Take the SSL home with you: Ways to access library materials remotely

Posted on 6 March 2023 by dawnyoung

Our books (both normal and short loan) are currently being issued over the vacation. All are due back on Tuesday 25 April 2023 (1st Week of Trinity Term). However, if you have any books out on loan that you no longer need, please do return them to us before you leave for the vacation.

If you are an Oxford University student and need to access library resources while you are away from Oxford, follow our tips below:

Remote access via SOLO

Access e-books, e-journals and databases remotely by logging in to SOLO with your Single Sign On (SSO) Take a look at the Bodleian Libraries SOLO Guide for further information.

For help with finding and using items on SOLO, you can also get assistance via SOLO Live Chat.

This service is staffed from Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm.

Look for the chat box to the right of the SOLO webpage.

eBooks

Our eBook Subject & Research Guide has lots of information on how to access and use Oxford University eBooks.

ORLO (Oxford Reading Lists Online)

Most postgraduate reading lists are available on ORLO and scans, online articles and e-books can be accessed there.

Scan & Deliver

Scan & Deliver is a free electronic document delivery service which enables you to obtain scans of book chapters or journal articles via email from the Bodleian Libraries’ print collections.

For more details on the above, and to find out about further resources available remotely, consult the Bodleian Libraries Online and Remote Access webpage.

Questions, need Help?

Any questions, just get in touch with us!

Email: ssl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: 01865 271093

Our opening hours for the vacation are on our homepage.

Note that we will be closed for the Easter weekend from Friday 7 to Monday 10 April (dates inclusive).

Our Book of the Month choice for March

Posted on 3 March 2023 by dawnyoung

The SSL ‘Book of the Month’ feature highlights a book in our collection that has been chosen by one of our Subject Consultants. This may be a recent addition to our stock or an existing item that we would like to share with you.

March’s Book of the Month was selected by Andy Kernot, Subject Consultant for Geography, Social Policy & Intervention, Public Policy, and Internet Studies

Daniel Yergin

The new map: energy, climate, and the clash of nations

Allen Lane, 2020

HD9502.A2.YER 2000

It was chosen because Pulitzer Prize-winning author and global energy expert, Daniel Yergin offers a revelatory new account of how energy revolutions, climate battles, and geopolitics are mapping our future.

Book Overview

The New Map tells a sweeping story about how the role of energy in climate change is shaping geopolitical discussions, challenging our industries and our lifestyles, and accelerating a second energy revolution – the quest for renewables. It also brings realism to the debates over the energy transition.

A master storyteller and global energy expert, Daniel Yergin takes the reader on an utterly riveting and timely journey across the world’s new map. He illuminates the great energy and geopolitical questions in an era of rising political turbulence and points to the profound challenges that lie ahead.

Reviews

“There are many … stories in this wonderful book, all of them directed at the transformation of the global map of power and wealth that has happened in the 21st century. Don’t waste your time on Boris or Trump, Covid or novichock, just read this to find out what is really happening.”

Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times

“Daniel Yergin won a Pulitzer in 1992 for The Prize, an acclaimed history of petroleum and political power … In The New Map he turns his talents to what might be called geopolitical cartography … Fans of the author’s previous books will appreciate the snappy prose and plethora of well-told anecdotes … revealing and apposite … The book brings the general reader admirably up to date on the many subjects it covers.”

Edward Lucas, The Times

“Yergin is the most respected chronicler of energy history and politics today. Yergin has enviable talents. He writes fluently in a style that brings to life the arcane dynamics of the energy business. He is deeply knowledgeable and analytically prescient… The New Map is an excellent read because, through multiple interconnected storylines, it pulls together the transformative occurrences that have shaped the energy world in recent years into a cogent framework from which the reader can discern the future pathways of the next energy transition.”

Vikram S Mehta, Indian Express

How can I access it?

This title is available in hard copy in the library. One of our copies is currently located at our New Books Display Area (around the corner from our Issue Desk). The shelfmark for the title is HD9502.A2.YER 2000 Our copies are available to borrow by Oxford University students and staff members.

An eLegal Deposit copy of the title is also available on SOLO. This can be viewed on library reading room computers only.

What would your SSL Book of the Month be? Do you have a favourite book in our collection? If so, we would love to know what it is. Add a comment below or email us.

Our Resource of the Month for March

Posted on 2 March 2023 by dawnyoung

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

March’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Andy Kernot, Subject Consultant for Geography, Social Policy & Intervention, Public Policy, and Internet Studies.

Andy’s choice is Ethnologue. It was chosen because it’s the most comprehensive database of the world’s lesser used languages, including language maps, family trees, an overview of endangered languages and a bibliography. It is used across a broad range of academic disciplines.

Resource Overview

Ethnologue gives you insight into each of the world’s nearly 7,500 known languages — whether used daily by over a billion people or existing only as a memory of cultural heritage. The documented number is in constant flux because languages are living and dynamic. They constantly evolve as the communities that use them are shaped and influenced by our rapidly changing world.

Over 40% of languages are endangered, but for those who speak or sign them, they are just as important as the world’s most widely used languages. The languages we speak or sign are at the very core of our human identity and are integral to our ability to flourish in life. In a constantly shifting global language landscape, Ethnologue provides the information you need for advocacy, development and research.

Where can you access the resource

Ethnologue can be accessed via SOLO.

Oxford Festival of Open Scholarship: Learn, Debate, Innovate

Posted on 1 March 2023 by bethpaton

What in the world is going on with open access and open research? Come along and hear from an array of exciting national and international speakers – and find out!

Organised by the Bodleian Libraries, OxFOS23 will cover a range of topical issues, including:

The tricky problem of open monographs
The future of peer review
The future of copyright

The events will take place over two weeks: 8-9th week, Hilary Term (6-17th March). Sessions range between half hour talks and two-hour workshops. All of the events are free to attend and most are open to everyone, but a few are restricted to Oxford university members for practical reasons (e.g. if the content is only relevant to Oxford university members, or if your SSO is required for a workshop). This is an opportunity to explore and debate issues, and jointly look for solutions.

This year most of the events are still online via Teams, but we do have some in-person events as well. Our flagship debate ‘The Future of Copyright’ will be hybrid (both online and in-person tickets available). You can also play the Publishing Trap Game, a board game designed by Chris Morrison (Copyright and Licensing Specialist for Bodleian Libraries) and Jane Secker (Senior Lecturer in Educational Development at City, University of London).

The festival begins with ‘The Fundamentals of Open Access‘ led by Sarah Humphreys. If you are completely new to the idea of open access, this session is a great introduction to the basics and breaks down the meanings of common OA jargon terms.

Visit the OxFOS webpage for the schedule information and to book sessions: https://openaccess.ox.ac.uk/oxfos-23/

Wellbeing Week at the Bodleian Libraries: Mon 20 to Fri 24 February

Posted on 21 February 2023 by dawnyoung

Take a break from your studies and try something completely different!

This week the Bodleian Libraries are running a wide range of activities for students to support wellbeing and help to manage stress. As part of the University’s Green Action Week (20–24 February), all of the sessions have an environmentally-friendly theme. Go on a wellbeing walk, sing outside with a group, create some blackout poetry, join a make-do-and-mend workshop, play board games, take a creative writing session and more.

The sessions are free to attend; some sessions require booking in advance. A full list of sessions (and links to book, where applicable) can be found on the Bodleian Libraries Wellbeing Week webpage.

SSL Wellbeing Walk – Friday 24 February, 1 – 2pm

Join Jo Gardner, Social Science Librarian, for a 1 hour guided walk around the University Parks, alongside the River Cherwell and Mesopotamia (weather-permitting).

No need to book, just meet outside the Manor Road Building entrance at 1pm.

Please wear study shoes and clothing suitable for wet weather conditions.

Try out some Mindful Colouring

Give your mind a break: collect some pencils and colouring sheets from the table in our library entrance area. Please returning colouring pencils to the table when finished.

Great Green Reads Book Display

Posted on 20 February 2023 by joannasoedring

Read widely, live lightly!

To celebrate the University’s first ever Green Action Week (20-24 February 2023) we have put together a display of Great Green Reads from the Social Science Library’s collections.

We asked SSL staff and those involved with sustainability throughout the University to share their favourite green reads. The display includes books that inspired action, changed perspectives on nature, or gave greater insight into environmental issues and potential solutions.

To come and browse the books, pop in to the SSL at any time during our opening hours, from Monday 20 February – Friday 17 March. We are open to all members of the University and are located in the Manor Road Building.

The books are listed below, with those titles where recommenders were kind enough to share a few words appearing at the top of the list.

Click the title to be taken to the SOLO record for the book where you can access the online version if available, see if other libraries hold copies, or request the book if it is out on loan.

Doughnut economics : seven ways to think like a 21st century economist / Kate Raworth. 2018. SSL shelfmark: HB75.RAW 2018

Recommended by Kate Trinkaus, DPhil student, Dept. of Physics, who says “University of Oxford economist Kate Raworth proposes a model for economics with a new goal: meeting every person’s needs while protecting the living planet that sustains us — as opposed to our current economic models which are based on the goals of accumulating wealth and infinite growth. She details how these previous economic theories came to be and how they aren’t serving humanity, what getting into the Doughnut – the safe zone for humanity – looks like, how humans actually operate and what we need, and how to implement these new principles and goals in reality.”

Small is beautiful : a study of economics as if people mattered / E.F. Schumacher. 1973. SSL shelfmark: HB171.SCH

Recommended by John-Paul Clough, Brasenose College, who says “This is an oldie but a goodie (from the 1970s)”

Capitalism in the web of life : ecology and the accumulation of capital / Jason W. Moore. 2015. SSL shelfmark: HD75.6.MOO 2015

Recommended by Morgan, Social Science Library, who says: “Jason Moore argues against the simplifying term of the anthropocene, where ‘the historical-geographical patterns of differentiation and coherence are erased in the interests of narrative simplicity’ (p.171). His arguments are extraordinarily helpful for pointing out the flaws in environmental studies which have lead to the conclusion that only certain technological components of 21st century life need be opposed. Instead, Moore identifies our opponents as ‘the relations of power, capital, and nature that rendered fossil capitalism so deadly in the first place.’ (p.172)”

Finntopia : what we can learn from the world’s happiest country / Danny Dorling and Annika Koljonen. 2020.

Recommended by Jo Gardner, Social Science Librarian, who says “The Finnish landscape is dominated by lakes and forest, and I envy the people their tradition of spending their summers in a lakeside cottage surrounded by nature. The authors of this book refer to this, and go on to describe Finland as a country at the forefront of initiatives to reduce, mitigate and adapt to climate change. It is an uplifting book, beautifully and accessibly written.”

All we can save : truth, courage, & solutions for the climate crisis / edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Katharine K. Wilkinson. SSL shelfmark: QC903.2.U6.ALL 2021

Recommended by Kate Trinkaus, DPhil student, Dept. of Physics, who says “All We Can Save is an anthology of writings by 60 women at the forefront of the climate movement who are harnessing truth, courage, and solutions to lead humanity forward. It covers everything from climate justice to indigenous wisdom to eco-anxiety, and the contributors are from a wide range of disciplines but all are working towards this shared goal of regenerating our planet. It’s my personal favourite climate-related book as it helps us all find a sense of direction in the climate movement.”

Rambunctious garden : saving nature in a post-wild world / Emma Marris. 2011. SSL shelfmark: QH75.MAR 2011

Recommended by Jo Gardner, Social Science Librarian, who says “This optimistic book is not about gardening. It is more about how we need to redefine ‘nature’ and ‘wilderness’ and managing human intervention. Emma Marris proposes that our limited conservation budgets be put towards creating sustainable ecosystems, not towards restoring them to some ancient baseline. She argues that it is time to look forward and create the “rambunctious garden,” a hybrid of wild nature and human management.”

Drawdown : the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming / edited by Paul Hawken. 2018. SSL shelfmark: TD171.75.DRA 2018

Recommended by Kate Trinkaus, DPhil student, Dept. of Physics, who says “The book that launched Project Drawdown: a non-profit organization that seeks to help the world reach “drawdown”—the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby halting catastrophic climate change—as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible. They reviewed hundreds of climate solutions based on the amount of emissions they avoid or sequester, their upfront cost, cost savings, and scalability, and then ranked them —proposing the first comprehensive plan to reverse global warming.”

Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants / Robin Wall Kimmerer. 2013. SSL shelfmark: E98.P5.KIM 2015

World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse / Lester Brown. 2011. SSL shelfmark: GE149.BRO 2011

No one is too small to make a difference / Greta Thunberg. 2019. SSL shelfmark: GE195.7.THU 2019

How bad are bananas? : the carbon footprint of everything / Mike Berners-Lee. 2010. SSL shelfmark: GE196.BER 2010

Less is more : how degrowth will save the world / Jason Hickel. 2020. SSL shelfmark: HC79.E5.HIC 2020

Waste and want : a social history of trash / Susan Strasser. 2000. SSL shelfmark: HD9975.STR 2000

There Is No Planet B

There is no Planet B : a handbook for the make or break years / Mike Berners-Lee. 2020. (Online only)

Silent spring / Rachel Carson. 1962. SSL shelfmark: QH545.P4.CAR

Feral : searching for enchantment on the frontiers of rewilding / George Monbiot. 2013. SSL shelfmark: QL83.4.MON 2013

Wilding : the return of nature to a British farm / Isabella Tree. 2019. SSL shelfmark: QL83.4.TRE 2019

Do you have a favourite green read? Let us know in the comments below!

LGBT+ History Month at the SSL – Subject Recommendations

Posted on 16 February 2023 by morganashbycrane

For February, we’ve put up a book display to celebrate LGBT+ History Month. It features selections from our subject librarians, as well as recommendations from readers in previous years. This will be the first of a series of blog posts highlighting aspects of our book display. This post covers the recommendations made for specific subjects at the SSL!

Development with a Body: Sexuality, Human Rights and Development

For Forced Migration, African and Commonwealth Sarah Rhodes has suggested: Development with a Body: Sexuality, Human Rights and Development (eds. Cornwall, Corrêa & Jolly). Sarah Rhodes has said:

‘The shift towards a rights-based approach to development has brought the human rights dimensions of sexuality into clearer view, and consequently the need to address discriminatory laws and violations of the human rights of those whose sexual identity and practices diverge from dominant sexual orders/norms.

This book offers compelling insights into contemporary challenges and transformative possibilities of the struggle for sexual rights. As Arit Oku-Egbas, (African Regional Sexuality Resource Centre, Nigeria) highlights: ‘’We used to talk about development with a human face. We should be talking about development with a body’

An e-book is available at: https://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/primo-explore/search?query=any,contains,development%20with%20a%20body&tab=local&search_scope=LSCOP_ALL&sortby=rank&vid=SOLO&facet=frbrgroupid,include,239740091&lang=en_US&offset=0

Russian Homophobia from Stalin to Sochi

For Russian and Eastern-European Studies, the SSL recommends Russian Homophobia from Stalin to Sochi, by Dan Healey.

Professor Dan Healey is both a pioneering researcher of Soviet and Russian homosexuality, and a retired member of Oxford’s own History Faculty. In Russian Homophobia from Stalin to Sochi he explores the Stalinist roots of contemporary Russian homophobia, through a series of case studies.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has accorded a new relevance to Healey’s work: homophobia is key to the Putin administration’s justification of its war.

An e-book is available at https://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=oxfaleph021828375&context=L&vid=SOLO&lang=en_US&search_scope=LSCOP_ALL&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&isFrbr=true&tab=local&query=any,contains,dan%20healey%20russian%20homophobia&sortby=rank&facet=frbrgroupid,include,374131911&offset=0

Samoan Queer Lives

In the field of Anthropology, Helen Worrell recommends Samoan Queer Lives by Dan Taulapapa McMullin and Shigeyuki Kihara. Helen says:

‘This volume examines the unique lives of Samoan people who are ‘fa`afafine’ – broadly understood as persons who are of part of the LGBTIQA+ community. As Kihara notes in her introduction, the book offers a counterpoint to the western centric and colonialist study of Samoan culture (often conducted by anthropologists) by giving fa`afafine the space to tell their own stories.’

‘This book, the first of its kind, is edited and written by fa`afafine. Here fa`afafine share their stories in their own words. Featuring 14 autobiographical stories from fa`afafine and LGBTIQA+ Samoans based in Sāmoa, Amerika Sāmoa, Australia, Aotearoa NZ, Hawai`i and USA.

Samoan Queer Lives can be found on the book display. Its shelfmark is DU813.KIH 2018

When States Come Out: Europe’s Sexual Minorities and the Politics of Visibility

Jo Gardner (Politics and International Relations Subject Consultant) has selected When States Come Out: Europe’s Sexual Minorities and the Politics of Visibility by Philip Ayoub.

‘This innovative book breaks new ground in the study of human rights, international relations, social movements, and identity politics. Phillip Ayoub provides a deep and rigorous multi-method analysis of a critical issue at the frontiers of the struggle for human dignity.’ Alison Brysk (Mellichamp Professor of Global Governance, University of California)

‘This is an important contribution not only to the literature on LGBT politics, but also to that on comparative social movements and the politics of social change more broadly.’ Robert Singh (Birkbeck, University of London)

The e-book is available here: https://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=oxfaleph001342024&context=L&vid=SOLO&lang=en_US&search_scope=LSCOP_ALL&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&isFrbr=true&tab=local&query=any,contains,When%20States%20Come%20Out:%20Europe%E2%80%99s%20Sexual%20Minorities%20and%20the%20Politics%20of%20Visibility%20%20Philip%20Ayoub&sortby=rank&facet=frbrgroupid,include,433731689&offset=0

Gender Diversity, Recognition and Citizenship: Towards a Politics of Difference

Jo also suggested Gender Diversity, Recognition and Citizenship: Towards a Politics of Difference by Sally Hines:

‘A wonderful, scholarly elaboration of a politics of difference, carefully argued and grounded in the claims and experiences of transgender people.’ Fiona Williams (Professor of Social Policy, University of Leeds)

‘In a nuanced and vivid account of trans people’s engagements with gender recognition law, Hines offers important new reflections on the politics of recognition and difference.’ Davina Cooper (Professor of Law & Political Theory, University of Kent)

Gender Diversity, Recognition and Citizenship is available on the book display, and we have an additional copy under the shelfmark HQ77.9.HIN 2013

Mapping LGBTQ Spaces and Places: A Changing World

Andy Kernot (Geography, Social Policy & Intervention, Public Policy, and Internet Studies Subject Consultant) has selected Mapping LGBTQ Spaces and Places (Eds. Blidon & Brunn).

“This book addresses LGBTQ issues in relation to (among others): law and policy, mobility and migration, children and family, social well-being and identity, visible and invisible landscapes, teaching and instruction, parades, arts and cartography and mapping. This extensive book stimulates future pioneering research ventures in rural and urban settings about existing and proposed LGBTQ policies, individual and group mapping, visible and invisible spaces, and the construction of public and private spaces. Through the various methodologies and rich bibliographies, this book provides a rich source for future comparative research of scholars working in social work, NGOs and public policy, and community networking and development.”

This title is only available as an ebook, and can be accessed here: https://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=oxfaleph022922462&context=L&vid=SOLO&lang=en_US&search_scope=LSCOP_ALL&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=local&query=any,contains,lgbtq%20spaces%20and%20places&offset=0

Feel free to pop by and browse or borrow any of these titles, or suggest your own! We’ll be highlighting other resources, including those recommended by SSL readers, later in the month!

Specialised Software in the SSL

Posted on 13 February 2023 by dawnyoung

To support social scientists and others who need to gather and handle data, the library offers a Data Area.

This provides access to PCs with specialised and restricted-licence data software:

Refinitiv Eikon

Allows for economic research and strategy development with macroeconomic analysis through access to the accounts data and equity data for global companies and stock indices.

The content spans over 40 years and contains worldwide economic data and futures, bonds and commodities figures.

Access is available to current University members for academic and non-commercial research
Ask staff at the Issue Desk to log you in to the dedicated computer

NVivo

This software is designed to organise, analyse and find insights in qualitative data.

The software is installed on five SSL computers and can be found via the Start menu
Access is available to all library readers with a Bodleian Libraries login

IBM SPSS Statistics

This data analysis software allows for the editing and analysis of all types of quantitative data, whether structured data or relational databases. It works with all common file formats and can be used for formulaic analysis or graphing data.

The software is installed on five SSL computers
Access is restricted to current University members

Additional software on our library computers that may be of interest to you:

ArcGIS

A geographic information system, ArcGIS 10.2 can be used by anyone working with geospatial data or in fact any statistical information that includes geographical variables such as location, elevation, population density and so on. If the information being used features a geographical representation of the world as part of the mix then ArcGIS should be of interest.

The software is installed on all of our computers and can be found via the Start menu
Access is available to all library readers with a Bodleian Libraries login

Kofax Power PDF

Software used for creating, converting and editing PDF files.

Tip – Software can be used to add a text layer to an image of a document to make it searchable.

The software is installed on all of our computers and can be found via the Start menu
Access is available to all library readers with a Bodleian Libraries login

Find out further information about Data and Statistics for the Social Sciences in our Subject and Research Guide.

For Data queries, contact the Bodleian Data Librarian, John Southall.

Trial access to database Race Relations in America until 1st March 2023

Posted on 8 February 2023 by dawnyoung

The Vere Harmsworth Library have organised trial access to the Adam Matthew database – Race Relations in America. The trial will end on the 1^st March 2023.

Race Relations in America

Based at Fisk University from 1943-1970, the Race Relations Department and its annual Institute were set up by the American Missionary Association to investigate problem areas in race relations and develop methods for educating communities and preventing conflict. Documenting three pivotal decades in the fight for civil rights, this resource showcases the speeches, reports, surveys and analyses produced by the Department’s staff and Institute participants.

Key themes covered include:

Desegregation of schools, industries and public transport – survey material documents the attitudes of the community towards prospective desegregation, as well as analysing the results. The progress of legislation and legal cases can also be explored within the collection, alongside statistical data used in key Supreme Court Cases.
Migration of African Americans from the rural South to urban centers, which had a significant impact on American industry and the labour movement, as well as domestic issues such as housing, overcrowding and poverty.
The role of the Church in the Civil Rights Movement and in African American communities, from helping to fund organizations like the Race Relations Institute, to the part played in encouraging integration or segregation among their congregations. Other religious and spiritual groups are also covered.
Race riots and other racial tensions, which the Race Relations Department worked to diffuse or prevent by aiding communities to identify and address their problems. Alongside surveys created by field workers are reports on specific events, with testimonies from individuals involved in events such as police brutality.
Activities of the Civil Rights Movement, including protest marches, sit-in demonstrations, student movements, and legal cases. Reports and correspondence are kept on key organisations, as well as the activities of specific hate groups.
Speeches and reports by key figures of the time, including Thurgood Marshall and Rosa Parks, alongside sociologists, activists, psychologists, teachers, ministers, students and housewives.

Alongside this are contextual essays, thematic guides, audio recordings and video interviews, alongside interactive maps of survey locations and data on attendees of Race Relations Institute.

Any feedback or thoughts on the database, please email the Vere Harmsworth Librarian bethan.davies@bodleian.ox.ac.uk