Hello, my name is Julie and I’m a part time Service Advisor working at brand new Bay Library at the Swansea University Bay Campus. Prior to this, I worked at Swansea Central Public Library for 8 years.
If you are visiting The Bay Library for the first time, or have been in, but are still unsure where everything is, then don’t hesitate to ask myself or any member of staff to give you a tour.
We have a handy refreshments area where you can get a Starbucks takeaway hot drink, or a cold drink and snacks if you are feeling peckish or thirsty. Just remember, no hot food to be consumed in the library itself.
If you’ve forgotten your USB stick or earphones you can purchase spares from the library desk. We have 8GB USBs for £5, 16Gbs USBs for £10 and earphones available for £4.
Don’t forget as a Swansea University student you can download free copies of Microsoft Office on to your own PCs or mobile devices. You can get a full version of Office ProPlus for the PC or Apple Mac. App versions are also available from the Apple App Store or Google Play store for mobile devices. Click here to download Microsoft Office.
So, don’t be shy, come and have a look around and get an overview of this great facility at the new Bay Campus Library.
Felicity, one of our Service Advisors at the Bay Library, has written this post which answers some common questions about borrowing, renewing and requesting items from Swansea University libraries.
How many books can I borrow and for how long?
Undergraduate students can borrow 15 books at a time, and postgraduate students can borrow 30 at a time. The length of the loan depends on the book. Normal loan books can be borrowed for 2 weeks by undergraduates and 12 weeks by postgraduates. One week loan books can be borrowed for – you guessed it! – one week by both undergraduates and postgraduates. Short loan books can be borrowed for one night by both undergraduates and postgraduates. One week loans are indicated by a red dot on the spine of the book, and short loans are indicated by a blue dot.
How do I renew my loans?
Loans will automatically renew three times at the end of the item’s loan period, unless the book has been requested by someone else. For example, after the initial two weeks, a normal undergraduate loan will renew 3 times to give a further six week loan period in total. Whenever a book is automatically renewed you will be sent an email to let you know the new due date.
If you need to renew your books again after the third automatic renewal, you will need to contact us, either by visiting the Bay Library’s service desk, or by phoning the Bay Library on (01792) 604066. As long as no one else has requested the books, they can be re-issued to you.
Do I have to pay fines if my books are late back?
Yes – if a book becomes overdue it will start to accumulate fines. The amount is based on the type of loan – normal loans incur fines at 20p per day, one week loans at 50p per day, journals at £1.00 per day and short loans at £1.50 per day. While a book is overdue, fines accumulate until they reach a maximum of £10.00 per book for short loans, and £5.00 per book for other loans.
Checking your library account regularly will let you know if any of your loans have been requested by someone else and need to be returned, and will help you keep track of your automatic renewals. You will also receive Overdue Notices by email to remind you of any books that have become overdue.
How do I borrow a book in the middle of the night?
The Bay Library is open 24 hours per day, and books can be borrowed at any time of day or night. If you would like to borrow a book at a time when the library isn’t staffed, you can do so by using the self-issue machines, which are located opposite the service desk.
I’d like to borrow a book which is at another Swansea University library. Will I have to go there to collect it?
In addition to browsing the library’s collections and searching for specific books, iFind allows you to request books you may be interested in. You can request books from any library, and you can choose the most convenient library for you to collect your book from. You can also request items that are on loan to others or ‘unavailable’.
You may be wondering what some of the statuses mean when using iFind. Here’s a quick users’ guide:
‘Item in place’ means that the book is on the shelf and available for you to use
‘On loan until…’ means the out is currently out on loan but expected back on the displayed date
‘On hold shelf until…’ the item has been requested by someone else and is reserved for them behind the library desk
‘Lost since…’ item is missing and not available
Here is a short animation that explains how you can request items via iFind.
You will get an email as soon as the item is available for you. The book will be put behind for you to collect from your chosen library. This is really handy if you are after a core book which everyone needs, or if you are living and studying at Bay Campus and want to use books from the South Wales Miner’s Library or at Singleton Park or vice versa. Books can be requested and returned to any University library and you’re able to visit and use any library you wish.
If you would prefer to go to the other library to collect it there yourself, then of course that is possible too. You can also feel free to return books you have borrowed from other Swansea University libraries to the Bay Library, and vice versa.
Hi Bay Library users, I’m Grant and I work here as a Service Adviser on the Library desk at the Bay. Previously I worked for IT Support at Aberystwyth University. Here are some top tips regarding the security of your university password:
Go to https://mypassword.swan.ac.uk to change your password from the default password you were given at the beginning of your SU studies.
Make your password more than 10 characters long. The longer the better.
Use higher and lower case letters.
Use at least, 2 numbers and 1 special character ($%*&) in your password.
Use different passwords for different systems.
Change your passwords every now and again.
Never share your password with anyone – not even a member of Library and IT staff.
It’s that time of year when most of you have fast-approaching deadlines for your assignments and you may be worrying about your assignment reference list.
The School of Management Library support team will be in the SoM Building (Reception area on the Ground floor) at the following times over the next three weeks:
Wednesday, Nov 18th, 12.00-2pm;
Friday 20th Nov, 12-2pm;
Tuesday 24th Nov, 12-2pm .;
Thursday 26th Nov; 12-2pm;
Monday 30th Nov, 12-2pm;
Tuesday 1st Dec, 12-2pm.
No need to book a place. Just turn up and ask us about your APA style referencing queries.
Hello. I’m Alyson and I am a Senior Service Advisor here at the Bay Library. I was previously working at the Singleton campus Library on the IT service desk for over 10 years. I am really pleased to have been given the chance to work at this fantastic new Campus.
My blog this time features a range of IT questions and answers that new students usually ask regarding printing, photocopying and scanning. We have leaflets with instructions on how to do all the following points at the service desk.
How do I register my card to print, photocopy and scan?
You will need to register your card on the printing/photocopying/scanning machine. To do this just scan your card on any printer, enter your student number, enter your Swansea University password and make up a 4 digit pin number. From then on when you want to print, photocopy or scan you just need to scan your card and enter your pin number.
How do I put credit on my card?
Students at the Bay Campus will need to come to the service desk for now, pay cash over the counter and the staff will add the credit to your student card. Hopefully in the future there will be a self-service card revaluer installed. We will update you on that as soon as we have more information.
How do I print?
Log on to a pc in the library and upload your document. Click print and choose the mono printing or colour printing. You can collect your print from any printing/photocopying/scanning machine in the library.
Prints are automatically set for double side printing – if you want to change this please do this in the print options on the PC before you send to the printer.
How do I print from my own device (mobile/laptop/tablet)?
Go to this web page: http://print.swan.ac.uk and login in as normal. Upload the file you want to print and send. Collect at any printing/photocopying/scanning machine.
Prints will only stay in the queue for 2 hours. If you haven’t collected them by then you will need to upload and send to the printer again.
How do I photocopy?
Go to the printing/photocopying/scanning machine and swipe your ID card & enter your PIN. Select Copy from the function menu. A standard photocopying interface will appear – if you want your photocopying to be in colour use the colour button to see a full menu copy screen. Press the big blue button to start the photocopying.
How do I scan?
Go to the printing/photocopying/scanning machine and swipe your ID card & enter your PIN. Select XPR Scan from the function menu. You will then be given two options: Scan to folder & Scan to e-mail.
Selecting Scan to Folder will store the scanned document in your P: drive on the network.
Select Scan to Email and you will receive the scanned document as an email attachment in your inbox.
Once you make your selection press the big blue button to start scanning.
Hello, my name is Rob and I am a Service Advisor down at the Bay Library. I’m going to tell you about the study space available for you here in the library.
We are open 24 hours a day, so you can come in at any time. If you are an early riser and want to study at 5.30 in the morning you can. Similarly, if you are a nocturnal creature you could come in at midnight and study until dawn. The choice is yours!
Choice is important to us here in The Bay Library – we want you to use the library in a way that suits you. We have a range of study spaces available – whether you are part of a study group or you prefer the solace of your own company, we should have a place to suit you. If the central area gets a bit too lively, we have more peaceful silent study rooms in the North Wing. We also have a bookable pod (a small enclosed space with separate lighting and air conditioning controls!) for group work. It looks a bit like it might take off and shoot into orbit. If you are an engineering student, you are welcome to try and make that happen, but only if I can have a go in your flight simulator! (Disclaimer: This is a joke! Please don’t attach rockets to anything in the library.)
We have two open access PC rooms in the library, as well as extra PCs in the central area which we installed recently to help meet demand. Screens are touchscreen enabled, and are all connected to our scanner/printers. You can also bring your own laptop or device into the library. We have lots of power sockets available round the Bay Library, so you should always be able to find a plug or a USB point when you need one!
If you are having trouble with your computer or your tablet we can help you with any basic IT enquiry. We also provide information sheets to help you connect to the internet, login to our systems and help you use our printing facilities.
You can ask us ANY question and we will do our very best to help you.
Remember, always bring your student card with you or you may not have access to all of our services!
Have you ever wondered how you can make the most of Twitter to support your professional development and research? Join us for 5 Days of Twitter next week (16th-20th November) when we’ll look at developing your network in bitesize chunks. Find out more and follow the link to sign up on the ISS News blog. Join the conversation with #SU5dot!
Image courtesy of Master isolated images at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
If you’ve just started at Swansea University, or just started back for a new year, Welcome! My name is Abigail, formerly a public librarian in Ceredigion, now a happy member of the Bay Library team. I’m new to Swansea myself and I know from experience it takes some time to settle in. There are lots of changes and new things to see at Bay Campus but the best place to start your online exploring is My Uni Hub. From this page you’ll be able to sign into a whole host of Swansea University services including your email, Blackboard and, most importantly to us at the Bay Library, IFind, the library catalogue.
IFind is your key to getting the most from the wealth of library and information resources offered by Swansea University. IFind enables you to search and browse the University’s research and resources. You can request and reserve a book or journal from any of our University libraries, access online ebooks and journals and browse the lists of other research and information sources available. IFind is also your key to managing your library account, preventing unwanted library fines, keeping track of the resources you have borrowed, renewing and reserving items you wish to use. Just visit the link via My Uni Hub or login to IFind and discover a world of information.
Down at Bay Library we have a whole host of Business and Management and Engineering resources on our shelves and ready for you to use. We are a specialist library for these subject areas however, as with all Swansea University Libraries, you are able to request any title held at any of our University libraries at Swansea using IFind and collect it from us at Bay. You can also return loans from other Swansea University libraries to us and we will send it safely back to its home.
We also have very friendly and welcoming staff who are here to help you get what you what however we can. Email the Bay Library team your questions and queries. Contact your subject librarians for specialist help and advice (School of Management and Engineeering). The library is staffed from 8am to 12pm. If you prefer to serve yourself, the library building is open 24hrs a day and self-issue and return machines are able to let you loan and return books any time you wish.
It’s really a special place to work and visit so do come and say hello.
Hi, my name is Emma and I am a Service Advisor at the Bay Library. This blog today features a quick guide to journal articles, addressing a few frequently asked questions.
All the journals that the University subscribe to are indexed in iFind.
The A-Z Journals section allows you to quickly check if we have a journal if you know the title of the journal. The Books & more search option allows you to search for Journals on a particular subject. Simply enter a keyword (don’t be too specific) and then refine your search results to Resource Type – Journals. The results will include journals that we have in print in our libraries and/or online access. Most business, economics and management journals that we subscribe to are available online.
The Articles & more search will find journal articles. If you are looking for a specific journal article search for the title of the article. If you are looking for articles on a topic search using keywords. You will be able to get online access to all of the articles that you find here.
Searching Everything in iFind will retrieve results including journals and journal articles.
Nearly all journals can be accessed at home, away from campus. Your username and password will be the same as your University login and if you follow the links from ifind you should automatically be directed to a Swansea University login box.
If you wish to loan a book or journal article that the library does not have access to, you have the option of requesting it from another institution. This is called an inter-library loan which will be conducted via Document Supply. Please see the Document Supply website for more information, including a request form.
Inter-library loans are available to all registered staff and students and each request will incur a charge which may be paid by the department or the individual. In cases where requests will be paid by the department, authorisation will be needed by a member of academic staff before the request can be submitted. Alternatively, for all personal payments of inter-library loans, a charge will be added to your library account when the item arrives
Have you used our Mintel databases yet – Mintel Oxygen and Mintel Market Sizes? They’re a great place to go for consumer and market research data (the sort of data that could cost you £100s if you tried to find it through Google or another internet search engine!). Find out more about our subscriptions in our blog post from earlier this year.
Mintel has recently introduced a Student Starter Pack to help you understand how you can use Mintel and what sort of information you can find on there. (Did you know just 18% of UK ice cream consumers eat handheld ice cream every week? Or that 87% of joggers run alone? Mintel knows and the information is there waiting to be discovered!) They’ve also produced a short guide called 5 Steps to Perfecting your Business Plan, which could be very useful for those of you with business plan assignments due this month! It gives you an overview of the information you’re likely to need in your business plan, and how Mintel can help you find it.
Remember, we also have guides on Blackboard which will help you to find market research reports and data. If you have any questions please get in touch at buslib@swansea.ac.uk.
brand new Bay Library at the Swansea University Bay Campus. Prior to this, I worked at Swansea Central Public Library for 8 years.
niversity password:
Searching Everything in 
Swansea University Library Blog for the School of Management 