Who’s been reading your books??

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We all know how to find out who’s been reading our journal articles via journal citation tools, but now we can do the same with our books!  For a short time only the Library has obtained a free trial to Web of Science’s Book Citation Index.  

There are two databases: the Science and Social Science & Humanities Citation Indices, but you can search them both together.  On there you will currently find 657 books or chapters written by Loughborough authors and they have 525 citations between them (accumulating from 2007 onwards).  Somewhat suprisingly, whilst the book is principally our Social Sciences and Humanities friends’ dissemination medium of choice, only two of our top 20 most-cited titles are SSH-related. 

To access the trial for yourself, please go to http://www.webofknowledge.com/  Select the Web of Science tab and use the databases limiters at the bottom of the screen to limit your search to the Book Citation Index of your choice.

 Feedback most welcome to your Academic Librarian.

It’s Nearly Environment Day…

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The University is celebrating the environment this Wednesday (16th May) with a day of special events, exhibitions and competitions.

Visit the Edward Herbert Building between 10AM and 3PM and you’ll find over 25 stands on display which will be dishing out all manner of sustainability themed goodies – including many freebies!

Plus when you collect your ‘Green Passport’ at the door and get it stamped as you visit the stands, you can hand it in at the end to enter a draw for the chance to win one of a number of great prizes, including sustainable radios and solar chargers, plus a top prize of an expenses paid trip for two on Eurostar to either Brussels, Lille or Paris.

For further details of the day and of the University’s many and various other environmental schemes and events, visit the Sustainability website here.

Presentation skills

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speech bubble and smiley faceDo nerves always get the better of you in presentations? Do you end up talking too much – or drying up? Gain practical advice on giving a talk including planning, using visual aids, controlling nerves and effective use of your voice at this workshop.

Come along to Library Training Room 1 on Wednesday 16th May at 2pm-2.50pm

Book a place on the Get the Know-How module on Learn LBAOO1

Icon courtesy of alessandro rei at www.iconfinder.com

Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands

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A new exhibition at the British Library exploring the links between Britain’s physical and literary landscapes starts this Friday (11th May).

Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands will be displaying over 150 works, many for the first time, including Lewis Carroll’s diary (written under his real name, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), a notebook by William Blake detailing a walk around London, and a 19th century ‘Penny Dreadful’ featuring the first publication of the grisly horror story Sweeney Todd.

This Library owns an extensive English Literature range among our book and serial collection backed up by electronic resources such as Literature Online (LION), Bibliomania, and the Literary Encyclopedia.

The exhibition runs until September. To find out more about it, visit the British Library site here.

Referencing and citation (Harvard style)

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folder and a bookGood quality bibliographies and correct referencing in your assignments can lift your assignment marks from a 2.1 to a First.  Why not come to Library Training Room 1  at 11pm on Thursday 10th May for the Library’s Get the Know-How course – Referencing and citations (Harvard).

Book a place on the Get the Know-How module on Learn LBAOO1

More information about the course and other resources to help with referencing can be found at: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/skills/topicslist/topic—references-and-citations.html

Icon courtesy of alessandro rei at www.iconfinder.com

Our (Local) Petrol Heritage!

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A local architectural landmark has just achieved a rare – and indeed unusual – distinction; it’s become the first petrol station to attain the status of a listed building from the English Heritage Society.

The Esso station on the A6 at Birstall in Leicestershire was selected primarily for its unusual mushroom-like forecourt canopies, built in the late 1960′s by an American designer. Although such canopies were once a common sight, these are the last in the country that are completely intact, and Heritage Minister John Penrose awarded the site a Grade 2 listing in recognition of a time “when road travel captured the public’s imagination and the motorway was full of futuristic glamour”.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the local history of the Leicestershire area, we have a wide range of reading matter on the subject. We also have many books on the subject of industrial architecture and historic buildings.

To find out more about English Heritage, and other listed locations in the local area, why not visit their website?

The Esso Station on the A6 at Birstall, image copyright Ned Trifle, reproduced under CC License from Flickr.

The Top Five Institutional Repository Downloads for April

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It may have been vacation time for many but there was no lack of interest in the Institutional Repository over Easter. Here’s a run-down of the top five most downloaded items for April:

1.  Effect of preharvest UV-treatment on shelf life of fruits and vegetables by Matthew A. Obande. (holding steady at no.1 for the third month running with 391 downloads)

2. Feasibility of zero carbon homes in England by 2016: a house builder’s perspective by Mohamed Osmani and Alistair O’Reilly (back up to no.2 from no.3 last month with 168 downloads!)

3. Discourse analysis means doing analysis: a critique of six analytic shortcomings by Charles Antaki, Michael Billig, Derek Edwards & Jonathan Potter (new entry with 159 downloads)

4. Protectionism to liberalisation : Ireland and the EEC, 1957 to 1966 by Maurice Fitzgerald (holding at no.4 with 126 downloads) 

5. Using Google Analytics to evaluate the usability of e-commerce sites by Layla Hasan, Anne Morris & Steve Probets (118 downloads)

Our repository increases the visibility of Loughborough’s research and the materials within it are centrally stored and preserved. The material in the collection includes journal articles, book chapters, conference papers and theses. To find out more about it, and how you can submit your research, visit the IR homepage here.

Writing Better Reports

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pencilNot sure what the difference is between a report and an essay?  Don’t know what is expected of you?  Learn what makes a good report at this workshop. By the end of the session you will:

  • understand why reports are written,
  • be able to plan and write a report,
  • know what to consider when laying out and presenting a report,
  • understand common problems and good practice in report writing .

You can find extra information at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/skills/topicslist/topic—report-writing.html

Just come to Library Training Room 1 on Tuesday 8th May 2012 between 6- 7.30pm.

Book a place on the Get the Know-How module on Learn LBAOO1

Icon courtesy of alessandro rei at www.iconfinder.com.

Here’s Looking at You, Kindle!

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You’ve seen the movie, you’ve read the book… now try the e-script! The film studio Warner Brothers announced a new deal this week to begin publishing the scripts to some of their classic movies in electronic format.

Beginning with screen legends Casablanca, North By Northwest, An American in Paris and Ben Hur, these e-books will also include never-before-seen material including production notes, storyboards and on-set photographs. Warner hope to dip deeper into their archives if the series takes off.

We have a variety of film and television scripts and screenplays among our own collection in the Library, to say nothing of a vast store of books examining every aspect of the cinematic art. We’ve also got a variety of links to the British Film Institute’s electronic archives, as well as film orientated databases such as the Filmakers Library Online and the BBC Motion Gallery, which also encompasses documentary film.

Casablanca film poster copyright Late Night Movie, reproduced under CC License from Flickr.

Fancy a Scream?

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The only private copy of one of the world’s most famous and recognisible modern paintings goes on auction at Sotheby’s in New York today – and it can be yours for a mere $80 million!!

Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch first painted The Scream in 1893. The version currently on sale was done in pastel in 1895 and has remained in private hands until now.

Munch famously described his work, inspired after a walk with two friends, as  ”an infinite scream passing through nature.” It’s since been interpreted and admired in equal measures by artists, historians and psychologists alike as an enduring symbol of the modern human condition. Commercially, it’s also been a great source for advertisers, fashion designers, novelty manufacturers and even film-makers – the title character of the horror film series Scream wears a mask based upon the figure in the painting.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Edvard Munch, his life and work, including The Scream, we have a wide range of books about the artist in stock. There’s also a wealth information among our Art & Design databases available through Library Catalogue Plus – Art Full Text and ARTbibliographies Modern (ABM) in particular.

The Scream painting picture by Solis Invicti, reproduced under CC License from Flickr.