21 August 2012

No more Athens!

... or how to access e-resources in future.


The LRCs pay for a wide-ranging selection of quality e-resources to support teaching and learning.  The providers of these resources restrict access to those who have paid and therefore they need to know who is trying to access the resource so only subscribers get in.

On college computers this is sometimes done by the IP address of the PC you are using.  This means you will get automatic access to the resource without having to log in.

Another way to control access is via a password.  Some resources have their own unique username and password and where this is the case the details will be on Moodle.

For other resources we used the Athens authentication system to provide access.  However, from September 2012 we will no longer be using this system.

How will this affect me?


The big plus is it means you won't have to remember another password.  Instead you will use your college username and password - the same one you use to log on to college computers.

Some resources provide a link which will take you straight to the college login box which makes access straight forward.  Others do not have this facility and what it means is that instead of looking for a login box that says 'Athens' you will look for a box that says one of the following:
    
    UK Federation
            
            
            UK Access Management Federation


            
            Institutional login










          Athens/Institution login







          Shibboleth login










          If you see none of these you may need to click on a small line marked 'Alternative login'

          The institution name has also changed and you should login using Guildford College Open Athens Service

          Once you have logged in you will be able to access other e-resources which use this type of login automatically as long as you remain on the internet.

          If you run into any problems, or have any questions, please ask in the LRC.

          09 July 2012

          Summer opening

          Guildford College

          The LRC will be open all Summer at the following times:

          Week commencing 9 July

          Monday           9.00 - 5.00
          Tuesday          9.30 - 1.30
          Wednesday     9.00 - 5.00
          Thursday         9.00 - 5.00
          Friday              9.30 - 5.00

          From 17 July to 7 September the LRC will be open 9.30 - 4.30 but will close at lunchtime 1.00 - 2.00

          N.B. Guildford College will be closed all day on Friday 20 July

          Merrist Wood

          The LRC expects to be open throughout the Summer but please ring to check before visiting as times may be altered at short notice.

          Week commencing 9 July

          Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday       9.30 - 4.30 (closed 12.30 - 1.30)
          Tuesday        9.30 - 1.30

          From 17 Jul the LRC will be open

          9.30 - 4.30 (closed 12.30 - 1.30)

          29 May 2012

          June Half Term Opening Hours

          The LRCs will be open at the following times over half term.

          Guildford College

          Monday 4 June                            CLOSED
          Tuesday 5 June                           CLOSED
          Wednesday 6 - Friday 8 June      9.30 - 4.30

          Merrist Wood and Farnham College LRCs will be closed all week and reopen on Monday 11 June.

          22 May 2012

          Using E-resources at Farnham College

          Students at Farnham College are able to access a huge range of specially purchased on-line material, thanks to the fact that they share resources with Merrist Wood and Guildford College.  The ones they find most useful include:
          ·         Infotrac – journals, magazines, newspapers, reference covering many subjects
          ·         Issues Online – a wide coverage of contemporary social issues
          ·         New Scientist
          ·         e-Mag – English Literature and Language
          ·         Media Magazine
          ·         New Perspective – History articles
          ·         Intered – specialist magazines and books covering child care ages 0-18 years
          ·         Ebooks such as the Level 3 BTEC Business book
          Go to Moodle/Key Courses/E-resources and explore these yourself, or ask a member of the LRC staff to help you find the ones most relevant to your subject.

          15 May 2012

          LRC CPD Day Showcase

          The LRC had a very successful CDP Day showcase with 61 staff visiting us. There was a wide range of activities on offer including:
          ·         CIS Guildford QR Code game
          ·         Dewey order game and word games
          ·         Demonstration of Keynote reports
          ·         Have a go at using Action & Flip Cameras
          ·         Try out an e-book reader or the interactive books on the iPad
          ·         Find out about the LRC pages on Moodle and use Heritage Online
          ·         Tweet and find out about the new LRC Blog
          There was also a Best Practice Vodcast in which Guildford College Tutors explained how to get the most out of the LRC. If you missed it you can watch it again here: http://youtu.be/aDorLREuUic

          If you would like to find out anymore about how the LRC can support you or your students please get in touch or pop in and see us! You can also follow us on twitter http://www.twitter.com/GCLRCs


          Guildford College LRC
          01483 448611
          Merrist Wood LRC
          01483 884022
          Farnham College LRC
          01252 740547


          20 April 2012

          Reviewing resources on Heritage

          A relatively new feature on our online catalogue, Heritage, is the ability to rate and review resources that you have enjoyed or think may benefit other library users. This could be a good film that you have seen, a great fiction book or a really useful textbook for students to use on their course. It is really simple to use and is very similar to the feature on Amazon where customers rate and review certain items, here is how you do it:
          ·         First you need to head to our online catalogue at www.guildford.ac.uk/heritage
          ·         You then need to log in on the right hand side using your reader code and pin number. Your reader code is your student number or, for staff, your network log in e.g. asmith, a library pin can be requested from the LRC if you don’t have one.
          ·         Now that you are logged in you can search for a resource that you want to review. Once you have found the item you want to review just click on the ‘create a review’ button.

          ·         You can now rate your resource out of 5 stars and write a small description about what you thought of the resource.
          ·         Once you have submitted a review other library users can see what you have written about the item as it will appear on the catalogue record

          This is a really useful tool and allows users to see which books are really good and will also warn people of any books or films that are worth a miss! It is also a really good tool for tutors to recommend texts to students and pin point any useful chapters.

          03 April 2012

          Top E-Books in March

          Here are the top 10 e-books for March based on pages viewed.

          Business are at the top once again but Equine, Counselling, IT, and Tourism are in there too. 

          Pages   Title

          3143    BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 1
          700      Book 1: BTEC National Business
          510      Organisational Behaviour
          480      Horse and Stable Management
          466      Travel & Tourism for BTEC Level 3 National Book 1
          361      BTEC Level 3 Business Book 2
          298      Business and Administration NVQ Level 2
          265      Beyond Blame
          262      Teaching Today
          245      Counselling, Psychotherapy and the Law