Book recommendations for EDI and Wellbeing

As part of the Radcliffe Science Library (RSL) refurbishment we are planning several new developments for when the library reopens for Michaelmas Term 2023.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion projects

Silhouttes of many diverse faces layered over each other in a variety of colours.As part of its actions for supporting an inclusive culture the RSL is working on diversifying its portraiture and creating a space where everyone feels welcome, valued, and respected when it re-opens in Summer 2023. You can still contribute suggestions for our inclusive portraiture list. See our previous blog post for more details.

Wellbeing room

Close up photograph of colouring in page with a heart at the centre. There are four different colouring pencils in the cornerOur wellbeing room will be a space to promote wellbeing, relaxation and mindfulness. It will have comfortable furniture and a relaxing environment. The room will contain, games, crafts and books to help with your wellbeing. See our previous post for more details.

Book recommendations

Close up photograph of book with pages folded into a heart shape.For both our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) collection and our Wellbeing collection we are looking for recommendations. We want you to have access to the books and activities that you want and need!

For EDI recommendations, please contact karine.barker@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

For Wellbeing recommendations, please contact rachel.scanlon@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

InterLibrary Loan Service

It may seem like everything is available through Bodleian Libraries but occassionally you may need a paper or book that you can’t find on SOLO. If you can’t find a particular item in SOLO you can order it for free through our InterLibrary Loan (ILL) Service.

Just fill out the online form and we’ll try and get a copy of what you need from another UK library: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/borrow/inter-library-loans.

Graphic of a stack of books piled high into the sky

For books the items can be ordered to the vere Harmsworth Library (VHL), where the RSL collection is currently located. For journal articles or individual chapters you can be sent an elctronic version.

Check out our Resource of the Month

The RSL has a huge collection of physical and electronic materials. We have so much that we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items whether recently added or an existing collection item. The resources are recommended by our knowledgeable subject librarians who are excited to show off parts of the collection for their subject.

Text that says resource of the month over small images of books, computer equipment and scientific equipment

This month’s selector is:

Ollie Bridle

Photo of Ollie Bridle

Ollie Bridle

Ollie has selected JSTOR Global Plants.

Brief Description

JSTOR Global Plants provides high resolution, digitised plant specimen images from over 300 herbaria and plant research organisations around the world. Not only does the database contain almost 3 million type-specimens, it also includes an array of supporting documentation such as field notes, illustrations from Cutis’s Botanical Magazine and articles from botanical reference works.

Where possible, specimens are linked to published botanical literature available in JSTOR or to external resources such as the Biodiversity Heritage Library and Tropicos.

JSTOR Global Plants provides powerful search tools allowing you to identify specific species, collectors or specimens associated with a particular geographical area or herbarium collection. Images and accompanying metadata for specimens can be downloaded and saved as PDF files.

Close up of a red poppy with the text "Now's the time to brush up on your Latin" in large font. below it is the text "Jstor Global Plants".

Who is this useful for?

JSTOR Global Plants is an excellent resource for supporting research in plant diversity, taxonomy and systematics or plant identification at all levels.

How can I access it?

This resource is available through SOLO. To access it off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).

You can also set up a free account within JSTOR Global Plants itself. This allows you to save records you find to your own personal account for easy retrieval.

Text "Let your research flourish" over images of hand drawn plants

Check out our Resource of the Month for April

The RSL has a huge collection of physical and electronic materials. We have so much that we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items whether recently added or an existing collection item. The resources are recommended by our knowledgeable subject librarians who are excited to show off parts of the collection for their subject.

Text that says resource of the month over small images of books, computer equipment and scientific equipment

This month’s selector is:

Karine Barker

Photograph of Karine Barker

Karine Barker

Karine has selected HSTalks: The Biomedical & Life Sciences Collection by Henry Stewart Talks Ltd.

Brief Description

HSTalks: The Biomedical & Life Sciences Collection is a collection of high-quality online video lectures lasting between 10 and 60 minute long that are ideal for teaching, research and learning. The collection includes more than 3,000 specially commissioned seminar-style lectures by leading world experts, including Nobel Laureates and Lasker prize winners. There is material to support teaching at an undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate level, and the resource is also ideal for supporting research and clinician development. The lectures are also a great resource as a helpful revision tool to do additional research around the subject.

4 columns of panels giving titles of lectures with photos of speakers,with text "Multimedia Lectures by leading world experts" at the top.

HSTalks

Who is this useful for?

MSD Undergraduate and Graduate students in Biochemistry, BMS, Medicine, Neuroscience and Pharmacology,  MPLS Biology Undergraduate and Graduate students, and MSD and MPLS Biology research and teaching staff.

How can I access it?

This resource is available through SOLO. To access it off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).

For teaching Staff

Would you like to include new content in your course, but don’t have time to look? Contact karine.barker@bodleian.ox.ac.uk about the content matching service.

Check out our Resource of the Month

The RSL has a huge collection of physical and electronic materials. We have so much that we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items whether recently added or an existing collection item. The resources are recommended by our knowledgeable subject librarians who are excited to show off parts of the collection for their subject.

Text that says resource of the month over small images of books, computer equipment and scientific equipment

This month’s selector is:

Ollie Bridle

Photo of Ollie Bridle

Ollie Bridle

Ollie has selected BIOSIS by Web of Science.

Brief Description

BIOSIS is a database of biological and biomedical research literature published since 1969. It not only covers academic journals, but also book chapters, meeting abstracts, technical reports, patents and other material. BIOSIS can be particularly useful to biologists as the records are enhanced with added taxonomic, genetic and biochemical information. This makes it possible to easily search for all records concerned with a specific gene or organism. BIOSIS records also benefit from the citation data available within Web of Science. This allows you to see related research available across the Web of Science platform that has cited documents you are interested in.

Scientist with white gloves swabbing a petri dish with an orange substance in it.

Photo by Trnava University on Unsplash

Who is this useful for?

This is a valuable database for anybody studying or researching biology, biochemistry, biomedical sciences or related disciplines. A great tool for researching everything from an undergraduate essay to a journal paper.

How can I access it?

This database is available through SOLO. To access it off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).

Check out our Resource of the Month

The RSL has a huge collection of physical and electronic materials. We have so much that we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items whether recently added or an existing collection item. The resources are recommended by our knowledgeable subject librarians who are excited to show off parts of the collection for their subject.

Text that says resource of the month over small images of books, computer equipment and scientific equipmentThis month’s selector is:

Alessandra Vetrugno

Alessandra Vetrugno has selected Reaxys Academic Edition.

Brief Description

Reaxys Academic Edition is a vital resource for Chemistry research and education. Its extensive database covers Chemistry information dating as far back as 1771 and can be searched in different ways including by chemical structure and reaction type.
Its advanced search tools ensure fast access to:

  • Over 86 million documents
  • Over 179 million organic, inorganic and organometallic substances
  • >57 million chemical Reactions
  • More than 500M searchable experimental properties
  • >35 million Patents from 105 patent offices
  • Over 43 million bioactivity data points
  • Published and AI predicted synthesis routes
Overhead photograph of a beaker placed on a colourful periodic table

Photo by Vedrana Filipović on Unsplash.

Who is this useful for?

This resource is essential for Chemistry students and researchers, from undergraduate level up to academics. It is also relevant for researchers in Biochemistry and in Pharmacology, with, for example, its applications in drug discovery. It is also relevant for researchers in Materials Science as well as for researchers in Biochemistry and in Pharmacology, with, for example, its applications in drug discovery.

How can I access it?

Reaxys Academic Edition is available through SOLO . To access it off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).

If you want to know more about searching Reaxys, you can talk to one of our friendly Subject Librarians! 😊

More loanable titles in the RSL

We currently have 450 metres of books on the open shelves in the RSL collection in the VHL. That’s over 18,000 books. 93% of which are loanable.

Photograph of a room with floor to ceiling shelves full of booksYou asked for more loanable books and we did it. We recently converted 6000 books that were only for use in the library so that they can now be borrowed.

6000 books is a lot to get through so sone of them still have the old labels but our library team are working through them as quickly as they can. If you want to check if a book can be borrowed just chat to the staff at the front desk.

This is a pilot scheme so we’d appreciate your feedback on the scheme enquiries.rsl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

"Library Use Only" stickers being removed from books

New Journal – Science Robotics

Text reads New resource over a range of scientific, computer and book related imagesNew Journal

Exciting news for all those interested in the field of robotics we have now arranged access to a new journal Science Robotics.

What is it?

Science Robotics publishes original, peer-reviewed, science- or engineering-based research articles that advance the field of robotics. This multidisciplinary journal covers emerging trends such as bio-robotics and the use of advanced materials as well as the traditional areas of robotics. It covers micro and nano robots to large scale systems and everything in between. Theoretical and practical research are both covered and it promotes reproducibility, facilitated by online supplementary materials and design/code repositories. It covers many sub disciplines including Bioinspired Robots, Robotics for Human Augmentation, Nanorobotics and Robotics and Medicine.

Mars rover robot

Who is this for?

This journal will be of interest to anyone researching robotics, potential use for robotics in medicine or anyone who uses robotics in their research projects.

How can I access it?

This journal is available through SOLO Science Robotics. To access them off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).

New Journal- Veterinary Record and Veterinary Record Case Studies

Text reads New resource over a range of scientific, computer and book related imagesNew Journal

We have arranged access to a new journal: The Veterinary Record aka Vet Record. It is British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) official journal. Containing scientific reviews, original research papers and more on a wide range of veterinary topics, it also carries disease surveillance reports, careers information and business and innovation news.

But wait there’s more, we have also arranged access to Veterinary Record Case Reports. This journal publishes articles in all fields of veterinary medicine and surgery on common and rare conditions. Cases include those that present a diagnostic, ethical or management challenge, and cases that highlight aspects of mechanisms of injury, pharmacology or histopathology.

Dark covered journal with images in gold on the cover. The images are a heart with a cross in it , a house a bowl, a dog and a cat. heart on cover

Who is this for?

This journal will be of interest to researchers who work with animals or do research related to animals. As well as those who are interested in developments in veterinary medicine, pharmacology and diagnosis.

How can I access it?

These journals are available through SOLO Veterinary Record & Veterinary Record Case Reports. To access them off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).