Information services student guide

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Student Guide to Information Services 2013/14


TO WELCOME INFORMATION SERVICES As the providers of Library and IT facilities for the University, we make sure the resources you need are easily accessible and readily available. We support learning, teaching and research across the University, providing a vast range of IT equipment and e-learning technologies. We provide subject support, teach academic skills and can help you to get the most out of your University experience. 24 hour help and support is available to you on and off campus, so whether you choose to study in one of our newly refurbished libraries offering a range of study zones from pods and booths to comfy leather sofas, or tap in to the huge array of academic resources from your student digs and beyond, you can be assured that you will receive the help you need, when you need it www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/infoservices

OPENING

TIMES

We have two dedicated IT centres, Brindley IT Centre in Stoke and the Octagon in Stafford. In addition to this, there are IT labs in Lichfield, the Cadman building and computing facilities in all four libraries. Thompson and Law are located in Stoke, Nelson library in Stafford and the Shrewsbury Health Library within the grounds of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. Opening times vary from site to site. During core times in the academic calendar, the Thompson and Nelson Libraries are open 24 hours a day. You must have your Student ID card with you to enter the building during Self Service opening (Out of hours Access Card required for Shrewsbury). For a full list of opening times visit http://www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/infoservices/library/opening_hours


Contents

Academic Skills Tutors 14 AirNet-student (WiFi) 7 ASK (Academic Skills Know-how team) 14 Assignment Survival Kit 14 Binding and laminating 12 Blogs 15 Borrowing 10-11 Computing facilities 5-7 Contact us 15 Copyright Guidelines 12 Disabled students – accessibility 15 Distance learners 11 Document Delivery 11 Email including synching Uni email to mobile device 7 Facebook 15 Getting started 4 Gig guide 4 H: drive 7 Help 15 Infozone 4 Internet 7 IT facilities 5-7 LibGuides 14 Library account 10-11 Library catalogue (Koha) 10-11 Library collections 9-10 Library facilities 8-14 Logging on 5 MyPortal 7 Network unavailability 6 Off campus facilities 11 Opening times 2 Policies and regulations 5 Printing, copying, scanning (MFPs) 12 RefZone 14 Residential Network 7 Returns, renewals, reserving 10-11 Saving your work 7 Scheduled IT maintenance 6 Self service 11 Service Desks 6,15 Skills space 14 Software 6 Staffordshire Graduate ePortfolio 14 Student ID card 5 Study space and zoning 13 Summon 10-11 Usernames and passwords 5 Wireless network (Airnet-student) 7 Workshops and tutorials 4, 6, 14


GETTING STARTED Meet and Greet team The first couple of weeks of term are pretty hectic, so to help you adjust, we have a Meet and Greet team available to answer any questions and guide you around the facilities. Look out for them roving the building; they’ll be wearing ‘Need help? Just ask’ badges. Gig Guide

What can you learn in 20 minutes? Drop-in to one of the Gig Guide sessions at Stoke or Stafford and find out. http://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/askevents

Infozone

The Infozone pages act as a signpost to essential information about library and IT services and resources and include video podcasts on how to use them. They’ll give you a head start and will be a good source of reference for you to refer to throughout your studies. http://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/infozone2013

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ITFACILITIES Logging on When you log on for the first time, a prompt box will appear with a link to the IS Policies and Regulations. Please take time to read them as it is your responsibility to ensure that you understand and accept to abide by them before logging on. www.staffs.ac.uk/infoservices/regulations You will need your username and password to log on to a University PC. Your Student ID card provides all the information you need. We’ve included some information below about how your username is worked out and how to change your password. Your username is the same for your Athens account.

Forgot your password? You can reset your password should you forget it in the future. Staff at the IT Help Desk can assist with this or you can register online for the self service password reset service at www.staffs.ac.uk/ passwordreset IT Help Desk tel. 01785 35 3700

Computing facilities All IS buildings have IT facilities providing PCs and Macs with free Internet and Email access throughout all our libraries and IT Centres, containing a range of software to help you with your studies.

Stafford campus • Beacon Building entrance • Octagon Building ground floor

Username

• Nelson Library throughout the building

The format for your student username is worked out as follows:

Stoke campus

• First letter of your surname or family name • Followed by the last six digits of your student number • Followed by the year of entry letter (‘d’ for 2013 students) For example, John Smith will have username s000001d and e-mail address s000001d@student. staffs.ac.uk

Password Your initial password is your date of birth e.g. DDMMYY. If using your date of birth doesn’t work, try 999999. Remember to change your password after you’ve logged on.

Changing your password

• Brindley – PCs on the first floor (above the Food Court) rooms B108, B112, B116, B122, B124 •C adman – PCs on the first floor in rooms C101, D103, D105 • Law Library – PCs on the ground and first floor •T hompson – PCs and Macs on the ground and first floor

Shrewsbury campus • IT Drop in Centre • IT Training Room • PCs in Library open area

Lichfield • ECR3 media drop in room – PCs and Macs

Your password must be at least six characters long. A combination of numbers and

• ECR4 – 23 including 1 lecturer PC

letters will make your password more secure.

• ECR7 – 21 including 1 lecturer PC

• Press Ctrl, Alt and Delete simultaneously

• C17 open access – currently 6

• Select ‘change password’

• B112 – currently 4

• Follow the on screen instructions

www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/infoservices/it/ student_pcs/index.jsp

• Select ‘OK’

• ECR6 – 19 including 1 lecturer PC

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Scheduled IT systems unavailability

If you have any IT related queries, visit one of the IT Help Desks or

In order to actively improve our services, new updates and essential maintenance will take place throughout the year. Dates have been agreed with Faculties and the Students’ Union to coincide with quieter periods in the academic calendar, avoiding core times such assignment hand-in and exam times.

t. 01785 35 3700

Please make yourself aware of these dates and plan your work around them, more detail of any work and how it will affect you will be issued closer to the agreed date.

Windows 8 Enterprise 64bit

There may be times however, when unscheduled work will need to take place. We will post this information on the library blog and Facebook page. www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/ infoservices/it/service_desk/schedule_2013_2014. jsp

Audacity

Service Desk and training courses

Google Sketchup

The Service Desk team can help you with IT enquiries and to develop your computer skills. We provide one-to-one or group training in a variety of areas, including: • How to log-in to your account and what to do if you have forgotten your password. • Using your University email account. • Using MyPortal, Blackboard, and other University systems.

w. www.staffs.ac.uk/it

Software The following software is on all student PCs: Adobe CS6 Master Collection Amos 21 ArgoUML BBFlashback Firefox Filezilla Google Earth Google Chrome Maple 17 Mind Genius Microfit 5 MongoDB Netbeans v7.3.1 Notepad++ Oracle 11g

• How to print, photocopy and scan documents.

Opera

• How to connect your computer/device to the University network.

Microsoft Office 2010

• How to access University systems if you are off campus.

Prospect Planner

• What software is available to you and how to use it.

QSEE

Microsoft Project 2010 Putty

• Help you format your assignment to meet the requirements given to you by your faculty.

Roxio

• How to reduce the size of a file to make saving, printing or emailing quicker.

Safari

• How to save and backup your work. • How to check that your laptop is running the latest updates. • How to get your laptop up and running again if it is not working. 6

e. 3700@staffs.ac.uk

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R Stats SPSS 21 Tortoise SVN Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Windows Movie Maker Microsoft Visio Pro 2010


Additional specialist Faculty software is available on designated PCs and Macs. PCs equipped with specialist software are available for students with a visual impairment or dyslexia - More information can be found at

Wireless network

www.staffs.ac.uk/infoservices/disabledstudents

To download the Airnet user document and for further information visit

MyPortal

www.staffs.ac.uk/airnet

MyPortal is the student default Internet page providing easy access to Email, library account information, H: drive, Blackboard and more.

Student H: drive

It is worth noting that all resources can still be accessed without going through the Portal, but it does have the advantage of having a message field for Faculties and Services to add announcements and provides access to lots of useful resources, all in one place.

Airnet-Student is Staffordshire University’s Wireless Network Service and is available to all students who have a valid username and password.

This is your own personal area on the University server for saving your work and only you can access it. You have an allocation of 40MB file storage. Connect to your H: drive on or off campus at https://myportal.staffs.ac.uk by using your student username and password.

https://myportal.staffs.ac.uk

Don’t forget to back up your work regularly!

Residential network

iLab

The University residential network, available in all University run accommodation, is provided by CableCom and is included within the cost of rent, together with WiFi and IPTV. For enquiries t. 01275 793 597 or 0333 123 0186 e. staffordshire@ studentcom.co.uk

Email All members of the University are issued with a Microsoft Office® email account. Your student email address is your username followed by @student.staffs.ac.uk. You can access your email from anywhere by going to www.staffs. ac.uk/mail Accessing email on your mobile phone Smartphones that support Microsoft Exchange® can synchronize with the University email server. You need to add a new account on your phone. The account type will be Exchange, ActiveSync or MailForExchange.

The iLab is a collaborative space located on the first floor of the Thompson Library, where technology and creativity can come together to support teaching across the University. It is a continually evolving space which will be used to showcase new technology, software, Multimedia and academic research, providing the opportunity to see new technology in action and get advice. We have lots of new initiatives for you to get involved in such as the weekly techLab –where you can come along to discuss either your home or work related tech-challenges. Another new addition will be a small exhibit area where visitors to the iLab can see, touch and find out more about technology from days gone by. There will be lots going on, so keep checking the iLab blog for upcoming events http://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/ilab

Further info www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/infoservices/it/ service_desk/smartphones.jsp

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LIBRARY FACILITIES

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Libraries We have libraries in Stoke, Stafford and Shrewsbury. The Law library and Thompson Library are located in Stoke, the Nelson Library is located on the Beaconside site in Stafford and the Health Library is in Shrewsbury, located within the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital site. More information about each library can be found at: www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/infoservices/ library/locations/index.jsp All our libraries have IT and printing facilities and service desks offering help and support.

Library collections We have a vast collection of journals and books in hard copy and electronically, databases, reports, Offprints, Special Collections Archive, Exhibition Catalogues, DVDs, CDs, newspapers and more besides, for you to browse at your leisure. www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/infoservices/ library/collections

Book collections The Thompson Library The book collection in the Thompson Library is split into three, Core, Main and Art. All subjects are covered in the Core and Main collections, apart from Law which is housed in the Law Library and the Art Collection which is housed on the first floor. The Core collection is located throughout the ground floor and comprises books in high demand, deemed essential reading. The Main collection is located in the ‘Green room’ to the back of the ground floor in high density shelving. It comprises books in less demand or supplementary reading but still important for your studies. Instructions on how to use the HD shelving are on the shelves themselves and the plasma located near the collection.

The Nelson Library

The Law Library Law books are located on the ground floor. They are split into two collections, 2 week loans and Short Loans which are 1 day loans. The Short Loan books are shelved separately to the 2 week loans.

Periodicals and Journals We subscribe to a wide range of journals and periodicals in electronic and print formats. Journals and periodicals are located on the ground floor of each library. • Periodicals: Frequently Asked Questions • eJournals: Frequently Asked Questions • I nclude other link here for journals and ejournals. See LibGuides

Special Collections The Special Collections Archive is on the third floor of the Thompson Library. It houses rare books, archive materials and extensive photographic collections. Amongst the collections is the Victoria Theatre Collection. The documents, photographs, scripts and tape-recordings contained within the collection, offer unique research opportunities, unparalleled by other theatre archive collections. Other collections include drawings by local artist and author Arthur Berry, the Rare Books Collection, the Ceramic History Collection, the Mining Archive, the Hans Eysenck Collection, Stoke-on-Trent (South) Constituency Labour Party Archive, Local Studies Collection, the Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes, the Arts Archive, the Iris Strange Collection which comprises official letters and documents relating to the position of World War II widows and the Dorothy Thompson Collection comprising research on Chartism, the local history of Yorkshire and Lancashire and 19th century social history generally. Access to the collections is by appointment only. For more information and to book an appointment, visit www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/ infoservices/library/collections/special

Books are located on the ground and first floor of the Nelson library. Subjects covered are Computing, Mathematics, Nursing, Health and Business. Two week loan items and short loan items are shelved together as in the Thompson Library. Check the spine label on the book for loan type. Student Guide

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Short Loans Collection

Borrowing

Short loan books are heavily used items which can be borrowed on a 1 day or 2 day loan (reference only for non University members).

Remember to bring your Student ID card whenever you visit the library as you won’t be able to borrow without it.

In the Thompson and Nelson libraries, short loan books are shelved within the Main/Core collections. In the Law Library they are shelved separately in their own section of the library.

You’ll be pleased to know that borrowing is free for all library items. Fines are levied for late returns but they can be avoided by keeping on top of your library account.

Law reports We have extensive holdings of law reports on the ground floor of the Law Library which are for reference only.

Offprints collection Extracts of materials, such as journal articles and book chapters, which are for supplementary or additional reading. They are located in the Thompson, Nelson and Law libraries.

Reference collection Reference items such as handbooks, dictionaries and bibliographies are often an excellent starting place for information and can be found within all libraries.

Theses The Library holds a collection of theses that have been successfully submitted by students at the University. They are available on request for consultation within the Library. Visit the Customer Service Desk to request access.

Exam papers Exam papers and student projects/dissertations are kept within individual Faculties. Visit your Faculty office for more information.

Media section We have an extensive collection of films, documentaries, animations and training DVDs in the Thompson and Nelson Libraries. The majority of DVDs are available to borrow on a 1 day loan. DVD collections

You can borrow up to 17 items at any one time.

Book loan periods Short loans (1 and 2 day loans) 2 week loans

Email reminders We do email reminders to your student email account for items due and overdue, so please check your email regularly. Further information can be found at www.staffs. ac.uk/borrowing

Fines Fines are levied for late returns Two Week Loan - 25p per week day (excludes weekends) Short Loan (1 day and 2 day) - £1.00 per week day (cannot be renewed) Equipment Loan (2 day loan) - £5.00 per week day (cannot be renewed) Document Delivery items - £5.00 per item returned late (excludes photocopies or items delivered by Secure Electronic Delivery) If you owe or have outstanding fines you will not be able to borrow or renew any further items until you have paid your fines. Fines can be paid at the self service machines in the libraries, over the telephone on 01782 29 5770 or at the Customer Service Desks.

The library catalogue Use the library catalogue to search for all forms of library material and check location and stock availability. You can also use it to check your library account and renew and reserve items. http://libcat.staffs.ac.uk

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Summon™ Summon™ is an invaluable search tool. Think of it as your academic Google. It’s simple to use, fast and provides you with easy access across the breadth of our library resources - books, articles, ejournals, ebooks, and videos - all in one search. We’ve got the information you need; Summon™ will help you find it.

be paid before you can renew again. Renew your library items: • Via the Internet at http://libcat.staffs.ac.uk • On a Self Service machine

Is there anything I can’t renew?

Just enter your search terms to find thousands of resources! Too many? Then just bring back the type of results you want from the left hand list. Access it at:

You cannot renew 1 day and 2 day loans or items that have been requested by another borrower.

www.staffs.ac.uk/library/summon

Reserving

Document Delivery service

You can reserve items that are on loan to another borrower and can request up to five items

We use the British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) to access the items we don’t stock.

(2 week loans only) at any one time. You will be notified via your student email account when your requested items are ready for collection. They will be held on the reservation shelf for 7 days.

The charge for staff and students is £5 per item. To begin with, you will need to register with BLDSS, creating a personal account and make an association with Staffordshire University. You will be able to select and order books for home delivery or request documents for delivery direct to your desktop. www.staffs.ac.uk/infoservices/docdel

Self Service

www.staffs.ac.uk/libraryrenewals

www.staffs.ac.uk/self_service

Postal requests We offer a postal loan service for Distance Learners based in the UK who can’t easily visit one of our libraries. • Free of charge service. • Postage costs apply for returns.

There are self service machines in all our libraries where you can issue, return and renew library items and pay fines. You will need your Student ID card to use the self service machines.

•Y ou can request up to four books at any one time.

www.staffs.ac.uk/self_service

•B ooks cannot be posted overseas, however, we can supply photocopies subject to copyright restrictions.

Your library account Keep on top of your library account and avoid unnecessary fines. Check how many items you have out on your record, renew and reserve items and check for notifications. Access your library account via the library catalogue at http://libcat. staffs.ac.uk

Renewing You can renew your 2 week loan items up to 20 times, providing you don’t have existing fines on your record. Overdue items can be renewed, but once they generate a fine, the fine will need to

• No 1 day or 2 day items.

www.staffs.ac.uk/infoservices/offcampus

Distance Learners In addition to e-resources which can be accessed on and off-campus by all Staffordshire University members, we offer a range of services available to off-campus users, part-time, distance learners and distributed learners or students who have difficulty visiting the University in person. www.staffs.ac.uk/infoservices/offcampus

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Printing, copying and scanning Multi Function Printers (MFPs) are located throughout the University campus and in all IS buildings, providing printing, scanning and photocopying facilities to all staff and students. Your MFP login username and PIN will be emailed to your student email account, so keep a look out! You can also log on to the MFPs by swiping your Student ID card and entering your PIN. It is not possible to print from all Macs due to the specialist software uploaded for specific courses. Help Desk staff can advise on which Macs this applies to. Instructions on how to log on and use the MFPs, visit www.staffs.ac.uk/mfp

Resetting your printer PIN You can reset your password at www.staffs.ac.uk/ pinreset or at any IT Help Desk.

Printing costs Your print account is automatically credited with £2. You can top up your print account at the MoneyLoader machines or at any IS staffed service point or online at www.staffs.ac.uk/printcredit A4 black and white 5p A3 black and white 7p A4 colour

25p

A3 colour

£1.00

Scanning to email Stapling

Free 1p

Refunds Refunds are only given to final year students and any refund will be less the initial £2 credit. Please make sure that you do not hold more credit than you are going to use as refunds above £10.00 cannot be given.

Copyright guidelines Please refer to www.staffs.ac.uk/copyright for the latest copyright guidelines.

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Binding and Laminating Binding and laminating facilities are available in all our libraries. You can also purchase the binding combs and covers from the library too. For a small charge we’ll bind the document for you. www.staffs.ac.uk/self_service


ZONES

STUDY SPACES -

Study areas are split into zones and operate on a traffic light colour system. Red

= Silent individual study, no talking. Drinks permitted, but no food or mobile phones

Amber = Quiet study, quiet talking. Drinks and cold food permitted, but no mobile phones Green = Group study, talking allowed. Drinks and cold food permitted, but please keep mobile phones on silent.

All study areas are equipped with computing facilities. Further information can be found at www.staffs.ac.uk/libstudyareas

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Develop your study skills We don’t just supply you with books and computers; we can support you with all aspects of your studies and help you to develop your skills in a variety of ways. We have a team of Academic Skills Tutors who will help you with all subject and research related enquiries and to improve and develop your skills in academic writing, critical analysis, time management and more. Information can be delivered in a way that suits you, including one-to-one tutorials, workshops, group sessions...it’s really up to you.

Skills space The Thompson and Nelson Libraries have Skills Spaces on the ground floor where you can drop in to one of our scheduled workshops or stop by to speak to one of the Academic Skills Tutors. The Skills Spaces are staffed Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and 1- 6pm during weekends during termtime. http://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/askevents

LibGuides A starting point for subject resource support, help on finding information, advice on using online resources, searching for quality-assured websites, guidance on referencing styles and more. LibGuides pages can be accessed both on and offcampus at http://libguides.staffs.ac.uk

Assignment Survival Kit (ASK) ASK is an award winning online learning support tool which can help you to tackle your assignments, providing useful information, schedules, email reminders and advice. There’s also practical help and advice from your fellow students via the ASK Podcasts. www.staffs.ac.uk/ask www.staffs.ac.uk/ask/videos

RefZone You wouldn’t be the first student to panic at the thought of having to tackle the minefield that is referencing! RefZone makes sense of it all,

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providing you with all the information you need to understand exactly how and what to reference. It will also guide you through the different styles (yes, there’s more than one) used at the University. www.staffs.ac.uk/refzone

Staffordshire Graduate ePortfolio The Staffordshire Graduate e-portfolio allows you to record your educational, personal, social and cultural experiences, contributing to your graduate attribute activities. The Staffordshire Graduate eportfolio was developed Pebble+. You can access it via Blackboard modules, My Portal or http://pebblepad.staffs.ac.uk

Art projects The Thompson Library has pieces of artwork dotted around its corridors, study spaces and walls. There are site specific pieces and art that celebrates the past and present uses of the building. A couple of the pieces have been created by students, others by our in-house creative team. If you’d like to get involved, contact ismarketing@ staffs.ac.uk


HELP, SUPPORT AND CONTACT DETAILS

As you’ve already seen in previous sections of this booklet, help and support is provided in a variety of ways. We’ll guide you through the information maze, come to your rescue if you’re battling with technology, extol the benefits of self service and managing your library account, help you to improve your planning, time management, academic writing and critical analysis skills and more besides. All this is supported by round the clock help and advice, day or night and even during weekends and vacations. So if you do need help, just ask!

24 hour help A dedicated student IT and Library helpline, available day or night and during weekends and vacations 01785 35 3700

Email ask@staffs.ac.uk

Online Help Desk www.staffs.ac.uk/libraryhelp

Libraries and IT Centres IT Service Desk Desks Brindley Leek Road, Stoke t. 01782 29 4135

Lichfield Centre, Lichfield t. 01543 301109

Octagon Beaconside, Stafford t. 01785 35 3339

Thompson (Cadman Building) College Road, Stoke 01782 29 4771

Libraries Health Library Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shrewsbury t. 01743 49 2512

Law Library Leek Road, Stoke t. 01782 29 4307

Nelson Library Beaconside, Stafford t. 01785 35 3236

Thompson Library College Road, Stoke t. 01782 29 5770

Accessibility and support for disabled students We provide a range of services, equipment and support for disabled students including equipment to help students and staff with visual and physical impairments. All Libraries and IT Centres within Information Services are fully accessible by wheelchair users. For people who are unable to use stairs, lifts provide access to different floor levels within the libraries.

If you have any further requirements which you’d like to discuss, please contact the Student Enabling Centre. t. 01782 29 4977 or e.disability@ staffs.ac.uk www.staffs.ac.uk/ courses_and_study/disabled_ students/index.jsp

You can also fi Facebook and the Library blog View the latest news as it happens, get in on the discussion or start the debate! http://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/library www.facebook.com/ staffsunilibrary

Have your say If there’s anything we’ve missed out of the guide that you think would be helpful, or if you’d like to make any general comments and suggestions, please let us know at: isadmin@staffs.ac.uk You can view our replies to your comments at www.staffs.ac.uk/ yousaid

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