Introduction to Library Services

Welcome to this video from The Open University Library, which is an introduction to the Open University library services.

 

The slides from this video and an accompanying handout are available to download. You will find the link in the video description on YouTube or on the Introduction to Library Services Training Session page on the Open University Library website. You will need to be a current Open University student or member of staff to be able to download these.

 

This video will help you confidently navigate the library website, access resources relevant to your study, and access help and support provided by the library.

 

When it comes to accessing the Open University library, our resources are available 24/7. You just need to be on a device that's connected to the internet. You can access most of the content through Library Search, our discovery tool, which you can find on the home page of the library website. Or you can go directly into the different databases to find subject-specific information.

 

A database is simply a collection of resources, often, but not always, specialising in a range of subjects. If you want to know more about databases and getting the most out of them, you can check out our training session, Smarter Searching with Library Databases.

 

The library provides access to a huge range of online books, journal articles, newspapers, databases, images, and much more. The selected resources for your study collections introduce you to the resources in your subject area.

 

Let's have a look at the library website and Library Search now.

 

There is a link to the library website on your StudentHome page, and there is a link in the resources section of your module website. You can also navigate directly to the library using the web address open.ac.uk/library.

 

Using Library Search

 

Library Search is the discovery tool which allows you to search library resources, and you can access it using the large search bar on the library home page.

 

I'm going to use Library Search to look for an ebook called Chocolate and Health: Chemistry, Nutrition and Therapy.

 

To find this book, I type or paste the name of the book into the Library Search bar and then select Search. You will now be taken into Library Search itself.

 

It's important that you log into Library Search. You can tell that you're signed in as your initials will appear on the top right-hand side of the page. I'm not signed in at the moment, so I will click the Sign In icon now.

 

The book that we are looking for, Chocolate and Health: Chemistry, Nutrition and Therapy, has been returned as the top result in Library Search. To open the book and begin reading, I click on the Full Text Available link on the search result.

 

I'm now going to search for an e-journal using Library Search. You do this in exactly the same way as you would search for a book, by entering the title into Library Search.

 

I'm going to look for the journal article Co-producing Sustainable Solutions in Indigenous Communities Through Scientific Tourism.

 

To find this journal article, I paste or type the name of the journal article into the search box and then select Search.

 

The article that we are looking for, Co-producing Sustainable Solutions in Indigenous Communities Through Scientific Tourism, has been returned as the top result in Library Search. To open the article and begin reading, I click on the Full Text Available link on the search result.

 

You can also use Library Search to save resources to read later. To make use of this feature, you need to make sure that you are signed in or anything you save will not be saved for the next time you visit.

 

To add a resource, you simply need to click on the icon in Library Search results that says Add to My Saved Resources. The icon looks like a bookmark. To save the resource, simply click on the icon.

 

To find your saved records again, once you're in Library Search, click your initials at the top of the page and then Saved Results.

 

Here, you will find all the resources that you have saved, and you can also label each resource to help you find what you need quickly.

 

If you want to know more about Library Search, including how to do a subject search, you can check out our training session Using Library Search for Your Assignment. Library Search is really useful and you will use it a lot.

 

Navigating the Library Website

 

If you're struggling to get started, you can make use of some of our collections of library resources, which are available from the Library Resources tab on the library website.

 

On the Library Resources page, there are links to collections of library resources organised by type, for example newspapers, images, and dictionaries.

 

We also have a page called Selected Resources for Your Study. These are curated sets of resources on subjects and are a great place to start searching.

 

The selected resources include key subject databases, ebooks and e-journals. To get started, you need to select your subject from the grid.

 

I'm going to choose History, Renaissance and Reformation to see what resources have been selected for this subject.

 

Clicking Resource Type will give more filter options. I'm going to filter by ebooks.

 

I can see the ebook A Companion to the Reformation World is listed in this collection, and I can click on the title to open it and begin reading.

 

Try It Yourself

 

I'd now like you to pause the video and try the following tasks.

 

First, go to the library website and navigate to the Selected Resources for Your Study page and find the pages that are relevant to your degree subject.

 

Then, I'd like you to try and find one of the following resources in Library Search, either the ebook The Complete Dinosaur or the journal article Reflections From the Stratosphere.

 

When you've completed the tasks, come back and start the video again.

 

Help and Support

 

I'm now going to go over where you can access help and support with using the library.

 

To find help and support on the library website, I'm going to start on the Library Services homepage. First, I'm going to click on the Help and Support tab.

 

There is plenty of extra help here. For example, there is further guidance on using library resources. This section contains links to pages that go into more detail about what the online library is and how to use it.

 

The Help with Online Resources page contains some basic troubleshooting steps if you're having difficulty accessing online resources.

 

Some key things to look out for are the referencing pages and the disabled user support pages.

 

The Referencing Guidelines section contains links to our referencing guides and to further help and support with referencing.

 

The Support for Library Services section contains links to information about the resources and services available to disabled students studying at a distance and information about the SCONUL Access scheme via the Libraries Near You link.

 

The SCONUL Access scheme allows you to join other university libraries near you, to borrow books, or to use their study spaces. Not every university is a member, and if you're interested, please apply following the instructions on this page.

 

I've mentioned that we have other training sessions, and you can find details of when these are running, or watch recordings, from the Training and Events section of the library website.

 

This section lists all our different training sessions and when they are scheduled. A captioned recording of each session is embedded on each page, and a transcript is also available.

 

Now I'm going to show you how to find the Library Help Desk.

 

The Library Help Desk is there to help you whenever you need us, and our contact details are available on every page of the library website.

 

Click on Chat to a Librarian to access our webchat, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or click on Contact the Library Help Desk to find our phone number or to send us an email.

 

If you want to know more about using the library on screen, there are details about some of the library activities that you can work through at any time and visit as many times as you need.

 

These are:

 

Getting Started with the Online Library, which is a help page on the library website.

Unboxing the Library, a short online activity that introduces you to the collections in the online library. This activity is only accessible to current OU staff and students.

Using Library Search for Your Assignment, one of our library training sessions.

 

Here is a reminder of how to get in contact with the Library Help Desk.

 

If you can't find the answers you need, or things aren't working the way you expect, please contact the Library Help Desk. There is a link to the Help Desk on every page of the library website.

 

Remember that the webchat is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can help you with searching and referencing, as well as accessing resources.

 

Thank you for watching this video from The Open University Library.