This week, we turn our attention to the Library and the services it offers. This will help you with your studies at Queen’s. And this builds upon lasts weeks blog post on Queen’s Online and Intranet Services were we highlighted Academic & Student Affairs and Information Services.
Let’s get started!
Library Services
To start, the first part of this blog will concentrate on the libraries in general, i.e., how to access and general information.
Library Services can be accessed via Queen’s Online and on the external QUB site. Either way, the services offered are the same. There are many library services and subject librarians. For a full list of subject librarians, check out the Subject Guides page. This is for the whole of the university and every discipline of study.
You can access your Library account from Queen’s Online as well as via the Library web portal. This allows you to be informed of what materials you have on loan, return dates, fines, etc.
Should you want to study in the library, please do refer to this article about key information about studying in the library this year (published 23rd September 2021).
What services does the library provide?
There’s a Library Quickstart guide should you need to know anything about the Resources and Services available. An FAQs page is also available and this is a good place to start as previous questions and answers may be listed which could save you time.
You will also see notices of wearing masks and other guidance. Do keep an eye out for ‘library occupancy‘ (McClay) links as you’ll get a real-time update of how many people are currently in the library, as seen below:
The McClay library has a video tour you can avail of, just in case you don’t get to make it there in person and there will also be library opening times if you want to go to the library. Just a side note, the IT Helpdesk is in the McClay Library.
Besides the Quickstart and Video tour, you might be interested in searching the Library Catalogue. This can be done from the Library’s main web page. The same screen allows you to search through Articles and Manuscripts/Archives.
Whatever topic you search for, the library database will detail whether it’s a physical book/journal or available online as an electronic resource, i.e., ebook. As long as you’re signed in with your QUB credentials, you can access the library services and electronic resources from any computer on or off campus.
Other services
And the library isn’t just about books and reading resources. Other services it offers include:
Other borrowing services include:
As new and returning students to Queen’s, it’s always helpful to know what training opportunities are available via the library. To help you out, we thought we’d give you the link to library training. There is training for using different types of databases, citing and referencing, reference management, info on e-thesis, EndNote, Mendelay / Zotero / Qigga, Copyright.
Getting in touch
Sometimes you might have to get in touch with the library. There are a number of communication services available:
Here’s an overview of these communications:
- Library Chat – This service gives you instant assistance and allows you to talk to a member of staff via the Library Chat.
- Library Help – This is the FAQ page we alluded to previously.
- Email Enquiry Service – You will find all contact details on this page for different aspects of library services.
- Social Media and Library News – Keep informed of Library news on our social media accounts.
Did you know there is more than one library at Queen’s? Well, in case you didn’t, we’ve provided a list of different libraries below:
- McClay Library (Main Campus)
- Special Collections and Archives (McClay Library, 1st Floor)
- Medical Library @ Mulhouse (Royal Victoria Hospital)
- Biomedical Library @ MBC (Lisburn Road)
- AFBI Library (Newforge, Stormont, Hillsborough & Loughgall)
So let’s take a look at Healthcare as a library resource.
The Library and Healthcare
As medicine and healthcare are offered at Queen’s, we have the Healthcare Library with Specialist Librarians. If you’re on a medical, dental, nursing, pharmacological, biomedical programme of study, you can contact the right librarian for your discipline. There’s also a specialist training calendar for Healthcare and online tutorials.
If you don’t have access to the Healthcare Library but would like to join, you can find information here: Healthcare Library @ QUB
Searching for clinical and scientific literature can be hard. However, the library has it covered and you can have a look through the following resources:
- sources of good-quality clinical and scientific literature
- search tips
- open access journals
- PubMED
- guidelines and Cochrane reviews
- Google Scholar
- Wikipedia, and
- other useful information
There’s also a number of healthcare databases available for you to search through. Here’s the Healthcare Library Databases A-Z link.
Awareness Bulletins
The Healthcare Library issues awareness bulletins to keep those working / studying in medical and healthcare areas up to date with the latest information. The QUB Medical Education and Centre of Public Health also issue Awareness Bulletins. Do check the bulletins out on a regular basis. Bookmark these pages.
Introducing the Library at Queen’s (MDBS)
Our subject librarian for Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences (MDBS) has produced a number of recordings. Here, you will find the Introduction to the library for MDBS students:
And you will find many other recordings you will find helpful here: Training Videos
We hope you find this weeks blog useful. If you have any library queries, do get in touch with the library and/or subject librarian who will only be too happy to help.
Next time
Next week, we will look more Intranet options on Queen’s Online, this will be the Learning Development Service (LDS).
Remember, the DigiKnow blog posts are released at noon on a Monday.
Please do join us then to learn more and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: @MDBSelearn.
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