Category Archives: Information skills

Know how to check your bookings online?

1.  Access your record by clicking on the Patron Record button via the library catalogue: http://lib.exeter.ac.uk/search~S6and logging in with your University username and password.

 

2.  To check bookings, click on the blue link ‘items booked for future use’ in the left-hand corner box under your name.

Bookings image paint NEW

3.  Click on the link to show the time of your booking and allows you to cancel any bookings from this page.

 

4.  Click on the title on your booking to show the classmark of your booking in the library catalogue.

Know how to renew your books online?

1.  Access your record by clicking on the Patron Record button via the library catalogue: http://lib.exeter.ac.uk/search~S6 and logging in with your University username and password.

 

2.  Shows ‘Items checked out’ page when you first login, where you can view materials you have checked out.

3.  Select materials to renew by selecting the boxes in the RENEW column on the left-hand side and clicking ‘Renew Selected.’     To renew all the items on your record, click the ‘Renew All’ button.

4.  Click Yes to renew the selected items.

 

Check the STATUS column for information on your renewal:

If you cannot renew items, a message will appear on the screen.

If you are successful, a new due date will appear in the STATUS column.

Top Tips: Cancelling unwanted reservations

Hopefully you all know how to request items that are out on loan. If not, our website talks you through the process here (look under the subheading “Reserving items that are out on loan.”

But do you know how to cancel unwanted reservations? One of the most frequent types of message we receive in our library inbox are emails from students and staff telling us you no longer require a book that has arrived for you. This can easily happen; perhaps you’ve changed your essay topic, found a better alternative resource or even decided to buy the book. Whatever the reason, if you no longer need an item that’s been reserved for you it’s good practice to cancel your reservation as soon as possible so that someone else can use the book.

Although Library staff are happy to help with this did you know you can cancel your own reservations quickly and easily – and in less time than it takes to send us an email – by logging in to your Library Record online either via MyExeter or directly from the Library catalogue. Once you’ve logged in, you will see any requests you’ve made listed as ‘1 (or more) request(s) (hold)’. If you click on this link you will see the details of the item(s) requested in addition to a box labelled ‘cancel’.

cancel reservations capture

When you click on the ‘cancel selected’ box a new page will appear asking whether you would like to proceed or not with the cancellation and you can then confirm your choice. This will free up the book for the next person to use.

Please help your fellow Library users by promptly cancelling any requests for items you no longer require.

 

Defining Gender 1450-1910

 

If you are studying History, Literature, Sociology, Education  or Cultural Studies, you may be interested in the historical database Defining Gender, 1450-1910. Defining Gender is a collection of original source material from British and European archives, and it is accessible via our Electronic Library and the library catalogue.

The material includes essays, documents and biographies, and there is a useful chronology from 1406-1917.  The documents may be manuscripts, diaries, letters, printed works or illustrations.  They cover a wide range of topics from art, fashion, midwifery, poetry, novels and travel writing, and some conduct and advice literature.  Famous authors include Nicholas Culpeper, Daniel Defoe, Maria Edgeworth, John Locke, Samuel Richardson and Mary Wollstencraft as well as many other writers and illustrators who have contributed to the gender debate.  There are useful essays by researchers.  The images may be downloaded.

Library and Research Skills module in ELE

Library and Research Skills ELE module

The Library and Research Skills module in ELE has lots of information to help you to find out about effective information searching and research skills, and discover more about the different kinds of library resources available to you.

The suite of video tutorials provides quick and easy to follow demonstrations of library and research techniques, e.g. finding a book, an electronic book or a journal article on the library catalogue; booking an Express Collections item; accessing and searching particular research databases.

There are also short films introducing you to different library services, spaces and facilities. Take a tour of the Forum Library and other study spaces at the University. Learn how to use the issue machines. Or meet your Subject Librarian team on film.

Simply pick the topic you’re interested in from the picture menu to learn more about referencing, information skills, journals, research databases, using the Internet and much more.

Each College also has its own Library and Research Skills ELE module tailored to your subject needs; navigate to the appropriate one via the ‘Library’ menu.

There are various ways to access the Library and Research Skills module:

Library Know-How: Renewing Items and Avoiding Fines

None of us like getting Library fines; but at the same time nobody likes missing out on the resources they need to research their next project. Our fines exist to ensure that everyone has fair access to the books they need, and that items are renewed regularly or returned promptly either if no longer required or if they’ve been requested by another user. Managing your borrowing responsibly is one of the ingredients of a successful degree. With self-service machines, email reminders and online renewals we try to make it as easy as possible for you to keep track of your borrowing and the good news is that with a little care you can get the most out of Library resources while avoiding fines altogether. The best way to do this is to understand our loan periods and renewals system, so here’s a handy guide to help you do just that.

Key tips for responsible borrowing:

1.       Know the loan rules

Library resources will issue for different time periods:

Normal Loans: 28 days

Short Loans:  1 week

Express Collections (Books and Locker Keys): 24 hours and over the weekend

Express Collections (DVDs): Undergraduates – 24 hours and over the weekend;  Postgraduates – 72 hours (3 days); Staff – 120 hours (5 days)

When you issue an item you should always get a receipt which will tell you the date and (if it’s an Express Collection s item) also the time it is due back.

You can also check your record online to see when items are due. To do this either click the ‘patron record’ button on the Library Catalogue or log-in to MyExeter and just click the ‘Library’ tab. Select ‘Your Library Record’ > ‘Items currently checked out’. This will show a list of what you have and when they are due. You can choose to sort by due date, to see which items need to be returned or renewed soonest.

You can renew items as many times as you need so long as they haven’t been requested by another user. If a book gets recalled the loan period will shorten automatically giving you one week to return it (unless there is already less than a week left until it is due, in which case you simply won’t be able to renew at the end of that period).

2.       Check your email

We will send you an email if your book gets recalled informing you of its new due date so it’s important you check your University email regularly.

We also send out email reminders when your Normal and Short Loan books are due for renewal and again if they go overdue. Please note that due to the short nature of the loan period we can’t currently send reminders for Express Collections items. Lots of borrowers find it handy to set an alarm on their phone or computer to remind them to renew these items.

3.       Renew Online

Your receipt, your online Library record and the email reminders we send should help ensure that you know when you’re reaching the end of your loan period. If you still need the items you can always renew them so long as nobody else has requested them. The best way to renew is online, via your Library Record. Log in to your Library Record, either through the Library Catalogue or via the Library tab on MyExeter.

You’ll see a list of the items you have on loan, together with the date they’re due for return.

To renew all of your items, click Renew All.

If you only want to renew some of them, tick the boxes by the items you want to renew and click Renew Selected.

You’ll be asked to confirm you wish to renew these items. Click Yes to complete the process.

If the renewal was successful, the Status column will clearly state ‘renewed’ and show the new due date. If any items cannot be renewed, a message will appear to warn you of this and the Status column will show the reason why.

Need more guidance? Why not watch our video demonstration of online renewal?

Troubleshooting: please note that you can’t renew your items online,  after you’ve been sent an overdue notification, or if you have unpaid fines of over £10. In these situations you’ll need to contact the Library in order to renew.

You can also renew by phone: 01392 723867, by email or in person at any of the Library desks. If you have any trouble with the online system please contact us as soon as possible.

4.       If you do get fines…

The above tips should help you keep on top of Library borrowing and avoid items going overdue, but if you do get a fine, these are the things you need to know.

Because fines exist to ensure fair circulation, they are calculated according to demand:

Normal loan: 20p per day

Journals: 20p per day

Short loan: £1 per day

Express Collections: £1 for the first hour and 50p per hour thereafter

DVD       £1 for the first hour and 50p per hour thereafter

All Overdue Recalled Items: £1 per day

If you do have an overdue item, the first thing to do is stop fines going up by returning it or contacting us to request a renewal. At the point it is returned or renewed the fine will add to your account. You can check your fines via your Library record, or on any of the self-issue machines on the Library.

Fines and borrowing:

Unpaid fines of over £10 will prevent you from borrowing or renewing further items, so if you are in this situation you’ll need to pay off at least some of your fines. It’s quick and easy to do this online with a credit or debit card: simply visit the fines payment site and follow the onscreen instructions. Always click on the “Finish” button at the top or bottom of the payment summary once you are done (don’t just close the browser!)   Please note minimum online payment of £1.

Fines of £10 and under will not prevent further borrowing but will need to be paid off before you finish your studies. You can do this:

Online (as above) 24 hours a day

By cash, cheque, credit or debit card at the Forum Library during their desk opening hours.

By cash or cheque only at St Luke’s or Research Commons during their desk opening hours.

As always, Library staff are here to help so if have any questions or concerns about loan periods, fines or anything else for that matter do get in touch!

 

It’s as easy as ABC in Fresher’s Week

There are loads of activities happening over Freshers week across the University and here in the Library we hope to see you for our events which will take place in the Forum Street and the Library.

So what’s occuring?

A

Monday 17th September is  Advice and Support day between 10.00am and 16.00pm

Come and join in the Mix ‘n’ Match Librarians – match the Subject Librarians’ heads to the correct bodies and add the image representing the subject they look after.  Quickest match can win you 50 pounds worth of vouchers so well worth a go  and there are runners up prizes too.

B

Wednesday 19th September is Balance and Health day from 10.00am until 16.00pm

Throughout the day in the Forum Street there will be four showcases of Arts and Culture work that includes student-focused music.

Also come along to our Games and Relaxation space in the entrance of the Forum Library.  There will be two free book giveaways during the day and you can enter a team into the “Chopsticks game “.

C

Friday 21st September is for Clever Thinking between 10.00am and 16.00pm.

Head to the Library Lounge and explore our Special Collections “play-table” where you could win a pair of Northcott Theatre tickets to “Classic Cut” by Shobana Jeyasingh Dance at 19:30 on Thursday 11th October, plus some runner up prizes.

Finally get your thinking caps on and enter our Treasure Hunt round the Forum Library.  Open from Friday 21st until Friday 28th September the winner will be drawn from all the correct entries and will get the top prize of a Kindle with 25 pounds for the runners up.

So loads going on and remember the Forum library is open 24/7 for you.  So come along and see us.