Information: Print or Virtual?

Information from the Library is offered both in hard-copy print and in electronic form. It does not matter whether we are in the library building, or accessing the library resources from our laptops at the cafe, or from our rooms, we can get almost all of the information that we need.

'Bricks and Mortar' Library:

I have already seen lots of the Academy Library already and I am getting more comfortable with the locations of the different collections and finding things in the Library.

Locating printed books and journals now appears straightforward:

First...
I can search the Library Catalogue for keywords from the title, or search by Author, or by one of the many other search options available.

Then...
I write down the call number, noting any 'location prefixes' and remember to check 'availability' on the library catalogue record to see if it's on the shelf. If the item I need is out on loan then I can put a request against it to have it recalled.

Finally...
I go to the relevant area/collection in the Library and navigate through the shelves using the call number to locate the item I need.

Library at my desktop:

Even though it is nice to go the the Library, I found out that there is an enormous amount of material that I can access via my computer and the Internet. The Library has lots of e-books and electronic versions of many relevant reports, standards and other resources.

Many of our recommended readings are available electronically (via the Catalogue or the Course Reserve facility). We can find electronic journals using the 'e-Journals' option from the Library's homepage or by using CitationLinker, and we can find links to full-text articles using CrossSearch.

The only difference I have found is that if I am accessing information from my room, rather then from one of the Library's computers, I have to type in some login details at the start to authenticate myself. I need to type in my ADFA student number (z1234567) and my ADFA password.

A note about Course Reserve Material
The staff at the Service desk mentioned that while a large proportion of our recommended readings were available electronically, there may be some material that is only available in hard-copy from the Course Reserve Collection in the Library. She said it has do do with copyright restrictions or about special access conditions (e.g. if it is a lecturer's personal copy of a book or report). For these items, we will still need to visit the Library.

Accessing electronic resources

One of the best ways of accessing the Library's web-based resources is by using CrossSearch. I need to learn more about this so I am going to attend a CrossSearch information session later in the week. More for you on this in my next entry...

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