What a year 2022 has been!
We are so pleased to show you something that every librarian loves… STATISTICS! Please enjoy St George’s Library in 2022 – in Numbers!
St George’s Library in 2022
liaison librarians
Welcome to St George’s Library 2021
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.
We are here to help you and support you in your studies.
Library help guides
We have 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. They are grouped into subjects related to each course. Under Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, you will find, for example, guides for paramedic science or radiography. Guides for Institute of Medicine and Biomedical Education courses include medicine or biomedical science.
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. In the guide, you can also find 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 and referencing.
We also have a range of skills guides, ranging from the basic (but totally necessary) Library Essentials and printing, to more in-depth guides on literature searching and using 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 (and it is very likely that you do as it is the institutional referencing style), 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
We have a brand-new service this year! There is an expert ‘on-call’ librarian available every weekday between 10am-2pm you can talk to in person about any research or referencing concerns. 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 librarian, in fact librarians, so you are sure to get the specialist support you need for what you are studying. 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. This is an exciting shared reading project, which is now in its third year at St George’s. We have all the shortlisted books from the last 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.
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 you
Easter Holiday Library Update
The Easter holidays are just around the corner, but whether you’re planning to spend the next few weeks close to St George’s or a little further afield, we hope that our online services and support will make you feel that help with your studies is never too far away. Below we’ve put together some quick reminders of just some of the help and resources you can access no matter where you are.
Online books and articles
Our search tool, Hunter, is the best starting point for discovering e-books and journal articles that you can access from anywhere using your St George’s login and password.
- to find articles, select Articles and more from the dropdown menu
- to find e-books, select Books and more from the dropdown menu. Then use the filter options to limit your results to Online Resources.
E-learning tools
Your St George’s login also gives you access to our collection of online learning tools, many of them using video, quizzes and other interactive features to help you master topics. Try out some of our new and popular resources from the links below, or view a full list here.
- *New* Complete Anatomy – a powerful 3D anatomy platform that also features lectures, quizzes and more. Install the app from the app store on your device, then use our activation code to set up your free account.
- LWW Health Library – a large, searchable collection of key texts, videos, cases and self-assessment questions. We have access to all content in the Medical Education and Occupational Therapy collections.
- BMJ Learning – hundreds of accredited and peer-reviewed learning modules.
- JoVE Science Education – video tutorials in biology, chemistry and clinical skills.
Having trouble logging in to view an e-book, article or online resource? Our PDF guide or short video on offsite access may be able to help. Otherwise, email us at journals@sgul.ac.uk and we’ll try to resolve the issue.
Help with writing assignments and referencing
We have a large collection of books that can help with planning and writing assignments, both on the shelves and as e-books – this search in Hunter brings together lots of these titles. (Use the Online Resources filter on the left to show just e-books that you can access straight away). Our Writing for Assessment collection brings together resources on academic writing, study skills and dissertations and much more.
For a refresher on referencing, have a look at the Referencing Essentials unit in the Library Module on Canvas (login required). This includes a helpful guide to using Cite Them Right, the book and website that show you how to reference in the style used at St George’s. You can access the online version of Cite Them Right here.
If you’re working on a longer project or dissertation, you might be thinking about using a reference management tool to help organise your sources. St George’s supports RefWorks, and you can learn more about this web-based software and how use it in our blog post, RefWorks LibGuide or series of RefWorks videos.
Don’t forget your Liaison Librarians can answer any research or referencing enquiries you might have. Get in touch by emailing liaison@sgul.ac.uk or coming to one of our daily online drop-ins.
Easter weekend opening hours
Over the long Easter weekend from 2nd April to 5th April, the library and computer rooms will be open 9am to 9pm. There will be self-service only with security staff on hand. The helpdesk will not be staffed during this time. We will reopen on 6th April at 8 am.
After Easter, we resume normal opening hours, 8am to 11pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm Saturday and Sunday. The helpdesk will be staffed 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Should you have any questions about opening hours or our service, please email library@sgul.ac.uk. Don’t forget to check our website about our current capacity on our Covid-19 response page.
Holiday Library Update
In less unusual times, we know that many of our students would be heading away from SGUL right now to enjoy a few weeks’ holiday; and while it’s easy lately for the days and weeks to blend into one, we hope that everyone does get a chance to take some time off over the coming weeks (even if our entertainment options these days are a little different than in the past).
That said, we know that many of you will also be working to stay on top of your studies. With that in mind, here are three quick reminders of some of the ways your library can help.
1. Access online resources with your SGUL password
Hunter allows you to search a huge collection of online journal articles that you can access with your SGUL login. For tips on finding articles in Hunter, check the Hunter FAQs.
Or browse a list of learning resources – including HSTalks for lecture videos, Cite them Right for referencing help, our most popular online resource BMJ Best Practice, and many more – that can also be accessed with your SGUL login.
Help with offsite access
Our quick video shows you the easiest way to log in to journals and other online resources when you’re offsite. There’s also a PDF helpsheet to guide you through the process.
If you’re having problems logging in to any of our journals or online resources, let us know at journals@sgul.ac.uk. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Resetting your SGUL password
You can reset your SGUL password here, as long as you’ve registered an alternate email address; if you haven’t done this yet, contact the Student Life Centre to set one up.
If you have problems resetting you password, email ITAV@sgul.ac.uk.
2. Explore e-books
There are now over 3000 e-books available in Hunter – so whatever your topic, it’s quite likely there’s an e-book that can help. To find out, search in Hunter for Books and more; then select Online Resources in the filter at the left to see which titles you can access straight away using your SGUL login.
See our short video on finding and accessing e-books in Hunter.
Temporary access to extra e-books
A number of publishers are making their e-book collections freely available during the Covid-19 health crisis – so you may be able to view e-books now that you wouldn’t usually be able to access.
From Monday 13th April you’ll be able to access all of these through Hunter while free access lasts. For now, you can log in to publishers’ websites to see what’s available and start reading. Try:
- E-book Central from Proquest – access to titles from 150 publishers until mid-June
- LWW Health Library – e-books and videos in a range of medical disciplines until 22nd May
- ScienceDirect Textbooks from Elsevier – 256 textbooks available until 10th June
For a full list of these offers – as well as a growing collection of free resources on Covid-19 – check the new list in our Databases A-Z. We’re updating this list as new resources become available.
Borrowed books?
We’ve suspended holds for now, so you won’t be asked to return any books you’ve borrowed until further notice. Books will continue to renew automatically.
3. Get 1-2-1 help from a librarian
The library team may now be working from kitchens, bedrooms, sitting-rooms and a few other places besides – but we’re as committed as always to getting you the information, research and referencing help you need.
We continue to provide 1:1 support for everyone at St George’s. To make an appointment, please email us at liaison@sgul.ac.uk. In these unusual circumstances, we use Microsoft Teams to guide you through the databases and answer any questions you might have.
We are focusing our efforts on developing online material on Canvas and helping you make the most of our e-resources. For any queries or help needed email us at liaison@sgul.ac.uk. We are happy to help!
Libraries Week 2019: Celebrating Liaison Librarians
Libraries Week takes place between 7th – 12th October 2019. This year’s campaign is focused on celebrating the role of libraries in the digital world. Over the course of the week we’ll be introducing you to different teams within the Library and explore how they use technology to support our community.
To round-off this year’s Libraries Week celebrations we’d like to highlight the work of our Library Liaison team and how they can help you connect with the right digital resources at the right time to grow your learning and, ultimately, improve your grades, practice or research.
Meet the team
For each of our distinct user groups – students, academic staff and researchers and NHS practitioners – you will find dedicated Library Liaison staff, available throughout the year to provide specialist help and support with the Library’s resources, in print as well as online.
Your Liaison Librarians for SGUL students, staff and researchers are:
Zena Ali zali@sgul.ac.uk
Beth Jackson eljackso@sgul.ac.uk
Your Liaison Librarians for Faculty of Health and Social Care students, staff and researchers are:
Anna El-Jouzi aejouz@sgul.ac.uk
Anne Binsfeld abinsfel@sgul.ac.uk
Your Liaison Librarians for NHS staff, researchers and placements students are:
Karen John-Pierre kjohn@sgul.ac.uk
Stephen Reid sreid@sgul.ac.uk
The team provides one-to-one support for staff and students and offers innovative, practical teaching sessions for all on a range of topics such as online literature searching for your assignments or evidence-based practice and managing your references.
How do we support our users?
Finding Information
For each course or trust clinical workforce group, Liaison Librarians have developed online Subject Guides curated by the relevant Librarian. These guides outline the key high quality digital resources (think literature search databases, websites, search engines and evidence-based tools) for your bespoke area and are a great launch pad to start your resource exploration.
Liaison Librarians also design and run curriculum-embedded and open information skills courses to help you use these digital tools efficiently and find the best available evidence. Users can also make an appointment to see one of the team or drop in to our Research Enquiries Desk for advice.
Evaluating Information
In this era of fake news and health scams, how do you know you can rely on the information you find online? Liaison Librarians can empower you with useful frameworks to help you be more discerning when looking for academic information for your assignment. Liaison Librarians also know about the best checklists to use to critically appraise the quality of scientific papers and we’re happy to share this knowledge with you during one of our training courses.
Managing Information
To keep information overload at bay and assist you in keeping track of your references, ask your liaison librarian about tools like RefWorks or Mendeley. These tools allow you to create personalised databases of references which can be integrated into Microsoft Word, saving you time when writing up assignments or research manuscripts. They can also introduce you to Cite Them Right, the online bible for formatting citations for a whole host of material ranging from academic journal articles to tweets.
Get connected, get creative and learn new skills
If you want to brush up on your searching or referencing skills, there are plenty of opportunities to get face-to-face help from the Liaison team
Visit the Research Enquiries Desk (RED)
When? Monday to Friday 11am – 2pm (subject to change)
Where? Small, quiet study area towards the rear of the Library
Book on to our Information Skills workshops
See the Training pages of the website for course information and our booking form.
Book 1-2-1s or bespoke group training
By emailing liaison@sgul.ac.uk
Library @ IMBE
Zena Ali runs office hours on the 6th floor of Hunter wing and the 2nd floor of Jenner wing. Upcoming dates include:
Hunter:
Thursday 7th November 1pm – 4pm
Tuesday 3rd December 1pm – 4pm
Jenner:
Thursday 17th Oct 1pm – 4pm
Tuesday 19th Nov 10am – 1pm
Thursday 19th Dec 1pm – 4pm
We hope you’ve find this brief introduction into the range of work and support our liaison team carry out informative and inspiring. To find out more, visit our new website where you will find audience-focused pages that highlight what’s on offer for students, teaching staff, researchers and NHS staff, as well as contact details for your Liaison Librarian.
Event: Pop Up Library Wednesday 19 Feb 12-2pm in the Social Learning Space
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