Libraries Week 2022 – Students

The theme of this year’s Libraries Week is the central role that libraries play in supporting life-long learning.

Today, we are focusing on the ways the library offers a range of learning opportunities for Aberystwyth University students, beyond their courses and outside of the teaching rooms.

Library tours If you’re new to Aberystwyth University, firstly, welcome! Secondly, come on a library tour! Our friendly staff are here to show you around and introduce you to your library. There’s no need to book in advance and everyone is welcome – times and other information here.

You’ll see our virtual tour of the Hugh Owen Library below and here’s our handy A to Z of Library services to get you up to speed.

Software and IT services Take a look at our webpages for some of the IT Services and resources available. If you need help or advice, you can contact the Service Desk team online or by phone.

Fiction and reading for pleasure There’s no shortage of books in our libraries and if you’re looking for something to read – that’s not a course textbook – we can help! Browse Primo the library catalogue online to find books and ebooks, take a look at our Contemporary Fiction collection by the Enquiries Desk on Level F, browse the shelves from classmark PN or in the Celtic Collection. We also have graphic novels and lots of non-fiction and poetry.

Visit Primo, the library catalogue to have a look.

Contemporary fiction collection in the Hugh Owen Library

Linkedin Learning All AU students have free, unlimited access to thousands of expert-led online courses from Linkedin Learning. Here’s a small selection of courses that might spark some new hobbies or interests and help you develop new skills put together by Laurie Stevenson, Student Digital Champion:

Extra-curricular activities for students collection This is a collection of courses containing a variety of skills and creative activities you might be interested in learning alongside your studies, as a break from assignments or to fill a moment of boredom!

 Laurie Stevenson

Learn Welsh Fancy learning or improving your Welsh whilst you’re at Aber? Look no further than the Celtic Collection! The collection contains hundreds of books to help you learn and develop your Welsh language skills, from complete language courses and grammar books to fiction with helpful vocabulary.

Find it on Level F:

Welsh-language learning resources in the Celtic Collection

Library Guides Familiarise yourself with the library’s range of LibGuides. Not only will you find your specialist subject guide to help you find resources for your subject, but also a range of guides to help you make the most of the library, develop your information literacy skills and enhance your employability.

These guides have been compiled by your Subject Librarians who are here to help you with academic and specialist resources for your studies. They can help you to find and evaluate the information that you need and help you to reference it correctly. Find the contact details for your subject on the Subject Librarians page

Borrow DVDs You can borrow DVDs for free from our large DVD collection on Level F. Take a look through what we have on Primo, the library catalogue

DVD collection

Read Well – Wellbeing collection The library’s Wellbeing Collection is here to help you understand and manage many common mental health conditions or difficult feelings and experiences. You can have a look at the list of titles included in the collection on the Read Well reading list which is organised by topic areas to help you find what you need.

Watch this short video to learn more:

Libraries Week 2022 – Staff

The theme of this year’s Libraries Week is the central role that libraries play in supporting life-long learning.

Today our focus is on all Aberystwyth University staff as we showcase some of the library’s resources that can help staff to unlock and fulfil their potential at every stage of their lives and careers.

Gale OneFile News Online access to news coverage, including professional trade press, Gale OneFile News lets you browse and search 2,300 major newspapers, including thousands of images, radio and tv broadcasts and transcripts.

Digimap Digimap offers full and comprehensive Ordnance Survey map data and historic maps as well as geological data. It is a fascinating resource and very useful for local history researchers as well as Earth Sciences. You just need to have an Aberystwyth University email account to register to access it.

Image of a map of Aberystwyth in 1880 from Digimap
Image of a map of Aberystwyth in 1880 from Digimap

Box of Broadcasts Are you carrying out some research? Take a look at Box of Broadcasts (BoB) – an on demand TV and radio service for academic use by staff and students, allowing access to two million broadcasts from over 65 free to air channels. BoB also now includes the BBC’s archive of historic radio and television programmes.    

The Workstation The Workstation is a 24-hour work and study space for both staff and students in Aberystwyth town centre. The Workstation has PCs, facilities for printing, WiFi and a bookable meeting room. You can find The Workstation next to the Wetherspoons by Aberystwyth Train Station and you will need your staff ID card to get in.

Careers Services for all AU staff  Did you know that Aberystwyth University staff can also make use of the University’s expert careers services? Take a look at our Employability LibGuide to get started.

Reading for pleasure The library has large collections of fiction, non fiction and poetry in both English and Welsh for your reading pleasure. Take a look at our Contemporary Fiction collection near the Enquiries Desk on Level F or browse the shelves from classmark PN (or the library catalogue, Primo) and the Celtic Collection.

English literature books on Level F of the Hugh Owen Library

Learn or Improve your Welsh The Celtic Collection contains hundreds of books to help you learn and develop your Welsh language skills, from complete language courses and grammar books to fiction with helpful vocabulary.

Effective Study Collection You may also find some of the titles in our Effective Study collection useful to help you develop your study or professional skills, such as how to make an effective presentation or tips on managing your research.

Linkedin Learning All AU students and staff have free and unlimited access to the wealth of expert-led courses available online through Linkedin Learning.

Here’s a small selection of courses that might be of interest to AU staff produced by Jeffrey Clark, Student Digital Champion:

Personal and Professional Development collection – This collection contains a series of courses designed to aid staff members with developing their professional and personal skills.

Jeffrey Clark

The Children’s Literature Collection

Colourful books from the Children's Literature Collection on a table on Level F of the Hugh Owen Library
Colourful books from the Children’s Literature Collection on a table on Level F of the Hugh Owen Library

If you go down to the Hugh Owen Library today… you’re sure to find our latest display on Level F of some wonderful titles from our Children’s Literature Collection!

Our collection has a good range of children’s fiction in both English and Welsh, including picture books, contemporary children’s literature to young adult fiction – from pirates to princesses, dragons to aliens and all that’s in-between.

You’ll find it particularly useful if you’re studying PGCE or Childhood Studies/Education. You can browse the collected on Level F of the Hugh Owen Library at classmark PZ or have a look online on Primo, the Library catalogue here.

From Resources to referencing

A book and notepadAssignments: from Resources to Referencing has been prepared by the Subject Librarians at the University to develop key information literacy skills essential for academic study – from finding high quality academic materials to citing resources correctly in your assignments. The module is available to all students on Blackboard.

The module currently contains three sections:

Library and IT Induction
• Provides everything you need to know about getting started with library services and collections.
• A quiz to practice using library resources.

Referencing and Plagiarism Awareness
• Helps you understand the importance of accurate referencing; how to create accurate citations and references; how to manage your citations using referencing software tools and how to interpret your Turnitin Similarity Report.
• This guide includes a quiz which allows you to practice the skills you have learned using the specific referencing style specified by your department

News & Media Literacy
• This guide helps develop critical skills in evaluating the information we consume online. You will learn how to define key concepts such as free speech, misinformation, disinformation and censorship; understand concepts of selection and bias in the media and how to spot fake news.
• This guide includes a quiz which allows you to test the knowledge you have gained.

Further guides and quizzes will be added to the module in future.
If you require guidance in using the module, have any questions on using library collections and services or have any feedback, please contact: librarians@aber.ac.uk / 01970 621896