surveyed. Please credit the British Election Study when using any of the data.

Visit www.britishelectionstudy.com/data and try it yourself

More information about the Data Playground is available here

Trial electronic resources

The Library has arranged trial access to the following online resources. These services can be accessed by University of Sheffield staff and students for a limited time only:

The Economist Historical Archive, 1843-2011

 

The Economist was established in 1843 to campaign for free trade and freedom of the individual. The complete archive (1843-2011) is available, with editorial, advertising and tabular matter all fully searchable.

Trial access is available from this web page (see Quick links on the right hand side of the page). The trial ends on 31 December 2015.

The Financial Times Historical Archive, 1888-2010

 

The complete searchable facsimile run of the daily business newspaper, from 1888 to 2010.

Trial access is available from this web page (see Quick links on the right hand side of the page). The trial ends on 31 December 2015.

The Japan Times Digital Archive, 1897-2014

Japan Times Digital Archive includes digital and searchable scans of all pages published in The Japan Times between 1897 and 2014. The Japan Times is the English language daily newspaper published in Japan.

Trial access is available from this web page (see Quick links on the right hand side of the page). The trial ends on 22 December 2015.

 

Feedback

We welcome your comments on these trial resources: online feedback form

You can also request a trial by using this online request form

For a full list of trial electronic resources, please see this web page

 

What's in the news?

Information Skills Workshop at The Diamond – Wednesday 9^th December, 10am – 11am

Newspapers cover a wide range of issues, such as political and social affairs, the arts, company and financial information. In this workshop you will have the opportunity to explore a range of news and newspaper databases to research current issues and historical events.

Book your place on this workshop (and other information skills workshops) here