Book Christmas tree

The Barr Smith Library book tree

Have you visited the Barr Smith Library lately? If you have you may have noticed we have a very festive  looking book tree.

It’s not quite as big as the White House Christmas tree, but ours is a stack of red and green books, resting on a strong foundation of the Dewey Decimal Classification 21 [this is an old version of what we use for choosing call numbers for our books].

Come and check out the BSL book tree next time you are on campus…

Closure of Level 3 South Student computer suite

From Monday, 7th December, the Student computer suite on Level 3 South will be closed, and the PCs removed, in preparation for  the Learning Hub construction.

The 2 PCs with attached scanners will be relocated to Level 3 North.

The remaining PCs will replace older machines in the Level 1 suite.

Temporary Closure of Special Collections

Due to redevelopment of the Plaza area as part of the Learning Hub Project, Special Collections is relocating to new premises on Level 1 of the Barr Smith Library.

As a result, Special Collections will be closed for the whole of January 2010.

Please contact the Special Collections Librarian if you are planning to use material from Special Collections during this period.

New location for Reference Collection

The Reference Collection has moved!

If you look for it in the usual place, you’ll see this rather forlorn and empty space:

The Reference Collection now has a new home adjacent to the Reading Room on Level 2:

This relocation is part of the preparation for the Hughes Plaza Learning Hub. The Library is relocating services from Level 3 South, which lies directly beneath the Plaza, and will therefore be part of the construction zone in 2010.

We will report on more relocations as they happen.

Mobile Search of IEEE Xplore ® Digital Library Now Available

23 November 2009 – IEEE has launched its first mobile version of the IEEE Xplore digital library. You can now easily perform searches anywhere, anytime of over two million documents via any mobile device with Internet access. IEEE is actively searching for feedback of this new Beta service. Go to http://m.ieeexplore.ieee.org on any internet-enabled mobile device, try the new site, and provide your feedback via the link at the bottom of the Web page.

Using IEEE Xplore® Mobile Beta, users can conduct a basic search, display the top 10 results by relevancy, and view abstracts and citations. To view the full-text of an article, the user can email the link to any email address and, if they are a subscriber, view the article directly from the main IEEE Xplore Web site when they are on their personal computer. Non-subscribers can purchase the article or subscribe to the IEEE Xplore digital library.

 

via IEEE – News Releases.

Learning Hub news : relocations

In preparation for the new Learning Hub to be built on the Hughes Plaza, the Library is required to vacate Level 3 South for 2010. As part of that preparation, we have relocated the Newspapers and Current Journals from the southern “International Lounge” to Reserve and Multi-media.

We are also in process this week of relocating the Reference Collection to the foyer outside the Reading Room on Level 2.

We apologise for the disruption caused by these relocations.

Disruption on Level 1, Barr Smith Library

Dear User

As part of the development of the new Hughes Plaza Learning Hub, it is necessary for the Barr Smith Library to remove many thousands of books from Level One of the Library for the relocation of Special Collections to that area.

This project must commence immediately.

All effort is being made to do this as quietly as possible. We realise, however, that there will be some noise, and on behalf of the Library, I apologize for any inconvenience this causes.

I recommend that you consider the Reading Room on Level Two of the Library as a location for quiet and serious study.

Ray Choate,
University Librarian

Calling all science students. How do YOU use the Library?

Students currently studying 1st, 2nd or 3rd year Chemistry, Biochemistry, Geology, Ecology, Environmental Biology, Genetics, Physiology, Microbiology or Immunology are invited to participate in a Library focus group.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a regular in the Library or have only ever gone into the Library to use the toilets. We are keen to hear your views!

By participating in a focus group – and sharing your thoughts – you’ll be helping us to build an even better Library.

Available sessions are:

• Wednesday 28th October: 10:15am-11:00am
• Thursday 29th October: 11.15am-12:00 noon

About the focus groups

Sessions will last about 40 minutes, will consist of a minimum of 4 and maximum of 10 students, and will be held in the Barr Smith Library. Snacks and drinks will be provided. By participating in the focus groups you’ll also go in the draw to win one of several book vouchers.

To book your spot and be part of a focus group, or for more information, please email Ursula Henderson, ursula.g.henderson@adelaide.edu.au or call 8313 1063.

The Bill Cowan Barr Smith Library Fellowship

Applications are invited for the Bill Cowan Barr Smith Library Fellowship which has been established by the Cowan Grant to provide financial assistance towards study for postgraduate degrees by research using the collections of the Barr Smith Library. The Cowan Grant was founded in 1994 on the estate of Marnie and Bill Cowan to provide financial assistance for students and offers a range of scholarships. Bill Cowan was Librarian at The University of Adelaide 1933 to 1964.

The Fellowship is open to students currently residing temporarily or permanently in Australia and undertaking study towards a postgraduate degree by research, either commencing or in progress. Postdoctoral researchers may be eligible within three years of a doctoral award where the research using the Barr Smith Library collections is being undertaken in attachment to an Australian University.

The Barr Smith Library has very large general collections of over 2 million items and rich Special Collections for research, both printed books and manuscripts.

A comment from the 2008 [Inaugural] Fellow, Mr Ming Hwa Ting:

“I would have to say that the Fellowship has assisted greatly in my academic and professional development. It has allowed me more scope to present my research findings at various international conferences. The provision of an office space has also made me a more productive researcher since the resources I need are easily accessible.”

Applications close on 30 November 2009.

Before making inquiries about the Fellowship prospective applicants should familiarise themselves fully with the Fellowship website. Subsequent questions and inquries should be directed to:

Paul Wilkins
Deputy University Librarian
University of Adelaide Library
The University of Adelaide, AUSTRALIA 5005
Ph : +61 8 8303 5223
Fax : +61 8 8303 4369
e-mail: paul.wilkins@adelaide.edu.au

Changes to Library Website

The Library web site is receiving a “makeover”, with pages gradually being updated to the new University standard.

Our web site dates back to 1995 — soon after the “birth” of the World Wide Web. We were one of the first in the University to have a public and global presence on the web. So we have a complex web site, with a lot of pages. It will take some time for us to roll out the new style to all pages, so please bear with us during this process.

We are changing the pages one section at a time. So far we have changed Special Collections and the About sections. Watch for more changes soon.

And please leave us a comment to tell us what you think of the change.