Essential Easter Term information

Help us to help you keep the Balfour Library a pleasant place to study during the busy Easter Term 2011

Working in the library out of hours

The library is ‘open’ from 08:30-17:00 Monday to Thursday, and 08:30-16:30 Fridays. It is also open on Saturday mornings in term from 09:15-12:30 (cardholders only).

Remember that if you are working in the library outside of these opening hours then you will effectively be 'lone working'. Inform someone at home/college where you are and when you are expected to return. Keep to your agreed time of return, or ring to say you have left early, or will be late leaving.

Such calls using your mobile phone should preferably be made outside of the library, so that you do not disturb other readers. However there is a phone available on the wall next to the glass book display case should you need it.

Access cards

Please remember that your access card is strictly for your use only. You should not lend it to anyone else to gain entry to the department or library.

This also means that you cannot bring any friends who are not access card holders into the department or library with you outside of opening hours.

All Part 1B students doing Zoology-taught courses may apply for out of hours access to the library - ask a member of library staff.

For everybody’s safety and security you will not be allowed to stay inside the department out of hours unless you have a validated card.

Please remember to bring your card with you at all times as no-one else is permitted to let you in and out of secure areas.

Bank Holidays on 29th April, 2nd and 30th May

The library will be open as usual.

Reception will be open as usual on the 29th April and 2nd May only, and will be able to let you into the department to visit the library.

You will need an access card to be able to enter the department on 30th May.

Valuables

Please do not leave these unattended in the library as we cannot guarantee their security.

Try to secure them to the desk in some way, or take them with you when you leave the library for any amount of time.

Priority for study places

Please remember that Part II Zoology/Neuroscience/BBS students will take priority for use of the limited amount of study places available in the library. Other students may be asked to leave.

Help us to keep the library clean and tidy and quiet

Please remember that food and drink cannot be consumed in the library.

Mobile phones should be kept on 'silent' mode and conversations on them should not be held in the library.

Library staff may tidy up your stuff if it takes up too much space on the desks.

Thanks for your cooperation.

We wish you luck with your exams!

Clair and Jane

New carpet in the library!

We've just had new carpet tiles laid in the main reading area of the library.

We don't think the old ones had been changed since the 1960s! It wasn't a simple task as desks and wiring had to be removed and put in place again. You can see the progress of the project in these photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/109943951662665681820/NewCarpet?feat=directlink

We are really happy with the results! What do you think? We chose a paler colour with flecks of green in it to complement our newly refurbished chairs.

Disruption in the library next week

A new carpet is being fitted in the domed study area of the library only, during the whole week beginning Monday 28th March. *NOT like the one in the photo!

All the desks in this area of the library will be dismantled and moved out of the way, the existing carpet tiles will be removed, the new tiles will be laid, and then the desks can be re-assembled.

This will obviously generate some noise and disruption in this area of the library, which will be closed off to readers. In addition, some of the bays where PCs are located may also be unavailable as we need to store all the library furniture somewhere while the carpeting takes place. If you need any books or journals from areas that have been closed off, please ask a member of library staff for assistance; do not fetch things yourself.

The other room in the library, where the photocopiers are located, will still be available for use however. Library staff should be able to minimise any noise reaching this area of the library. You will still be able to plug in your laptops there, and to use the Lapwing wireless connection, and the scanner and photocopiers there will remain operational. Alternative PCs are available in the 2nd Floor Computing Room (cardholders only)

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

New acquisitions

New books:

Principles of social evolution, by Andrew F. G. Bourke. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2011. Balfour Library shelfmark: EO (327i-iii) (2 x Overnight Loan shelves, 1 x Open Shelves)

Tropical montane cloud forests: science for conservation and management, by L. A. Bruijnzeel, F. N. Scatena, L. S. Hamilton. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press; 2010. Balfour Library shelfmark: GHI (10)

New theses:

An assessment of the performance of Africa's protected areas, by Ian Duncan Craigie. Cambridge; 2010. Balfour Library shelfmark: Thesis (494) (Library Office)

Effects of climate, agricultural changes and conservation measures on the lesser kestrel, by Ines Catry. Cambridge; 2010. Balfour Library shelfmark: Thesis (496) (Library Office)

Embryonic development of the olfactory system in Drosophila melanogaster, by Laura Lucia Prieto Godino. Cambridge; 2010. Balfour Library shelfmark: Thesis (495) (Library Office)

Scientific American online

Scientific American online has now been purchased by the University as part of a package from its new publisher, the Nature Publishing Group.

Previously online access was only via EBSCOhost Business Source Complete, a more business type database, which requires you to search specific words etc. to access the content.

Now that Scientific American is published by Nature it looks like any other online journal and so should me much easier and more interesting to search and download articles from. Access to the full text is available to the past 48 months' worth of content.

Full text online access to the journal content from 1846-1869 is also now available, as provided by Cornell University Library.

All of this content is accessible via ejournals@cambridge at: http://camsfx.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/cambridge/az

Balfour Library end of term information

Here's a breakdown of information about borrowing arrangements, how to access e-journals from 'off-campus', and opening times for the Balfour Library during the Easter vacation and term.

We wish you a very Happy Easter!

Best wishes,

Clair & Jane


End of term

Lent Term 2011 ends on Friday 18th March. All books on loan from the Balfour Library must be returned by this date, or can be renewed for further periods unless they have been requested by another reader. Saturday morning opening has now finished until next term.

Non-undergraduates: Remember that you will be able to borrow books that are normally for Overnight Loan for an extended period of 2 weeks at a time during vacations.

Please remember that you should not take books away from Cambridge, especially if you are going on field work or on business trips for example - please return any books you have on loan from us first so that they are readily available for other readers.

Please see the library website at: http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/library/booksborrow.html for more information on how to borrow, return and renew books on loan from the Balfour Library.

Vacation borrowing for undergraduates

This academic year we are trialling the vacation borrowing of books for the Christmas and Easter vacations.

This means that undergraduates will be able to take a maximum of two books away from Cambridge, which must be returned by midnight on the first day of the Easter Term (Tuesday 26th April). This applies to Overnight Loan and Open Shelf books.

Undergraduates can borrow books for the vacation period from 8:45am on Friday 18th March. This is on a strictly first-come, first served basis. You may not reserve books before borrowing them.

Please see the library website at: http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/library/booksborrow.html for more information on how to borrow, return and renew books on loan from the Balfour Library.

How to access online resources when you are away from Cambridge (and you are still a valid member of the University)

The recommended route for accessing ejournals provided by the University remotely is as follows:

• Go to the ejournals@cambridge website at: http://camsfx.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/cambridge/az
• Enter the title of the journal you need (if it does not appear then there is no online subscription to it)
• Click on the 'find journals by title' button
• When you click on the name of the journal the Raven login box should appear
• Enter your Raven userid and password and click on the 'Submit' button
• You should then be taken to the host page for that journal and you can find the article(s) you need from there
• (You only need to enter the Raven login once per session so you won't have to keep logging in and out each time you need a different journal)

You may well be able to get the full text of ejournal articles through searching PubMed or Google / GoogleScholar for example, but sometimes you may not necessarily be recognised as being a valid member of the University of Cambridge (it uses IP addresses of computers to identify you). You may therefore sometimes be asked for payment for the full text of an article or be prevented from accessing it, even when a subscription to the ejournal has been paid for by the University. The recommended route as above should guarantee you the access you are entitled to.

It is strongly recommended that you check the ejournals@cambridge website as above to see whether you will actually be able to access particular online journals remotely BEFORE you leave Cambridge. See also the eresources@cambridge website at: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/electronicresources/ for access to particular databases. See the 'Access Route' link next to the journal or database title to check this. Some online journals are not accessible outside of the University network so you may wish to download or print off articles from these before you leave Cambridge.

Raven passwords

If you do not currently have a Raven password and think you may need one to access the Web of Knowledge or Scopus databases (to search scientific literature) or online journals and databases when you are away from Cambridge, you should apply for one following the instructions given on the University Computing Service 'How do I get a Raven password?' website at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/docs/faq/n5.html This page will also help you if you have lost your Raven password.

Troubleshooting ejournals access

Finally, if you are having trouble accessing ejournals and eresources remotely using your Raven password please see the guidance provided on the Central Science Library's 'Raven FAQs' website at: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/CSL/ravenqanda.htm

Easter period closing dates

The Balfour Library will close for Easter at 5:00pm on Thursday 21st April and will re-open at 8:30am on Tuesday 26th April. The library will be open as usual throughout the Easter Vacation however, see our opening hours at http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/library/open.html

Other Bank Holidays in the Easter Term 2011

We are always open as usual on both of the May Bank Holidays that fall in the Easter Term. We will also be open on the additional Royal Wedding Bank Holiday this year, Friday 29th April.

Science Communication Conference, booking now open

The annual two-day Science Communication Conference addresses the key issues facing science communicators in the UK and brings together people involved in public engagement.

Click here for more details and for booking: http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/web/ScienceinSociety/ScienceCommunicationConference/

Digital Researcher 2011

The British Library and Vitae ran the Digital Researcher 2011 conference in February to help researchers make the most of new technologies in their research.

In case you were unable to attend, there is a very useful blog with postings relating to the conference. The most interesting posts I think are as follows:

• Using Twitter at academic conferences
• Social media: a guide for researchers
• 10 ways to promote an academic article that you've just published
• Using social media to support your career
• Tips for academic blogging
• CiteULike and other social citation tools
• Getting started on Twitter
• Some examples of researchers' blogs
• Social networking software for researchers

The blog can be found at: http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/315451/Digital-researcher-blog-2011.html Slides for some of the presentations given at the conference can be found via the Digital Researcher Virtual Attendance link on the same page.

Top 45 Zoology and Zoo Blogs

This blog has been included in the Top 45 Zoology and Zoo Blogs compiled by Veterinarian Technician.org

Veterinarian Technician is a nonprofit online resource created to explain to students their options and some of the advantages and disadvantages of getting an vet tech degree.

This blog is featured at no.2 on the Zoology Posts list category. Other blog categories include:

• Zoologists, written by and for zoologists
• Zoo Blogs, city zoo blogs
• Wildlife, wildlife parks blogs
  

Check out the fascinating and educational blogs on this list for yourself at: http://veterinariantechnician.org/top-45-zoology-and-zoo-blogs/

Zetoc - electronic table of contents - pdf leaflet available to download

Zetoc provides access to the British Library's electronic table of contents (ETOC) covering over 20,000 current journals and including more than 2 million conference papers and reports. Where agreed, journals from Open Access publishers (e.g. BioMed Central) are included.

It includes an email alert facility to keep you up-to-date with the latest articles in your field of research. RSS feeds are also available for journal titles.

Abstracts are available (for records added from mid-2009) for those journals where there is an agreement in place between the British Library and the journal publisher. Zetoc also provides links to full text where available in Cambridge.

Click here to see the leaflet advertising Zetoc:
http://zetoc.mimas.ac.uk/zetoc.pdf