Over the past year, our most frequent researcher in the Special Collections reading room has been Fraser Smith, an MA Publishing student, who has been using the Booker Prize Archive for his dissertation research. He has kindly agreed to share his research and experience using the collection with us. Fraser writes: The Booker Archive: Assessing …
The library and neurodiversity
Do you want to learn more about neurodiversity? Well, we've made a reading list for you! Neurodiversity as a term is not without controversy. There isn't, for example, a single agreed definition. But as a term that encompasses all or some of the following: autistic spectrum conditionsdyslexiadyspraxiaAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)Tourette's syndrome As well as …
How to spot a satirical news article
Sprinter Blames Positive Covid Test On Nutritional Supplement She Didn’t Realize Contained Coronavirus This alarming headline comes from this article in the the online parody news site The Onion. At first glance, the headline could appear genuine. And if you didn’t know The Onion was satirical, you may think it was a real story. However, …
LibrarySearch is different!
LibrarySearch has changed. It has a smart new look and new smart features, designed to enhance the user experience. The search results and item detail pages have been redesigned to create a clearer look, improve accessibility and present more information where you need to see it. We’ve also updated the colour palette to create a …
What happens when you follow a 1940s cake recipe?
We've been enjoying the Great Archive Bake Off, where intrepid modern bakers try cooking from historical recipes held in archives and Special Collections. I decided to join in and make a Household Cake. I followed this recipe from Tea time tips by Charlotte Cairns, published in 1948 and part of our Fuller Collection. I chose …
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Explore UK Black Pride
UK Black Pride was founded in 2005, and has continued to grow over the years. The organisation promotes unity, solidarity and co-operation among all LGBTQ+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Latin American descent. Image from http://www.ukblackpride.org.uk The pride festival begins on Friday 2 July 2021, with the theme “Love and Rage” which …
My pandemic Library School experience #2
A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a libraryShelby Foote The beginning I’ve always loved libraries, and I’ve always loved learning. I spent much of my childhood in my local library and then in my school one. I didn’t get the internet at home until I was 13 (in 2009) and my …
Who are the Technology Engagement Group (TEG) and what have we been exploring?
The Technology Engagement Group (TEG) was originally launched by Richard Francis in 2015. TEG show-and-tell events allow participants to demonstrates and share technology and new tools. We usually do this via our Lunchbytes sessions. Lunchbytes are short, informal, lunchtime discussions of accessible new or lesser known technologies that might prove useful to staff and students. …
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How to find reliable information about COVID-19
With the growth of social media and instant communication, online discussions about health and vaccinations have become ubiquitous. Despite greater access to health information, and efforts by public health officials to be transparent, there can be mistrust about the authenticity of scientific advice. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in misinformation shared …
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YouTube rabbit holes: Are algorithms pushing us to consume more fake news?
You may have heard YouTube and other social media sites referred to as ‘rabbit holes’. ‘Disappearing down a rabbit hole’ means that even when you start out with good intentions in searching for information, you could end up reading or watching extremist content or fake news as you continue to follow links to the next …
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My pandemic Library School experience #1
Face-to face teaching halted overnight, the Easter holidays were brought forward a week and we all became distance learners When I finished my undergraduate degree in 2009 at Brookes, I had little thought of doing any further study. I had been working at Oxford Brookes Library in Circulation and the Audio-visual unit initially and then …
Ideas for what to read and watch in Pride Month
June is LGBTQ+ Pride month. Due to the pandemic, some Pride events will again be taking place online, including Oxford Pride. Last year, we curated a list of LGBTQ+ resources available through the Library. This includes: Books and ebooks (both fiction and non-fiction)DVDsTV shows and films on Box of Broadcasts We've just updated the list …
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Is this information out of date?
As the world opens up for international travel again, many of us are desperate to get away for a well -earned break. But if you were heading off to Paris, would you be happy using a travel guide written in 1886? It might mean that you’re missing something rather important… When we reference sources in …
Who wrote this? Are they authoritative?
In the digital era, anybody can publish a research article, a news item, or an opinion piece online. If we want to prevent the spread of misinformation, we should usually ensure any publication we use comes from an authoritative source. What is an authoritative source? An authoritative source can range from an expert in your …
The Blues and the Gay Community: A Story from the Archives
Starting in January 2021, a cataloguing project began with the Paul Oliver Archive of African American Music (POAAAM), housed in Oxford Brookes Library's Special Collections. Funded by the European Blues Association and an Archives Revealed grant from The National Archives, the cataloguing project will make accessible a unique collection of never-before-seen material. We have been …
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Where will libraries buy eBooks and who will pay the bill?
The academic book supply market has long played second fiddle to the world of scholarly journals: library book budgets suffered for years as libraries made room for challenging journal price increases. Significant attention was paid to the journals world when librarians tried to stop the acquisition of Academic Press by Elsevier in 2000 and since …
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What is fake news and how can we spot it?
Let's start with a definition of fake news: Any manipulative account of a supposedly newsworthy event or state of affairs which purports to be factually accurate but which is deceptive, misleading, fraudulent, demonstrably false, and/or unverifiable — especially sensational accounts in social media that are designed to ‘go viral’.'Fake news' (2020) in Chandler, D and Munday R (eds.) A Dictionary of Media …
What is “Read and Publish”?
It is not unusual for universities and other research organisations to pay publishers twice: Paying to publish: If a researcher wishes a paper to be published Gold Open Access, then an article processing charge may be paid by the university.Paying to read: The university library may then buy a subscription to a package of journals …
What is LibKey Nomad?
https://youtu.be/6umhqr5gGj4 LibKey Nomad is a browser extension that provides instant links to full text content for articles as you research on the web. Nomad works with Oxford Brookes Library to find the fastest path to content across thousands of publisher websites. You can add the browser extension to any of these browsers: Google ChromeFirefoxMicrosoft EdgeBraveVivaldi …
Browsing with BrowZine – introducing our new e- journals service
BrowZine is a new product that we’ve introduced to help you explore and use our electronic journals more easily. BrowZine revisits the world of browsing journals across all our online collection, and the joy of serendipity that comes with it, in a simple and highly attractive user interface adorned with the colour and splendor of …
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