The problems encountered by some readers trying to access the My Account area on SOLO and log in to the Bodleian Libraries wifi network have now been resolved.
If any readers are still having problems logging into services using their library card details please contact us.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this technical issue.
Related Links Contact us | Library passwords | SOLO library catalogue | How to log in to SOLO | Wifi networks in the Bodleian Library
At midnight on 5/6 April 2013, new legislation came into force allowing the Bodleian Libraries and the other Legal Deposit Libraries in the UK and Ireland, to access electronic books, articles, web pages and other electronic documents published in the UK. This is the electronic equivalent of print legal deposit, the legislation which has allowed the Bodleian Libraries to receive a copy of every item published in print in the UK since 1662. Bodleian Libraries will be referring to this new material as Electronic Legal Deposit (eLD).
Watch this SOLO Video Guide for an overview of the regulations governing the use of electronic Legal Deposit materials and guidance on how to access them using SOLO.
Coverage
The new eLD legislation covers:
The legislation does not cover:
Restrictions in use
Access to eLD items is subject to the following restrictions which are imposed by the Legal Deposit Act 2003:
In addition to these legal restrictions, due to technical issues in the Bodleian Libraries you will only be able to access eLD items from the Mozilla Firefox browser. You will not be able to access them from Internet Explorer.
How to find eLD material in SOLO
You will be able to find and access articles and books deposited via eLD using SOLO. The SOLO search screen now has four search tabs, two of which can be used to search Electronic Legal Deposit.
More details and help
More details, how to use SOLO to include and exclude eLD materials, and for information about further support, check out the Bodleian Libraries eLD guide.
From today, Monday 21 January the location name to order stack material to the Lower Radcliffe Camera has changed. Feedback from readers had shown that there was confusion between the Lower Camera Reading Room in the Radcliffe Camera and the Lower Reading Room in the Old Bodleian.
Therefore, the Lower Camera Reading Room has been renamed Radcliffe Camera (Lower) in the locations menu when ordering material from the stacks on the SOLO library catalogue.
When you find a book that is in the closed stacks and sign into SOLO you will see the option hold. 
After selecting hold you will be asked to select a delivery location from the drop down menu. There are 3 locations in the Old Bodleian: Duke Humfrey Reserve Counter, Lower Reading Room and Upper Reading Room. There is 1 location in the Radcliffe Camera: Radcliffe Camera (Lower).
For more information about how to request material from the closed stacks, visit the online guide to using SOLO or contact us.
Related Links SOLO Library Catalogue | SOLO Guide | Contact Us
The following Wiser workshops are running in week 2 of Michaelmas Term.
An introduction to SOLO for finding books, journal titles and other materials in Oxford libraries. The session will cover effective search techniques, placing hold requests for items in the stacks, reservations and using the SOLO eshelf and saved searches.
Who is this session for? All members of Oxford University and other Bodleian Libraries readers. Please book your place online at http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/TZWA
This session will be repeated Tues 23 Oct 2.00 – 3.00 (wk 3)
This session will focus on finding journal articles for your research using a wide range of databases as well as developing effective search strategies. There will be plenty of time for participants to try out their own searches using databases for their subject.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates, researchers and academics.
Please book your place online at http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/TZW3
This session will be repeated: Friday 26 October 9.30 – 10.45 (wk 3)
Want to see the full workshops timetable? See http://www.libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/workshops
Keeping up with Bodleian Libraries training opportunities
Why not follow join our mailing list by sending an empty email to wiser-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oxwiser or visit the BodWiser blog at http://bodwiser.wordpress.com/
Not a member of Oxford University? If you are not a current member of Oxford University but would like to attend a workshop please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk . Please quote your Bodleian readers card barcode number.
Questions? Please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
SOLO library catalogue will not be available on Monday 3 September in evening from 6 to 9pm (and potentially until 9am the following morning). This scheduled downtime is part of the updating of the information system infrastructure which has been taking place across the summer.
We apologise for any disruption caused by this downtime.
Related links: SOLO | Contact us
Following extensive testing and consultation, several improvements to SOLO will be implemented over the weekend of 28-29 July.
Certain categories of material will now be excluded from clustering (where SOLO groups together multiple ‘versions’ of items). While clustering is highly valued by a large number of readers, it is clear that a universal approach to clustering causes problems for users searching for particular types of material, namely early printed books (pre-1830), maps, music, and audio-visual items. These categories have now been excluded, so they will no longer be pulled into the clusters of print and electronic versions of the same work. They will instead be visible in the main results list, separate from any clustered records. Modern printed materials and electronic resources will continue to be grouped into clusters.
This partial clustering approach offers a significant improvement to the search experience while retaining the benefits of clustering for the majority of searches and readers.
The default sort order within clusters will remain ‘relevance’. This substantially mitigates the problem of finding specific editions within large clusters for material. If you prefer to see your search results sorted by date, please select from the sort options at the top of the results list. These options will also be made more prominent.
It will now be possible to limit your search to physical resources, in the same way that you can currently limit your search to electronic resources. To do so, choose ‘Physical Resources (not online)’ from the drop-down menu next to the main search box. Please note that you will still see links to digitised versions of texts scanned as part of the Google Books project, as these are attached to the record for the physical item rather than catalogued separately. You may therefore also still see an option to limit your results to online resources if these digitised copies are available.
The ‘Request’ and ‘Locations’ tabs in item records will be consolidated into a single ‘Find & Request’ tab to streamline the request process. The ‘Find & Request’ tab will show the various locations with the option to ‘hold’ (for stack requests and reservations) or request a copy via the Bodleian Scan & Deliver service (if available.)
Related Links: SOLO | Bodleian Libraries
The Bodleian Libraries websites and SOLO library catalogue and Oxlip+ eresources gateway are currently not working. The mobile library catalogue at m.ox.ac.uk/library is still functioning and allows some of the search functions of SOLO.
OU ejournals can still be accessed at http://oxfordsfx-direct.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/oxford/az.
Staff in libraries can also help locate material using the staff side of the system. Please contact HFL staff on 01865 277262 or library.history@bodleian.ox.ac.uk if you have any queries about accessing or locating HFL material today.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this network problem and will blog/tweet any updates we have on this problem.
Babbage’s Analytical Engine (c) Science Museum/Science & Society Picture Library
The scheduled downtime of the University’s networks, which was planned to run up to 11am, has been completed early. This means that readers can access SOLO, PCAS (print,copy and scan) services and library PCs as normal.
The University Computing Service will continue their work to upgrade the University network over the coming weeks.
This will necessitate further periods of scheduled downtime.
Networked library services may be unavailable, in some cases until 11.30am on:
SOLO, reader and staff workstations, wireless and Ethernet connections, and PCAS may be unavailable during the mornings. There may also be delays to the book service.
Local work affecting the History Faculty Library will be carried out on:
The networked services listed above may be unavailable in the HFL until 11am on this date. Again, this may cause delays to the book service on that morning.
We apologise for the inconvenience that this necessary work may cause.
Related Links: SOLO | PCAS Guides | Status of services provided by OUCS | SOLO service updates
Bodleian Libraries will be running the following classes during week 6:
WISER: Finding stuff – Books etc on SOLO (Wednesday 22 February 2.00-2.45) – Ashort 45 minute session introducing tips and techniques for searching SOLO for books, journals and other materials in Oxford Libraries. We will cover both basic and advanced search techniques and also look at placing hold requests for items in the book stacks and some of SOLO’s personalised features such as the e-shelf and saved searches. The session will take place at Oxford University Computing Services – please book your place online.
WISER: Finding stuff – Journal Articles (Wednesday 22 February 2.45-4.00) This session will focus on using bibliographical tools and indexes to find high quality papers in your research area. We will look at how to find reliable bibliographical databases in your subject and how to search them effectively to optimize your results. The session will take just over an hour and will include time for you to practice. Please book your place online.
WISER:Finding Stuff – Conferences (Wednesday 22 February 4.00-5.00) – Finding past conference papers and proceedings and keeping up with forthcoming conferences in your research area are important skills for all researchers but can be quite tricky. Next week’s 1 hour workshop on finding conferences will start by looking at where to find forthcoming conference announcements and how to keep up with them and will then move on to look at ways of tracking down elusive conference papers. Please book your place online.
Keep up to date with WISER – Why not follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oxwiser or visit the BodWiser blog at http://bodwiser.wordpress.com. You can also check the timetable on the WISER web site at http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/workshops or join our mailing list by sending an empty email to wiser-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk
Not a member of Oxford University? – If you are not a current member of Oxford University but would like to attend a workshop please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Please quote your Bodleian readers card barcode number.
If you have any questions please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
We have implemented the first stage of a plan to improve the display of records in SOLO with clusters of versions (where SOLO has grouped together ‘versions’ of the same work).
To achieve this, the default sort order for search results within clusters will be changed to relevance rather than date-newest. If you prefer to see your results in date order you can still do so. Please use the sort option at the top of the results screen.
While clustering is beneficial to and highly valued by a large number of readers, it can cause problems for others, particularly where searching for very specific editions or antiquarian/non-book material. The long-term aim is to exclude certain categories of material from clustering, which will solve the small number of problematic cases while retaining the benefits of clustering for the majority of searches and readers.
The decision to retain clustering in SOLO and work to improve it was taken following extensive consultation and user testing, including discussion at the Bodleian Libraries Cabinet. The change to sort order within clusters is a first step to mitigate against some of the major problems caused by clustering while we work to develop an improved solution for everyone.
Email solo@bodleian.ox.ac.uk if you have any feedback on these changes.