Guide to visiting libraries & archives in the United States

US National ArchivesSummer is prime time for students and researchers to plan trips to visit libraries and archives. If you’ve never been to the United States to conduct archival research before, you may find the process a little daunting. We have therefore put together a guide to the some of the key libraries and archives our readers might plan on going to, along with various tips of things to consider when thinking about and planning your trip.

The guide is available on LibGuides at http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/us-archives. We welcome feedback on the guide and hope many of you find it useful!

Summer vacation hours begin Monday 22nd June

From Monday 22nd June the library will switch to summer vacation hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm only.

If you are going away over the summer, don’t forget that you can still access all our electronic resources (ebooks, ejournals and online databases) as long as you sign in to SOLO or OxLIP+ with your single sign-on first. For registered borrowers, please note that we do not offer vacation loans; all books will continue to be due back in two days throughout the summer.

The library will be closed on the August Bank Holiday (31st August) but otherwise will remain open throughout the vacation. Please note however that there will be some disruption throughout the summer due to the lighting replacement work. Keep an eye on the blog or twitter for updates.

Lighting replacement work and car park resurfacing this summer

There are two major building improvement projects taking place this summer which will cause some degree of disruption for library users.

Lighting replacement work – from 22nd June until end September

Over the course of the summer, the lighting on the ground floor and first floor in the library is due to be replaced. This is a continuation of the project which replaced the mezzanine lighting last summer, and which will conclude with the top floor in 2016. The outline of the schedule as currently set is as follows:

  • Monday 22nd June – Friday 7th August: ground floor
  • Week beginning 10th August: entrance foyer
  • Monday 17th August – end September: first floor

As the work proceeds, we will need to temporarily close off parts of the library to readers. This will include the shelves on the first floor in sections, during which time we will offer a fetching service for books located in the closed areas. Keep an eye on the blog, twitter, and signs in the library throughout the summer for details on what’s closed off when. The electricians will do their best to keep noise to a minimum.

Car park resurfacing – 15th June-17th July

The car park between the RAI and the Chemistry Research Laboratory will be re-landscaped from 15th June for approximately five weeks. Pedestrian access to the RAI will be maintained at all times, along with as much cycle parking as practical (though the exact location of the bike racks may move about while the work takes place). It is possible that this work will be noisy at times and may be audible inside, particularly if the weather is warm and windows are open.

We apologise for the disruption these two building projects will cause.

iSkills coming up: Your thesis, copyright & ORA; Open access; Theology, Philosophy; UK government papers

bodleian_iskills_web-98pixelsBodleian Libraries will be running the following workshops in weeks 7 and 8:

Bodleian iSkills: Your thesis, copyright & ORA – Tuesday 9th June (Week 7) 10.00-11.00 – Oxford DPhil students are required to deposit a copy of their thesis in ORA (Oxford University Research Archive). This session will focus on copyright and other issues that DPhil students need to take into account when preparing their thesis for upload to ORA.
Presenters: David Watson, Jason Partridge and Sarah Barkla
Venue: Jesus College, Ship Street Centre (next to the News Café) >Book online

Bodleian iSkills: Open Access Oxford: what’s happening? – Wednesday 10th June (Week 7) 12.00 noon-13.00 – A briefing on open access for research publications and Oxford’s position including: green vs gold open access routes; how to check funder mandates and publisher policies; Author Processing Charges (APCs) and how to apply for them to be paid from the University’s block grant; the Oxford Research Archive (ORA) and Symplectic; open access and the new HEFCE policy and how to get help.
Who is this session for? Current Oxford research postgraduates, researchers, academics, University and Library staff.
Presenters: Juliet Ralph and Andy Kernot
Venue: Jesus College, Ship Street Centre (next to the News Cafe) >Book online

Bodleian iSkills: Information Skills in Theology – Wednesday 10th June (Week 7) 14.15-15.45 – A presentation on information and searching skills, with specific references to subject-specific bibliographical databases, primary theological texts and tools for biblical studies. It is a presentation, rather than a hands-on workshop, but students are encouraged to bring laptops in order to follow the presenter.
Who is this session for? Undergraduate students in Philosophy and religion preparing to work on a thesis/extended essay or a refresher for postgraduates and researchers
Presenters: Hilla Wait and Colin Cook
Venue: Colin Matthews room, Radcliffe Humanities >Book online

Bodleian iSkills: Information Skills in Philosophy – Wednesday 10th June (Week 7) 15.45-17.15 – A presentation on information and searching skills, with specific references to subject-specific bibliographical databases, primary texts and encyclopedias of philosophy. It is a presentation, rather than a hands-on workshop, but students are encouraged to bring laptops in order to follow the presenter.
Who is this session for? Undergraduate students in Philosophy preparing to work on a thesis/extended essay or a refresher for postgraduates and researchers
Presenters: Hilla Wait and Colin Cook
Venue: Colin Matthews room, Radcliffe Humanities >Book online

Bodleian iSkills: UK parliamentary and government materials – an introduction Thursday 11th June (Week 7) 10.00-12.00 noon – A general overview of the main sources for finding and accessing historical UK parliamentary material, pre 1800 and post 1800 including sources for government publications both in print and in electronic format.
Who is this session for? Undergraduate history students and anyone new to the subject
Venue: IT Services, 13 Banbury Road >Book online

What’s coming up in the iSkills Programme – See the full timetable and book your place  at http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/workshopsbydate

Keeping up with Bodleian Libraries training opportunities: Why not follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bodleianskills  or visit the Bodleian iSkills blog at http://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/skills/

Questions? – Please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk