Welcome to St George’s Library 2022

Welcome to St George’s to all our new students and welcome back to everyone who is returning to their studies with us. After the flurry of Freshers Week and the first weeks of classes, now is a good time to start familiarising yourself with the library’s resources and the services we offer.

Our ‘Library at a glance‘ page and our ‘Library essentials‘ guide offer brief overviews of key library services, while the library induction module in Canvas provides a more interactive means of discovering the essentials.

Library help guides

We have created a range of guides, called Libguides, to help you find out more and get to grips with your subject, library or research related skills. You can find all of them on the Libguides homepage.

Each guide includes information on which resources we recommend for your subject, including revision and e-learning resources, and databases, if you are doing complex literature searches. Subject guides also include information on how to reference correctly and who to contact to get further help. A little tip: it’s generally a good idea to email liaison@sgul.ac.uk for help with finding information or referencing.

We also have a range of skills guides, ranging from the basic guide on printing, to more in-depth guides on literature searching, referencing (which includes information on the indispensable Cite Them Right), and on how to use Refworks to manage your references.

E-learning tutorials

On Canvas you can find a range of self-directed library research-based tutorials that you can take at your own pace when you are ready. They each include some videos, explanations and short quizzes so you can test your knowledge as you go along.

Have you ever wondered how to Google like a librarian? Or how to select the best-quality information for your assignments? Give our Finding and Evaluating Information tutorial a go.

If you need to use Harvard referencing in your assignments, you will find our Referencing Essentials tutorial helpful. It covers the basics of referencing, explains what in-text citations and references consist of and guides you through the reference layout of the most commonly used resources.

Once you have completed the tutorial, why don’t you take our referencing quiz to see how well you can apply Harvard referencing? A little tip: you might find our Cite Them Right video helpful to answer the questions.

Liaison Librarians

If you have any questions about finding, managing or referencing information, there is an expert ‘on-call’ librarian available every weekday between 10am-2pm you can talk to in person. All you need to do is let us know at the library helpdesk and we’ll take it from there.

Every subject at St George’s has a specialist librarians, so you are sure to get the support you need for your studies. You can find out who your librarians are on your subject’s libguide.

You can also email us at liaison@sgul.ac.uk if you’d like any help with research, systematic literature searches, finding information in Hunter, referencing or RefWorks. For more in-depth enquiries we can make an appointment with you, either online or in person, depending on availability.

Reading for pleasure collection

Regular breaks from studying and revision are important, which is where our collection of fiction, poetry and popular non-fiction comes in. Not all our books are medical and healthcare-related textbooks. We have a range of books you might expect to find in a public library!

These books are grouped along different themes, you can find all our collections here. There are collections on science bestsellers, Black Lives Matter and Black History Month, fiction by women and women in leadership, health and mental well-being and LGBTQ+ books for example.

The Library also supports the Big Read, an exciting shared reading project. We have all the shortlisted books from previous years, going back to the project’s origins at Kingston University, and of course all the winners, in the library available for you to borrow. You can find the Big Read books listed here.

Academic skills

Last but not least, you might be looking for help with academic skills, such as essay writing, revision skills or note taking. You can find information on these topics and many more on the Study+ page on Canvas.

You can also get one-to-one support by booking an appointment with the Academic Success Team. You need to book via the Study+ page on Canvas. Appointments can be in person or online.

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We hope you find these resources will support you in your assignments, dissertations and learning. Don’t hesitate to email us at liaison@sgul.ac.uk with your questions.

Summer Holiday Library Update

Photo by Kent Pilcher on Unsplash

While summer has very definitely arrived in the last few weeks, we wanted to remind our users that the library and library staff are still here throughout this period to help with any study and information needs you have – whether in person or remotely.

For those staying close to St George’s, the library will be open every day over the summer – from 8am to 11pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 9pm at weekends. (24/7 opening will return on 3rd October.) And as always, library staff will be onsite to help between 8am and 6pm every weekday.

But no matter where you’re spending the summer, our online resources and other services can help you stay on top of your studies when you need to. Read our post below for a few suggestions.

1. Find e-books in Hunter

Forgot to borrow a book from the library before leaving St George’s for the summer? Don’t panic! With over 5000 e-books now in our collection, it’s increasingly likely that you’ll be able to find something relevant in Hunter that you can access from anywhere.

To find and access e-books in Hunter:

1. Choose Books and more in the dropdown menu before searching.
2. Select Online resources from the options on the left to narrow your search results to e-books only.
3. All our e-books have a Full text available link – click here to see access options.

You’ll need your St George’s username and password to access online resources, including e-books. To reset a forgotten or expired password, see below.

Reset your St George’s password…

…using this link. Please note, you’ll need to have registered an alternate email address to use the link. If you haven’t done this previously, email studentlifecentre@sgul.ac.uk to set one up.

If you’ve registered an alternate address but still can’t reset your password, email ITAV@sgul.ac.uk.

2. Discover online learning tools

Your St George’s login also gives you access to our growing collection of online learning tools, many of which use video, quizzes and other features to keep your learning interactive. Below we’ve highlighted one of our newer resources, but you can view a full list here.

St George’s students have full access to JoVE Science Education resources

JoVE Science Education helps you recap topics in basic and advanced biology, chemistry, clinical skills and more through an extensive collection of video lessons. Click here to sign in with your St George’s username and password.

Also included in our subscription is access to JoVE Core, a collection of video textbooks that use animation to teach molecular and cell biology, statistics and more; and JoVE Lab Manuals in biology and chemistry.

3. Study at other university libraries

After a long break, the SCONUL Access Scheme has returned, allowing St George’s students reference access to over 150 university libraries across the UK and Ireland. (Postgraduate students may also get limited borrowing rights at some libraries.)

To start using the scheme, visit the SCONUL Access website where you can register your details and check whether the library you’d like to visit is participating. Within a few days, and provided your library account is in good standing, we’ll send you a confirmation email. Take this email, along with your St George’s ID, to your chosen library to apply for access.

App Review: BNF & BNFc

Name: BNF BNFc

Content producer: BNF Publications

Operating system: iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (iOS 8.0 or later 160mb) and Android (4.0.3 or later 116mb)

Available from: iTunes and Google Play

Tested on: Samsung S7

Price: Free

Type of Information: The BNF and BNFc are the primary sources for information on prescribing and medicines licenced in the UK.

For: The publishers say… “The BNF & BNFC App is aimed at prescribers, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals who need sound, up-to-date information about the use of medicines.”

Main pros:

• Contains all of the content from BNF and BNFC in one app
• Easier to navigate with a more intuitive design and enhanced features around search and interactions checking
• New evidence grading feature

Main cons:

• Takes up much more space than the previous two apps combined
• Loss of some features such as bookmarking

A new BNF and BNFc app launched over the summer is set to replace the old NICE BNF and BNFc apps. With the new app combining BNF and BNFc content into a single app it aims to be faster, easier to use and access than the previous apps which will both be withdrawn later this year, users of the old apps will see a banner notifying them of this nearer the time. NICE are encouraging users of their apps to migrate across to the new app and have announced that as of July 2017 the old apps will no longer be updated[1].

The new BNF and BNFc app comes from BNF Publications, the publishing arm of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society. The app is free to download and, unlike the old apps, is purpose built for iOS and Android. The app features offline browsing and searching so users can use the app in settings where there is no internet or Wi-Fi connections. A connection is only required during the initial download and for updating the content monthly.

Information is organised into six sections: Drugs, Treatment summaries, Medical devices, Interactions checker, Borderline substances and Wound care. Users navigate the sections by accessing the menu icon in the top left hand corner of the screen. To alternate between the two formularies users must access the menu and select the drop down arrow at the top to select the formulary they wish to view. The app will remember the formulary selected, even when the app has been closed, until the user changes it.

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The app opens onto the Drugs browse page, the current formulary selected and the section being viewed is always shown at the top of the screen and the app will briefly display the month and year of the content being viewed at the bottom of the screen.

Drugs information can be found by browsing or searching. Users can browse by drug / medicine name by tapping the relevant letter on the a-z list or can search by name using the magnifying glass at the top to reveal the search bar. The search feature has an autocomplete function with suggestions shown as soon as the user starts typing.

Each record contains the same content found in the print and online versions of the BNF and BNFc, with information arranged under the same headings as the print and online versions. Full range monograph information on dose, interactions, side-effects, and cautions are included, as well as information specific to patient groups or profession-specific prescribing.

Treatment summaries are also included in the app and are arranged by the body system they relate to. However, users can also search for treatment summaries by clicking on the magnifying glass at the top of the screen to access the search bar.

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The interactions checker tool allows users to check interactions for one drug or for two or more drugs. Although, each drug record contains full interactions information the interactions checker tool allows users to discover interactions between different combinations of multiple drugs. This tool can be accessed from the main menu or from within a drug monograph via the three dots.

Some of the features which have not been brought across on this app include the bookmarking option. And while the new app has a fresher, simplier colour-scheme, the different formulary branding colours in the previous apps did make it easier for users to differentiate between the two. The app also takes up more space than the previous two apps combined and the clinical content updates are a bit harder to navigate to, as there are now a couple of menu steps to perform to locate them instead of the What’s New tab on the old app.

However, one new feature not available on the older apps is evidence grading. Evidence grading has been in use in BNF Publications since 2016 to reflect the strength of the recommendation to support clinical decision-making based on the best available evidence. At the moment only a small number of clinical recommendations have evidence grading applied, but the publishers promise that more evidence grading will appear with each monthly update. The evidence grading feature can be switched on or off in the settings part of the main menu.

On the whole the app performs better and is easier to navigate and unlike the NICE apps an OpenAthens account is no longer required for the app to work, although the publishers do make it clear that the app is for NHS users only – for those interested in eligibility please see the T&C Section 14, Definitions: NHS Users. More information can be found at BNF & BNFc App FAQs.

All posts on this blog are subject to the St George’s Library Disclaimer, please take the time to read it carefully.

[1] https://www.nice.org.uk/news/article/new-improved-bnf-and-bnfc-app-launched

App Review: BMJ Best Practice

Name: BMJ Best Practice

Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group

Devices: Smartphones and tablets with Android OS 4.2 or later and iPhones and iPads with iOS version 7.0 or later. We tested this app on an iPad.

Available from: iTunes App Store or Google Play.

Price: Free.

Available to SGUL students and staff only. Details on how to access the full content are included at the end of the post.

Type of information: Point of care, clinical decision making support tool.

For: UK healthcare professionals and healthcare students.

Main Pros: This new version of the app (released in 2017) requires substantially less storage on your device. Content is available offline after the initial download so it can be accessed at any time. Condition summaries contain links to relevant guidelines and papers. Daily content updates and the CME/CPD tracker can help keep you up-to-date in your chosen specialty.

Main Cons: A personal subscription is necessary for those without institutional access. Savings in storage capacity have been made by not including images in the downloaded data – they are now only available when using the app online. Initial search function was quite basic, but this has been addressed in a recent update.

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BMJ Best Practice provides access to reliable information and guidance on hundreds of medical conditions that can be used to support you in clinical decision-making. This companion app to the web version of BMJ Best Practice is designed to be used on the move and after an initial download, content can be accessed when offline, which is particularly convenient if you are unable to connect to Wi-Fi.

This new version of the app will be familiar to anyone who has used it before, with the majority of changes being cosmetic and offering a cleaner, more responsive experience. New users should find the app intuitive and easy to navigate. The home screen offers a simple layout with a central search bar, and the icons at the bottom of the screen allow you to browse by speciality; browse the available calculators or quickly locate information you have recently or commonly referred to.

Condition summaries are broken down into sections and subsections, such as ‘Diagnosis’, ‘Treatment’ and ‘Management’ or you can use the ‘Highlights’ section for a quick summary and overview. This highlights section will also link to related conditions, or to clinical guidelines where appropriate. Each topic has a ‘Last Updated’ date underneath the heading so you can be sure the information is current and you can browse through all of the sections by swiping from right to left, or by using the back button to choose a different section. This is especially helpful in longer, more complex entries.

Where necessary, summaries will contain links to relevant guidelines, resources and articles which will then open in your device’s browser when connected to the internet. You can explore these as you read, or refer to the ‘Resources’ section for the full reference list. Links to the full-text of an article will also appear if the article or study features in a journal that the Library subscribes to.

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Download Instructions (for SGUL staff and students)

[PDF instructions available here]

1. Create a ‘My Best Practice’ personal account on the BMJ Best Practice website (http://bestpractice.bmj.com/) whilst onsite at SGUL, using a computer in the Library Computer Rooms, a Library laptop or a device connected to the St. George’s eduroam WiFi network; or offsite, after logging in via Shibboleth.
   Remember the email address and password used to create the account.
2. Download the app from the iTunes app store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).
3. Launch the app. When asked to log in, use the same email address and password you used to create your My Best Practice account.
   
4. The app content will automatically begin to download. It will take about 5 minutes on a good WiFi connection.

Remember!!
Your subscription must be renewed every six months by logging into your My Best Practice personal account on the BMJ Best Practice website http://bestpractice.bmj.com/ while onsite using a computer in the Library Computer Rooms, a Library laptop or a device connected to the St George’s eduroam WiFi network; or offsite, after logging in via Shibboleth.

If you experience any difficulties in downloading the app, or need any assistance in using it, email us at liaison@sgul.ac.uk

All review of mobile resources are subject to the St George’s Library Disclaimer, please take the time to read it carefully.