The Library
Library Resources for
Postgraduate Students
More than just books!
Library basics
• Entrance on the ground floor – next to the
café
• Covers 5 levels of the main building
• Once you are fully registered, you have access
to the Library
• Your student ID card is also your Library card
• You will need your IT Services account details
to access the eLibrary
Get to know the Library
• Tours: Monday-Friday at 5.30pm from 23rd
Sept. to 18th Oct.
• Tours last about 20 minutes
• A self-guided QR code tour is on offer now
• Read the ‘Welcome to the Library’ guide
• Library web site: www.bbk.ac.uk/lib
• Introduction to the Library video
• LIFE – online Library tutorial
Opening hours
Term time:
08.30 – 23.45
(self-service: before 10.00 & after 22.30
weekdays, before 10.00 & after 18.00 weekends)
Changes to these times and vacation times are
advertised on the Library web site.
Get to know the layout of
the Library
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Books - over 300,000 items
A/V Collection – DVDs, CDs
Journals – print journals are on 4th floor
Study areas
Reading Room – a silent study area
Workstations / access to wireless network
Printing and photocopying
Self-service machines
Help Desk and Issue Desk
The Library web site
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Opening times and service information
Library catalogue and eLibrary
Detailed Subject Guides
Library Induction For Everyone (LIFE) – online
library tutorial
• Information about finding materials for essays
and dissertations
• Information on using other libraries
The Library catalogue
Search for books, electronic books, journals,
DVDs & CDs via the online Library catalogue.
• You can borrow up to 15 items at a time
• Many books can be borrowed for 3 weeks
• Some books are 1 week loan, 1 day loan or
reference only
• eBooks are accessible from outside Birkbeck
with your ITS username and password
Renew and reserve books
• Renewals
– Once you have borrowed books, you can renew
them as long as no-one else requests them
• Reservations
– If all copies of the book you wish to read are out on
loan you can place a request
– The next available copy will be held for you
– You will be notified by email
How do you find an ebook?
• A growing number of ebooks are available
• Find them via the Library catalogue
• You can also search whole databases of
ebooks at…
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/elib/ebooks
• …but we won’t usually have access to all the
ebooks in a database
• You can usually print from ebooks but most
restrict the number of pages
Journals and ejournals
• Check the Library catalogue for print journals
• These are on the shelves on level 4 and in
store
• Print journals are for reference access only
• Use the ‘Find a known ejournal’ search in the
eLibrary web page to look for ejournals
• Ejournals can also be found using our VuFind
catalogue
Understanding a journal reference
Author
Date
Article title
Windsor, D. (2006). “Corporate social
responsibility: three key approaches”.
Journal of Management Studies.
43 (1): 93-114.
Journal name
Volume
Page
Issue numbers
Finding a specific article in an
ejournal
• Make a note of the name of the journal
• Go to the Library web site and select eLibrary
• Type the name of the journal in the ejournal
search box
• If the Library subscribes, a link to the ejournal will
appear
• Select the year, volume and then issue that
you require
• Ejournals are also listed on the library catalogue
Get to know the eLibrary
• Over 30,000 electronic journal and
newspaper titles
• Over 90 research databases to find out what
has been published in your subject area
• Accessible from anywhere with internet
access
Accessing the eLibrary
• Accessible without coming into the Library
• Accessible 24 hours a day
• Log in using your ITS username and password
• For off-site access: register your computer by
setting up a cookie
• This is necessary for access to some e-resources
• One-off process – lasts 18 months
• See http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/elib
Online databases
• Over 90 databases which enable you to find what
has been written in your subject area
• Also some statistical, newspaper and image
databases
• Go to the Subject Guides on the Library website
to see which ones are best for your subject area
• There is also an A-Z list of all databases in the
eLibrary - select Databases and Online Resources
Search tips for databases
• All databases have different interfaces
but the same search principles apply
• Think about your keywords carefully
before you start
• Consider alternative terms for the
same concept
Search tips for databases
• Use truncation to find variant word endings:
e.g. stress* will find stress, stressed, stressful etc.
• Use wildcard searching to find variant spellings
within words:
e.g. organi?ation will find organisation and
organization
• Search for a phrase using quotation marks
• Combine words / terms using Boolean operators
(AND, OR, NOT) to focus results
Managing your references
The Library provides access to and training on
EndNote and EndNote Web: software to help
you manage your references
Access to other libraries
• Reference access to University of London
libraries
• SCONUL Access scheme
• Senate House Library (depending on your
course)
• British Library
• You can also request items not available at
Birkbeck via the Interlibrary Loan Service
Services for students with a
disability or dyslexia
We have extra services for you:
• Access Support Service
• LAMP service – postal loans
• Assistive Technology Centre
The Disability Office is your first contact point
and will be able to register you.
Further help
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Library website at: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/
LIFE – free online Library tutorial
Visit, ring or email the Help Desk:
library-help@bbk.ac.uk
020 7631 6063
Check your Subject Guide (online and in print)
Contact your Subject Librarian
Any questions?