Articles tagged with: Services

• End of term resources to support students

  Friday, November 19, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  As we approach the end of term, the Library along with colleagues in A-Z Learning Services and Student Wellness and Accessibility Services are keen to support Brock students 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 Wellness and Accessibility Services offer unique sessions related to exam readiness and combatting test stress.

  Student mental health and wellness go hand-in-hand with academic success and are the focus of a new Library wellness webpage ready for you to explore.

  Finally, if you could use a little motivation download one of our new phone and desktop wallpaper designs. ⬇️

  For your phone:
  

  For your desktop:

  

  

  Tags: Services, Students, Wellness
  Categories: Main

• Instructors encouraged to submit winter term reading lists soon

  Monday, November 15, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Course readings for the winter term are being processed at Brock University Library.

  To ensure your students have access to their winter course materials, we encourage you to submit reading lists as soon as possible. Ideally by November 22, 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. 

  A note about print reserve readings:

  While we encourage instructors to continue using online alternatives, print items are accepted.

  It is important for instructors to consider the element of risk in choosing to use print reserves for your course: If strict public health measures were to resume, these materials might be inaccessible for your students. Electronic readings have the benefit of being available to students no matter the changing public health measures.

  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, Services
  Categories: Main

• Welcome Back to Campus

  Wednesday, September 08, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Wednesday, September 8 update for the James A. Gibson Library:

  For your safety:

  • Masks required at all times.
  • Seat booking is not required.
  • Attending online lectures? We recommend the individual study carrels on floors 5, 6 & 7. Please use headphones.
  • No food permitted. Lidded drinks okay.
  • Classrooms A & B are not available for drop-in use.
  • Seating has been reduced to encourage physical distancing.

  Questions?
  Visit the Ask Us desk or libhelp@brocku.ca

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

• Omni partnership pays dividends

  Monday, August 30, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Brock University students, staff, and faculty can now use Omni to request shared physical resources quickly and easily from across all 16 Omni partner institutions, a collection of nearly 23.5 million resources.

  Read more about this innovative collaboration in the Brock News and learn how to make your request in just a few clicks.

  Questions? libhelp@brocku.ca

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

• Career Opportunity in Library Access Services

  Friday, July 30, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Brock University Library invites applications for a full-time contract position of Circulation Assistant.

  Working in our Access Services department, a Circulation Assistant supports our busy Ask Us desk, and:

  • Assists students, faculty, staff, community members and other visitors in locating, using and borrowing material, and communicating relevant loan rules and library policies
  • Guides users in the functions of the Integrated Library System (Omni) and, upon request, direct to online databases and other Library and Learning Commons resources and services
  • Processes circulation tasks including loans, returns, requests for holds, digitization, transit to other campus locations or consortia partner libraries
  • Provides first point of contact service and basic technical support, including logging on to workstation, how to print, scan, and photocopy
  • Provides directional/ reception service, responding to questions, in-person, by telephone, and over email regarding internal library and university departments/ locations

  Please see the position posting for more details.

  Apply online by Aug. 12, 2021 at 12:01am EST.

  Questions? Email mrettig@brocku.ca, Head, Access Services.

  Tags: Employment opportunity, Services
  Categories: Main

• Book a spot!

  Monday, July 19, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  With the University now in stage 3 of its reopening process, we are pleased to offer increased study options in the James A. Gibson Library. Fifty individual study spots are available for pre-booking.

  Two or three-hour time slots are available during weekday mornings and afternoons. The Library closes between 12 and 1pm for cleaning.

  Make your booking now!

  Questions? Please email libhelp@brocku.ca

   

  Tags: Services, Students
  Categories: Main

• The Library is here to support fall course planning

  Thursday, May 20, 2021 | By Andrew Colgoni

  

  Instructors, as you prepare for the Fall 2021 term, the Library is ready to work with you for whatever mode of teaching you are considering – on campus, online, blended or hybrid.

  Here’s some of the ways we can help.

  Course Reserves and Readings

  For maximum flexibility, we are encouraging all instructors to continue using digital/online course readings for the fall term. This way, your students will be able to access any course readings no matter where they are physically located, or how often they may be on campus.

  Several alternatives to print resources are available including the creation of course-specific online packs, leveraging articles, book chapter scans, and other digital material. The Reserves team is ready to work with you to develop these for your students.

  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.

  With regard to e-textbooks, it is important to remember that most of the major publishers will not sell these to libraries. This limitation means that students who do not purchase the textbook have no alternative access to the textbook contents. You can read more about this limitation, and what non-print options are available. Liaison Librarians are also available to help you identify alternate resources.

  For those instructors teaching primarily on-campus, the library is considering models for safely offering print reserves in September. We are interested in hearing from instructors that anticipate needing printed course reserves, so we can understand the level of demand and specific needs. Please reach out to Andrew Colgoni, Associate University Librarian, Student Success to start that conversation.

  Open Educational Resources

  Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials (including textbooks, courses, learning objects, tests, media, etc.) that you may freely use and reuse, without charge. Brock University Library, with our partners in CPI, can support faculty and instructors interested in using, adapting, or creating OERs in their courses or programs. Support for OER use is part of our broader commitment to helping faculty make course materials more affordable for students, in conjunction with course reserves.

  If you’re considering incorporating an OER into your course, the Library and the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation are here to support you in finding the right resource for your course and how best to use it in your curriculum. Learn more about our OER Services.

  Teaching Support

  Our librarians are available to work with you on building research skills, information literacy, and related literacies into your course curriculum. Contact the liaison librarian for your program.

  You may also wish to include the library’s various online learning resources into Sakai or your syllabus. We have a comprehensive list of research guides for Brock’s programs, as well as tutorials, videos and guides for common research tasks, like searching Omni, the library’s academic search tool.

  Streaming Video and Film Digitization

  Instructors looking to include film or video in their curriculum are encouraged to search Omni, or look through our Streaming Video Resource guide, which includes all of our subscription platforms and a number of free resources. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, we can work with you on possible alternatives. Contact us directly at libhelp@brocku.ca to learn more.

  Access to Collections

  The pandemic has highlighted how important access to electronic resources has been, and the library will continue to prioritize purchasing electronic resources where possible. The pandemic has also highlighted just how valued the print collection is. Through programs such as the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS), we have been able to provide digitized access to about a third of our print collection while the physical library space is closed. Instructors should note that should we be able to open the library fully, including the floors housing our print collection, we would need to discontinue ETAS. We commit to continue working with our users and responding as best we can to facilitate access to print content.

  We plan on continuing Interlibrary Loan services, though it continues to be subject to availability and access at our partner libraries.

  Tags: Course Reserves, OER, Open Educational Resources, Services, Streaming Video, Teaching & Learning
  Categories: Main

• Library expertise at one click

  Friday, May 07, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Ask a Librarian is a collaborative virtual reference service that connects students, faculty members, and researchers from participating university libraries across Ontario with real-time library and research assistance through chat.

  Since the pandemic began, Brock and partner libraries have seen a sharp increase in questions from our respective communities. In our post-chat exit survey, we recently heard from a Brock student who noted “I love the library chat. I use it all the time and it is always so helpful. It has been a lifesaver during the pandemic!”

  With online support at the forefront right now, we’ve added a new Ask a Librarian tab across our website. Assistance is now just one click away.

  Learn more about Ask a Librarian, or chat with us now.

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

• Omni feedback form remains available

  Wednesday, May 05, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Thank you to everyone who participated in our Omni Feedback Survey! Participants had the option to enter a draw for a $50 Amazon gift card.  The contest closed Friday April 30^th at noon and one lucky winner was randomly selected.  Congratulations to Cedric Junor, a 2^nd year film studies student!

  Feedback from the survey will help us learn how Omni has been helpful in your research journey as well as identify areas that could be improved.  As Omni is a consortia search tool with 15 other universities in Ontario, the anonymous feedback we received will contribute to the overall experience for all schools. Although the contest has closed, the survey still remains available to anyone else in the Brock community who would like to share their feedback.  We always appreciate learning from our users.

  Share your feedback now.

   

  Tags: Services
  Categories: 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