Monthly Archives: July 2011

Reminder: Wellcome Unit Library closed for re-wiring 25 July-31st August (inclusive)

A reminder that the Wellcome Unit Library will be closed to all readers from Monday 25th July-Wednesday 31st August (inclusive) for important electrical re-wiring work. We apologise for any unavoidable inconvenience this may cause you. If there is a book that is held by the library that you are having difficulty finding elsewhere in Oxford please contact the Bodleian Libraries’ Just-in-time team who will do their best to source an alternative copy for you.

New SOLO now live: Information on passwords and training

The new improved version of SOLO has gone live this morning. You will now be able to place stack requests, renew books and see your library account all from within SOLO. 

How do I log into my account?

Oxford University members should log in to SOLO using their Single Sign-On username and password (this should be the same as you use to log-in to your University email account). This will then allow you access to your library account and functions such as renewals, holds and stack requests as well as giving you access off-campus to the subscription journals and databases available through SOLO.

You will still need to use your University card barcode and associated password to access Library PCs and to log in to the Bodleian Libraries wireless network (this is the same username and password you used to use for OLIS).  If you can’t remember your password or need to reset it then you can now do this by going to https://register.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/rescue

Further help and training

The new online guide to SOLO is now available to give you further help and instructions.

The Libraries are also running several training workshops to help readers find their way around new SOLO. Details of which are available here: http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/training/solo-workshops

Update on new library system: Go Live date delayed to Friday 22nd

Due to the unexpected crash of OLIS last Thursday, there has unfortunately been a delay in the transition between the old system and the new one that was due to ‘go live’ on Monday morning. The new system will now be up and running from 9am on Friday 22nd July. SOLO will continue to be available until 3pm on Thursday 21st when it will need to be taken down in order to complete the final part of the preparation for the new version of SOLO that will be available on Friday.

The arrangements that have been in place for the downtime this week will continue throughout next week. If you need help finding material then please continue to ask for assistance from library staff or alternatively you can use the SOLO Live Help chat function that is available on the SOLO homepage. If  there is material that you need urgently that you cannot stack request then please contact the ‘Just-in-time’ team using their online request form and they will help you to locate alternative copies.

We apologise for the delay and any inconvenience this has caused you.

Replacement of OLIS: 18 July 2011

As part of the transition to a new integrated library system at the Bodleian Libraries, on 18 July all patron functions currently offered in OLIS will move to a new version of SOLO. This will replace OLIS (WebOPAC and telnet versions) and can be searched by anybody anywhere in the world. Registered readers need to use only one interface both to locate collections and to order them, but can then also renew loans and holds, check their patron record, etc. Also, once signed on to SOLO (s.b.), Oxford members who are working off-campus will have seamless access to subscription e-resources without having to sign on again.

More about SOLO

Since October 2008 SOLO has been a search and discovery tool for the major collections of the libraries of the University of Oxford. As well as searching the University libraries’ print and electronic holdings and title links to more than 1,100 databases on OxLIP+, it also searches ORA (Oxford University Research Archive), the Bodleian Library Allegro Chinese and Allegro Japanese catalogues and the Refugee Studies Cardbox catalogue (mostly grey literature published before 2004).

On 18 July, in addition to patron functions, the new version of SOLO will also feature enhanced searching functionality, esp. in Advanced Search where an additional search box and new fields have been added. For instance, scholars researching early printed books will welcome the addition of certain searches such as date of publication, place of publication and publisher.

Unlike OLIS, SOLO allows registered readers to save search results and set up search alerts; all registered readers, including non-Oxford users, can also save details of collections to a personal e-shelf.

Signing on to SOLO after 18 July

Readers who wish to check the status of books, stack requests, use the e-shelf, etc. need to be registered readers before they can sign on to SOLO. Oxford members should sign on with their Single Sign On details; non-Oxford members will continue to sign on with their Library Card barcode and associated password.

Need help with SOLO?

A SOLO guide gives helpful instruction how to use it. A series of SOLO workshops will be offered after the go-live. See the timetable for details and bookings. Do not hesitate to contact library staff who can also assist with any enquiries or problems. Finally, for the period of the downtime 8-18 July, a SOLO Live Chat will offer immediate assistance to readers in the use of SOLO.

Important news for current e-Shelf users

If you are currently using SOLO’s e-shelf functions, we shall need to migrate your personal data. It is imperative that by 8th July you have set your email address correctly in SOLO. If you have not already done so, then please sign in to your SOLO account using the “Oxford Single Sign On” link on the top right corner of the screen. Once signed on, click on “My Account” then choose “Edit Details” to set your email address. Please use the same email address as you do for OLIS. (You can check your current email address in OLIS by logging in to OLIS, http://library.ox.ac.uk, or by asking library staff.) This must be done before 8th July so your email addresses in SOLO and OLIS match before data migrations are started on 8th July.

Gladstone Link: new reading room in the Bodleian now open

The Gladstone Link is a new area of the Bodleian Library for open-shelf library material accessible by readers.  It connects the Old Bodleian Library and Radcliffe Camera reader spaces and will be accessible from both these buildings. There is shelf space for an additional 270,000 items of library material, roughly doubling the open-shelf provision in the Bodleian Library to around 500,000.

We have also taken the opportunity to link the Old Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera, connecting the reading rooms for the first time, and to create 120 extra reader spaces, as well as facilities such as reader terminals and photocopiers.

Access and opening hours

The Gladstone Link (GL) is accessible from:

  • the Old Bodleian Library (OB) via the staircase in the ‘NW tower’ or the lift in the nearby coat and bag lobby,
  • the Radcliffe Camera (RC) via Bay 1 in the Lower Camera reading room.

It will be open for most of the library’s opening hours, closing 45 minutes before the rest of the library to allow secure and effective closing procedures.  At that point, you will be able to move upstairs with any material you are reading or photocopying and enjoy the remaining open period of the other reading rooms.

Subject to funding, it is planned to open the Radcliffe Camera and Gladstone Link on Sundays in Full Term.

The Lower Camera reading room now has access-controlled entry and exit (as in the Proscholium).

Service changes
As part of the implementation of this new area, the date restrictions surrounding what material can be used in which areas are being revised.

The new regulations will come into effect from Monday 4th July and are as follows:

  • Pre-1701 material can be read in Duke Humfrey’s Library or the Special Collections reading room at RSL by readers with Bod A category membership.
  • Readers can use material dating from 1701 to the present in the reading rooms of the Old Bodleian Library.
  • Readers are able to use material dating from 1851 to the present across the Bodleian complex.

Stack request

You are welcome to bring stack request material (except items older than 1851) from any of the Reserves.  The nearest to the GL is the Lower Camera Reserve.

If you wish to reserve stack request material for further use, you must return it to the Reserve from which you collected it.

We ask you to return other stack request to the Reserve so that we know it is no longer in your possession and in case it has been requested by another reader.

Reader etiquette

We invite you to enjoy an informal study environment in the Gladstone Link.  Furniture of various shapes, sizes, and heights should allow you to find a comfortable position to work in, and to change when you feel like it!

Group study tables in corners or behind acoustic screens provide opportunities for quiet conversation.

Feel free to fiddle with your mobile device or listen to audio through leak-proof headphones.  But, please no loud telephone conversations – the lobbies are more suitable for moderate conversations.

If you prefer silent spaces, the historic reading rooms retain their traditional feel.

Facilities

By the red lobby on each level:

  • readers terminals
  • PCAS photocopier
  • emergency telephone
  • transparent fronted lockers

Lockers are for use during the day and must be cleared overnight.

By the blue lobby on the main level only:

  • 6 reader terminals
    (3 standup and 3 sitdown)

By each of the four exits, you will find a ‘repatriation’ trolley for material from other reading rooms and a reshelving trolley for material from the GL.

Laptops

You should find good wifi connectivity throughout.

Power is provided to most perimeter desks, 3 central rows of columns on the main level and one central row in the basement.

The two large square tables on the main level have power sockets under the flaps in the middle.

FAQs:

  1. If I take material from one reading room to another, do I have to take it back again?  We (and other readers) would be greatly assisted if you were to take material that you have finished with back to its home reading room but this is not required and there are ‘repatriation’ trolleys in each reading room/area.  NB – stack request material which you wish to retain for further consultation must be taken back to the Reserve from which you collected it.
  2. How soon will material be returned to its correct place?  We will be almost continuously repatriating and reshelving and will aim to get material back to its home reading room/area within a few hours.  Material awaiting reshelving will be gathered to a small number of identified places to facilitate your finding it.
  3. Does the yellow slip system operate in the Gladstone Link?  No, although it will continue in the reading rooms, we do not propose to introduce it in the GL as the nature of the material and the space is different.
  4. Why is the material not all classified?  It would have been prohibitively expensive to classify 270,000 items of stock and we have preferred to maintain investment in the acquisition of new material.  Nevertheless we hope that you will enjoy direct and immediate access to this material and we are looking into cost-effective ways of classifying future new intake.
  5. Why isn’t there a fetching service from the Gladstone Link?  Feedback from readers strongly suggests that your preference is for material to be on open access for direct and immediate finding.  It is not normal library practice to provide a fetching service for open-shelf material.
  6. What has happened to the conveyor?  Most of the conveyor has been removed to make way for the lift which now occupies the old shaft.  One section has been retained for historical interest.
  7. What about Duke Humfrey’s Library?  Duke Humfrey’s will remain a reading room for special collections (including maps and music) until the opening of the Weston Library in Spring 2015.  Only readers with Group A tickets are admitted.

New library system: summary of important information during OLIS downtime 8-18 July

Following the announcement regarding the implementation of a new integrated library system, this is a summary of the temporary disruption to services across the Bodleian Libraries 8-18 July. There will be little impact on the use of the Wellcome Unit Library during this time but please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or problems.

Closed Stack Deliveries: Bodleian Libraries will be operating a limited ordering service from all closed stacks, except Special Collections. We recommend you place any stack requests by 1 July to avoid the last minute rush, though in point of fact you can still place the final stack request right up to 5pm on Thursday 7 July.

Any stack material in the reserves when the current system is withdrawn will be retained. It is expected that these items be returned to the stack from Monday 25th July. You will be able to renew material you need beyond this date in the new system.

Borrowing Books: You can borrow and return books as normal. However, from 5pm on Friday 8 July until 9am on Monday 18 July it will not be possible to

  • renew your library books or stack requests.
  • check how many books you have borrowed.
  • settle outstanding fines.

Locating books

SOLO will remain available for catalogue look-ups during the downtime but any links to OLIS, including patron functions, will be disabled.

Additional support during this period

A dedicated Just-in-Time support team is available to find alternative copies of materials unavailable during the transition. Readers with immediate needs during this period are encouraged to contact the Just-in-Time team directly using the request form which will be located on the Bodleian Libraries website.

Please note that during the downtime, staff in the libraries won’t have access to the system either and that once the new system has gone live, staff will be slower in their transactions as they will be getting used to the new system.