Main

• Discover your library this spring

  Monday, May 03, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Brock University Library welcomes you to the spring term. If you are new to Brock, take a look at the Discover Your Library page for a quick introduction to library people, services, & resources.  Supporting you in your academic life is core to our mission.

  We have developed a number of online and in-person services and supports in response to COVID-19. Our focus is on access to electronic resources and virtual help. You can learn more about these services on our COVID-19 page.

  For new students, the shift to academic research can be a challenge, but getting assistance is easy. We offer email and chat services as well as online research consultations with our Liaison Librarians.

  We look forward to working with you and wish you all the best for a successful term.

  Tags: Archives and Special Collections, Digital Scholarship Lab, Makerspace, MDGL, Our Collections, Services, Staff, Students
  Categories: Main, MDGL

• Submit your Omni feedback today!

  Monday, April 19, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Since December 2019, students, faculty and staff have been using Omni, Brock University’s new Academic Search Tool, to support their research needs.  How has your experience been?

  The Library is seeking feedback from all members of the Brock community.  We want to hear from YOU: the good, the bad, the ugly.  You can tell all in this short survey.  We’ll be sharing your anonymous feedback with Omni partners to inform future modifications that seek to improve the user experience for all our Omni schools.

  BONUS: All survey respondents have the option to enter a draw for a $50 Amazon gift card. Enter by noon on April 30^th.

  Share your Omni feedback now.

   

   

  Tags: Faculty, Feedback, Staff, Students
  Categories: Main

• Expanded Access: Oxford Handbooks Online

  Thursday, April 15, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Enjoy full, unrestricted access to all content in Oxford Handbooks Online. That’s over 1,100 books! Researchers can browse by their field of interest or search by keyword on a specific topic.

  Each Handbook offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship in the area. Articles in each handbook review the key issues and debates on the topic as well as provide arguments for how those debates might evolve. These scholarly review articles provide students with an in-depth overview of the field as well as authoritative guidance, directing them to related content. Here are just a handful of titles newly available:

  • Oxford Handbook of Luxury Business
  • Oxford Handbook of Food Ethics
  • Oxford Handbook of Animal studies
  • Oxford Handbook of the Literatures of the Roman Empire
  • Oxford Handbook of the Microbiome-Gut Brain Axis

  With Oxford Handbooks Online, researchers always have access to the most recent literature as articles are published online in advance of print publications.

  Watch the Guided Tour or start exploring Oxford Handbooks Online right away.

   

  Tags: Our Collections
  Categories: Main

• Book pickup service hours adjusted

  Friday, April 09, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  In response to the provincial stay-at-home order, the Library’s book pickup service will continue, but with shortened hours. The new hours for pickup are Wednesday from 10am-2pm. Upon arrival for pickup and after screening by campus security, please come to our Book Pickup table just outside the entrance of the library. Give us a call at 905-688-5550 x4583 to let us know you have arrived, and Library staff will bring your books out to you. Full instructions will be provided to you over email when your items are ready for pickup.

  Online library services such as scanning requests and Hathi Trust are unaffected by the stay–at-home order. We will continue to support access to the information you need for your research and teaching.

  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at libhelp@brocku.ca

  Tags: Services
  Categories: Main

• Exam resources from A-Z Services and the Library

  Tuesday, April 06, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  As we approach the end of term, the Library along with colleagues in A-Z Learning Services are keen to support Brock students who are completing final assignments and preparing for exams.

  We’ve highlighted a number of resources and tips along with links to research guides, ways to contact us, and stress-relieving diversions in an online booklet this year. We hope you enjoy it and share it with friends.

  A-Z Learning Services has excellent guides available to help you with:

  • time management,
  • exam preparation,
  • essay writing and much more.

  Learning Skills Specialists are also running several online drop-in study sessions that you can visit to study with others, or get help on a specific assignment or question.

  Student mental health and wellness are important to us.  To that end, we’ve created a Wellness Guide for you to explore at any time of the year. And finally, if you could use a little motivation or reassurance, download our smartphone and desktop wallpapers. ⬇️

  Smartphone wallpaper thumbnails (click for full size render and to download)

       

  Desktop wallpaper thumbnails (click for full size render and to download)

  

  Tags: Services, Students
  Categories: Main

• New Resource: Microsoft Academic

  Thursday, April 01, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Microsoft Academic (MA) is a next generation academic search tool. Heavily influenced by AI semantic search algorithms, MA scans publishers, societies, and open web content to identify key authors, topics, conferences, journals in all disciplines. The scope of content covered, speed of searching, and wealth of bibliometric semantic algorithmic analysis is simply amazing.

  Microsoft Academic features:

  • Contains over 252 million scholarly records and growing quickly
  • Ranks top topics, descriptors, publication types, authors, journals, repositories, and institutions
  • Allows for sorting, alerting, downloading, and citation analysis tools
  • Includes powerful citation and disciplinary visualizations
  • Provides article “cited by” analysis lists to forward track citatio
  • Personal account features enabling users to manage saved citations, share lists, and receive notifications
  • Is straightforward and free to search.

  Learn more about how MA works and check out the Brock University’s profile of over 12,000 publications and 344,000 citations.

  Ian Gordon
  Science Liaison Librarian

  Tags: Our Collections
  Categories: Main

• New workshop for students: Mindful Research

  Friday, March 26, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Feeling overwhelmed with research?  Are final papers stressing you out?   

  Join Chelsea and Justine, liaison librarians and yoga instructors, for “Mindful Research” to learn how you can incorporate elements of mindfulness into the research process.  We will discuss the unique challenges of library research, outline the benefits of mindfulness, and offer strategies for building easy mindful practices into your day.   

  The workshop will be offered on Thursday, April 1 from 12:00-12:45 and repeated on Thursday, April 8 from 12:00-12:45 live on Teams.  If you have questions, please contact Chelsea or Justine.  Hope to see you there! 

  Tags: Graduate students, Students, Wellness, Workshops
  Categories: Main

• Temporary Service Adjustments, March 25-April 5

  Thursday, March 25, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  In response to Brock University moving into Stage 1 of the University’s Response and Recovery plan, the Library is adjusting its in-person services.

  During this period, bookable study space will not be available.

  The book pickup service will continue, but with shortened hours and a new contactless model. The new hours for pickup are Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 10am-2pm. Upon arrival for pickup and after screening by campus security, please come to our Book Pickup table just outside the entrance of the library. Give us a call at 905-688-5550 x4583 to let us know you have arrived, and Library staff will bring your books out to you. Full instructions will be provided to you over email when your items are ready for pickup.

  Online library services such as scanning requests and Hathi Trust are unaffected by the shutdown. We will continue to support access to the information you need for your research and teaching.

  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at libhelp@brocku.ca

  Tags: Faculty, Services, Staff, Students
  Categories: Main

• New Resource: Audio Ciné Films

  Thursday, March 18, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Try out Audio Ciné Films, the newest addition to the Library’s streaming video collections. It provides access to over 900 films, both new releases and older titles, with new films added regularly. Studios represented include Walt Disney Pictures, Universal Studios, Sony Pictures, MGM Studios, and more. Most films have Closed Captioning, as well as French-language versions.   

  Some film highlights include: 

  • Action and drama movies like Knives Out (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), The Fifth Element (1997), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005). 
  • Family films such as Frozen II (2019), Freaky Friday (2003), Moana (2016), WALL-E (2008), Hook (1991), and Coco (2017). 
  • Classic films including Taxi Driver (1976), Marnie (1964), Pillow Talk (1959), Rear Window (1954), and Rebecca (1940).
  • Classical themed favourites like Cleopatra (1934), Alexander the Great (1956), O Brother Where art Thou? (2000), and Spartacus (1960).  

  Whether you’re studying a classic film or critiquing a contemporary title, ACF probably has you covered. And if it doesn’t, try one of our other streaming video databases.

  Tags: Our Collections
  Categories: Main

• Instructors encouraged to submit spring term reading lists soon

  Friday, March 12, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Reserve request processing for the spring term is underway at Brock University Library.

  To ensure your students have access to their spring course materials, we encourage you to submit reading lists by March 29, 2021.  

  An instructor self-serve option is also available, providing flexibility to instructors who wish to do this work themselves. All self-submissions will get a final check for copyright compliance, and will then be active for students. 

  An important consideration: print reserve materials remain unavailable for spring 2021 courses.

  Several alternatives to print resources are available including the creation of course-specific online packs. The Reserves team is ready to work with you to develop these for your students. More information about non-print options is available. Liaison Librarians are also available to help you identify alternate resources. 

  The E-Textbook Challenge.

  Providing digital access to some textbooks may be hindered by the textbook publishers because most textbooks are not available to libraries in any format other than print.  Most of the major textbook publishers — Pearson, Cengage, Houghton, McGraw Hill, Oxford University Press Canada Textbooks, Elsevier Imprints, Thieme — do not sell e-textbooks to libraries. This means that for courses that have adopted textbooks from these publishers, students who do not purchase the textbook have no alternative access to the textbook contents.

   

  Questions? reserve@brocku.ca

  Tags: Faculty, Graduate students, Services
  Categories: Main