See you in Swansea! Welcome to School of Management students arriving in September

Croeso! That’s ‘welcome’ in Welsh. Congratulations if you are one of the new students who will be joining us in Swansea University next month. Well done! There will be lots to think about when you arrive, including finding out about the resources and services at the library. You’ll attend a library induction in Welcome Week, but here’s some useful information to get you started:

Library Guides

Our Library Guide for School of Management students is available online. It includes all the top resources for your subject as well as guides and information. (You’ll have to wait until you’re enrolled to access the resources, but everything else is free to view now.) See our Getting Started page to help you find your way round.

Your subject team

We are your librarians – Naomi, Philippa, Giles and Allison. We’re here to help you succeed in your studies! We can help you to find the information you need for your assignments and can offer advice on referencing. If you have any questions, you can email us at buslib@swansea.ac.uk. We’re looking forward to meeting you!

Clockwise: Naomi Prady, Philippa Price, Giles LLoyd-Brown and Allison Jones – your School of Management librarians

LinkedIn

If you’re on LinkedIn, you can follow us for news and updates.

See you in Swansea!

Bay Library – your questions answered

Last week, we held some library induction sessions for School of Management students. Thanks to all of you who turned up –it was good to meet you! Thanks too to those of you who asked us questions via Slido, and to those who took part in the polls when we asked you questions. Click on the image below to see the interaction statistics for the week’s sessions.

The stats also show the most popular questions which were asked last week, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to answer these again on the blog for anyone who missed it last week. Here they are:

• If I fall asleep in the library will you kick me out?

If you fall asleep in the library, a member of staff will wake you up and suggest you go home to get some rest if you can’t stay awake! Bay Library is open 24/7, but the library space is for studying, reading and relaxing, not for catching up on your sleep, please.

• I like Harry Potter, are there any Harry Potter books?

We do have some Harry Potter books, but they’re written in German! (They’re for the language students at Singleton Park Campus.) Singleton Park Library does have a range of fiction that you might like to read, and Bay Library has a Book Swap in the self-service café that we encourage you to use, but for a bigger range of fiction which does include the Harry Potter books, why not join Swansea public libraries?

• Big up Giles

A shout out here to one of our subject librarians, Giles Lloyd-Brown! You can find contact details for Giles and the rest of the team on the front page of our Library Guide for School of Management.

• Can you bring takeaways in the library?

You can, but please eat them in the self-service café area. Drinks and cold food are allowed in the main study areas of the library, but please take hot food to the café.

• Will I get a follow back on Twitter?

Maybe! You can follow the School of Management library account at @SUBusLib.

If you missed your library induction last week, you’ll find the presentation, handout and a lecture recording on the New Students tab of our Library Guide. If you have any questions at any time, please come to the library or email us at buslib@swansea.ac.uk.

Click the image to see more stats from the library inductions

Bay Library: your questions answered

Here’s the last in our short series covering the questions you asked in your library induction sessions. If you’re still not sure about something, please remember we welcome your questions all year round! You can go to the Information Desk in the library for help or you can email your subject librarians at buslib@swansea.ac.uk. We also have lots of guides and information available online. If you’d like to arrange to meet a librarian for some one-to-one help, there are a number of ways to do that.

Does the introduction presentation exist online?

Yes! You can find a copy of the Introduction to Bay library presentation and other useful information in the New Students section of our School of Management library guide.

What reference style do I use?

The School of Management uses the APA referencing style. You’ll find guides to using APA in our School of Management library guide. There are paper copies of the guides available in Bay Library.

Is there an EndNote style referencing app that is recommended?

EndNote is a tool which can help you to collect and manage citation information for your research. You can also use it to easily insert references and citations into your Word documents. There are other similar tools available, but EndNote is the one which we support at Swansea University.

You can find more information about managing your references in the Tackling your Assignment section of the School of Management library guide, including a short guide to using the in-built referencing tool in Microsoft Word. This tool is less sophisticated than EndNote, but may meet your needs in the early stages of your degree.

What time does the library close?

Almost never! Bay Library and Singleton Park Library are open 24 hours a day, 362 days a year. We are closed 25^th December, 26^th December and 1^st January. For opening hours of South Wales Miners’ Library (at Hendrefoelan Student Village) and opening hours of Information Desks at Bay and Singleton Park, please check our website.

Can we have food or drink in the library?

You can eat and drink (non-alcoholic!) in the library, but we ask that if you have hot food, please eat it in the self-service café. There is no food allowed in the Group Pod.

Are there any fiction books in the library?

The collection at Bay Library is focused on supporting the School of Management and the College of Engineering, so you won’t find any fiction books on our main shelves. You will find novels and other works of fiction at Singleton Park Library. The fiction stock is there mainly to assist our literature students in their studies, but the books can be borrowed by any Swansea University student. You can either visit Singleton Park Library to browse and borrow books, or look for a book on iFind and Request that it’s sent to Bay for you to borrow.

We have a Book Swap at Bay Library. The rules are simple – just pick a book you’d like to read and donate one in return! These books are not part of library stock, so there is no need to issue them to your card. Browse the selection and help yourself!

For a wider selection of fiction books, you may want to join Swansea public libraries while you’re a student here. It’s free! Swansea Central Library is easily accessible from Bay Campus on the 8X bus and there are many branch libraries throughout the Swansea area. The Swansea council website has information about joining the library as well as contact details and an address for each library.

The Book Swap at Bay Library

Bay Library: more of your questions

In a follow up to our blog on Monday, here are a few questions you’ve been asking about borrowing books.

How long can you borrow books for?

Loan periods vary depending on how popular we think a book will be. A normal loan period is two weeks, but you will also see books which are issued for one week or even one day at a time. Books which are very much in demand may be for reference use only so you won’t be able to borrow them, but you can use them in the library.

Your books will usually be renewed for you automatically. Your books won’t be renewed if someone else has requested them. We will email you to tell you if you need to return a book so that someone else can borrow it. Remember to check your student email regularly as you may be fined if we ask you to return a book and you bring it back late.

There is more information about loan periods and automatic renewals on our website.

Can you check if your book has been renewed online?

Yes you can! You can check how many books you have on loan and look at the latest due dates by signing in to iFind and checking My Account (you’ll find these options at the top right of the iFind screen). You can also renew your books yourself on iFind, as long as no one else has requested them.

Why are some books only one night loan?

When a book is in high demand, we may have some copies which are restricted to a one night loan. This allows more people to borrow the book that they need.

Please note, books which are on a one night loan will not be renewed automatically so you will need to return them to the library the day after you borrow them.

How much are the fines?

Fines vary depending on the loan category of the book – the shorter the loan category, the higher the fine! Book fines range from 20p per day to £1.50 per day. You’ll find full details about fines and overdue loans on our website.

Can you request a specific book to be ordered in? / What do I do if the library doesn’t have the book I want?

Please let us know if you can’t find the book you need. Ask at the Information Desk, email us at buslib@swansea.ac.uk or you’ll find a link to Suggest a Book on our School of Management library guide.

Is there any way to get books sent to HSV (Hendrefoelan Student Village) library?

Yes. There’s a van service that operates Monday-Friday between Bay Library, Singleton Park Library and South Wales Miners’ Library (which is the library at Hendrefoelan Student Village). Sign in to iFind and click the Library link under the details for the book you want. This will show you a Request option which lets you reserve books which are out on loan and ask for books to be sent to a different library for collection. As Swansea University students, you can borrow from any of the three libraries, though most of the material you need will be here at Bay Library.

When you’re ready to return your books, you can return them to Bay Library, Singleton Park Library or South Wales Miners’ Library. We’ll make sure they get back to the right place!

The Request option appears under the book details when you sign in to iFind

 

Bay Library: the questions you asked

You’ve survived your first week of lectures and we hope you are settling into life at Swansea University. There may be a few things you are still unsure about, though. Those of you who came to a library induction during Welcome Week had a chance to ask us questions online using an app called Sli.do. We asked you a few questions about the library too. Thank you to all those who took part. Here are our answers to your most common questions about the library:-

What time do other Library services such as the café close?

The café in the library is self-service, so it’s open when the library is – 24 hours a day, 362 days a year (we close on the 25^th December, 26^th December and 1^st January). There are vending machines selling Starbucks coffee and snacks in the café. You can also bring your own food to eat there.

Can you play music through headphones in the silent study rooms at a reasonable volume?

Yes that’s fine, but make sure no one else can hear your music! If you do notice someone making a noise in one of the silent study rooms, let a member of staff know so that we can ask them to be quiet (we won’t say that you told us!).

Are there any restrictions on what websites you can access on the library computers? Using YouTube for example.

You are responsible adults, so we don’t generally restrict access to websites on library computers. You can access YouTube and similar sites.

If you only have the book for one night, are you allowed to photocopy important pages to keep?

Yes, that’s a very good idea. Remember though, copyright regulations mean that you are only allowed to photocopy up to one chapter or 5% of a book (whichever is greater).

Can you guys help with getting emails to come through to your phone?

If you have any questions about your email, connecting to Wi-Fi or other IT queries, please ask our staff at the Information Desk in the library, if they can’t help, they’ll try to find someone who can!

Those were some of the most popular questions from the induction sessions, but there were lots of others too. We’ll look at those later this week, so watch this space!

Click the picture to see poll results from the library inductions. How did you do?

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management

We’d like to introduce you to one of our newer resources – The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. This online encyclopaedia brings together over 700 individually commissioned entries and a further 85 signposts, written by leading academics and practitioners. The entries define and explain theories and concepts in the field of strategic management, including general management, leadership and organizational behaviour.

You can use the encyclopedia to create a list of topics for your revision and you’re able to bookmark any articles that might be of interest.

There are a number of ways to navigate around the encyclopaedia:

• Search by keyword, title or author
• Browse an A-Z list of entries
• Browse by themes

You can access the encyclopedia on campus by navigating to http://www.palgraveconnect.com/esm

You can access the encyclopedia off campus by searching iFind.swan.ac.uk and log in, when prompted, with your Swansea University username and password.

If you’d like more information you can access a guide to using the encyclopaedia here.

 

Beyond Books: Loanable Laptops available at the Bay

Do you know that you can check out more than books at the Bay Library? We also have laptops available for you to borrow.

We have 50 laptops which you can take out of the library for up to two weeks. These laptops are available for you to borrow at any time from the library desk.

We also have 30 laptops that can be accessed from our self-service machine and these can be used within the library, for as long as the battery lasts.

These laptops are available for you to borrow between 8am and 8pm. The self-service machine will display how many laptops are currently available.

Once you have finished using the laptop you can simply return it to the self-service machine, which will indicate the correct door to return it to.

Don’t forget to bring your student card with you, as you’ll need it to borrow laptops from the library.

What do I do next? Finding careers advice in Bay Library

My name is Gareth Smith and I am a part-time Senior Service Advisor at the Bay Library. I’ve previously worked at the Miners’ Library and the LIC at Singleton Campus. I’m excited about working in a brand new library on a brand new campus and all the challenges and experiences that will arise as a result of that. I’m also looking forward to the great view that we will have (for our three annual days of sunshine).

I’ve chosen Careers to feature in this blog because it’s something that both new and returning students will need to familiarise themselves with in the Bay Library to make sure that they’re making the most of the library’s career services.

Though new students will likely not want to be thinking about future careers yet, second and third year students might want to consult the literature we hold on the topic in the library. It’s located directly in front of the study well in the central area and contains books such as The Graduate Jobs Formula: How to Land Your Dream Career, Put Your Mindset to Work and (bizarrely) What Color is Your Parachute?. As well as these, there is a wealth of bilingual information sheets offering advice and guidance on CV writing, completing job applications and looking for part-time work. You’ll also find lots of information and advice on the Careers and Employability Service web pages.

If you have a more complicated query or would like to discuss your career prospects, bookings with a career advisor can be made either online or at the Library Desk. (The link to booking an appointment can be found under the ‘Careers’ tab of your MyUni page, or follow this link: https://myuni.swan.ac.uk/careers/). It’s particularly helpful for you to state your specific reasons for wanting the appointment during the booking process, as this helps the advisor tailor the session to your needs and ensure it is valuable and relevant.

Appointments can be made either on the day you book or on the following day, between the hours of 09.00 and 16.00. The Career Advisor at the Bay Library, Gareth Hill, will be here for appointments on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The sessions normally last half an hour and will be conducted in one of our interview rooms. These are located in the North Wing of the building and are signposted outside. Gareth will also be running drop-in sessions on Wednesdays between 14.00 and 16.00 for general queries with no appointment necessary.

Visiting the Bay Library

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.

Password security

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.

Keep secure. Stay safe.