Author Archives: dawnyoung

Take the SSL home with your: ways to access our collection remotely

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Image of a house in the distance across a field of yellow flowers. There are trees on each side of the house and blue skies behind. In the sky are the words 'Take the SSL home with you'

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

Remote access via SOLO

An open laptop with a book on top of it

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.

Live Chat

The Bodleian Live Chat box.

For help with finding and using items on SOLO, you can also get immediate assistance via SOLO Live Chat during working hours (outside of the Bodleian Libraries Easter closure period – see below)

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)

An open laptop with a red book beside it with glasses on top of it.

Most postgraduate reading lists are available on Oxford Reading Lists Online ORLO and scans, online articles and e-books can be accessed there. Take a look at the ORLO reading lists webpage for further information.

Scan & Deliver

An image of the Book Scanner in the Social Science Library.

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. Note that this service will closed for the Bodleian Libraries Easter Closure Period – see below.

Online Subject Guides

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Browse our online Subject Guides to find subject librarians’ specialist support and resources for your research and studies.

An open laptop on a table with a notebook beside it. Text on the laptop reads "Further Information".

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

Questions, need help?

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Any questions, just get in touch with us!

Email: ssl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: 01865 271093

Vacation Opening Hours

Our opening hours for the Easter vacation (starting on Monday 23 March) are on our website homepage.

Easter Closure Period

A wooden surface with yellow tulips and speckled eggs on it, forming a circle. In the centre are the words 'Easter Closure Period.'

See our website homepage for details of our Easter closure period.

Trial Access: Notable Individuals of British Communism, 1886–1997 (until 4 April 2026)

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© Archive Trust of the Communist Party; images © Microform Academic Publishers, 2020. All rights reserved.

Oxford researchers are warmly invited to trial Notable Individuals of British Communism, 1886-1997 via SOLO. This collection is drawn from the personal papers of a multitude of Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) activists throughout the twentieth century. This includes those at the heart of party (such as full-time “national organisers”), “full-time” CPGB activists such as Mariam Ramelson and Jack Dunman, and peripheral figures who supported the communist cause (such as Labour MP Dennis Nowell Pritt).

The works of trade unionists are featured extensively, and the papers of Peter Kerrigan and Arthur Horner shed light on the activities and campaigns of the Amalgamated Engineering Union and the Welsh Miners Federation, respectively.

The collection houses material from regions ranging from colonial Africa to war-torn Northeast Asia. The collection also hosts material related to militant activism, with biographical material concerning British volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, as well as accounts of those who fought against fascism in the Second World War.

See also the History Faculty Library Blog post. The trial ends 4 April 2026. Please send feedback to Isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Vacation Loans start today (Monday 9th March)

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A lamp turned on shining its beam on an open book which has the words vacation borrowing on it.

For our readers with University cards, our vacation loans started today (Monday 9th March).

Any books borrowed on or after this date will be due back in the first week of Trinity Term on Tuesday 28 April 2026 (Tuesday of 1st Week).

Any books currently on loan that are eligible for renewal, will automatically renew until Tuesday 28th April once they reach their current due date.

Any questions on the above? Please do contact us.

Our Resource of the Month for March: Foreign Policy

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

Andy Kernot, Subject Consultant for Geography, Social Policy and Intervention, Public Policy, and Internet Studies sat in his office at the SSL at a desk with a computer on it.

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

Andy’s choice is Foreign Policy. It was chosen as an influential US news publication on global affairs, current events, and domestic and international policy. It produces content daily on its website, blending daily reporting with long-form analysis and commentary.

Overview

Foreign Policy reports and publishes:

  • News and breaking developments in global politics and diplomacy.
  • Analytical essays and commentary by journalists, scholars, and practitioners.
  • Features on international security, trade, economics, energy, technology, and culture.
  • Reports from conflicts and diplomatic negotiations worldwide.
  • Its reach is both U.S. focused and global in perspective.

The publication is widely respected in policy, academic, and media communities. It has received multiple National Magazine Awards for both its print and online journalism, reflecting quality in reporting and analysis.

Where can you access the resource

This resource can be accessed via SOLO.

A Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required to access this database remotely, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

Our Book of the Month choice for March

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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.

Following the Bend: how to read a river and understand its nature

Ellen E. Wohl

Princeton University Press, 2025

GB1203.7.WOH 2025

Why was it chosen?

When we look at a river, either up close or while flying over a river valley, what are we really seeing? Following the Bend takes readers on a majestic journey by water to find answers, along the way shedding light on the key concepts of modern river science, from hydrology and water chemistry to stream and wetland ecology.

Book Overview

In this accessible and uniquely personal book, Ellen Wohl explains how to “read” a river, blending the latest science with her own personal experiences as a geologist and naturalist who has worked on rivers for more than three decades. She charts how water travels through the hydrologic cycle around the globe and downstream to distribute energy, move sediment, and shape river channels, and how living organisms adapt to life in flowing water to create vibrant river ecosystems. Wohl looks at the role of disturbances such as floods and droughts and discusses how geologists interpret the sedimentary records of past river processes. She illustrates how river networks interact with Earth’s surface and considers issues for rivers in the future, such as progressive drying, river restoration, and advocating for the legal personhood of a river to maintain its distinctive spirit, identity, and integrity.

Sharing a new understanding of how rivers function as both physical systems and ecosystems, Following the Bend enables us to observe rivers with fresh eyes and more fully appreciate the beauty, vibrancy, and complexity of our planet’s vital waterways.

Reviews

“An impassioned guide to interpreting rivers. . . . [Wohl’s] accessible scientific explanations alternate with lyrical passages that pack an emotional punch.”

Publishers Weekly

“Wohl’s passion for her subject shines through throughout. . . . A thorough primer on understanding rivers.”

Genevieve Williams, Library Journal

“Wonderfully engaging. Wohl’s storytelling is rich with the deep insights about rivers that she has cultivated over decades of research, fieldwork, and experiences.”

Joann Mossa, University of Florida

How can I access it?

We have one lending copy of this book, which is located on our New Books Display Area (around the corner from our Issue Desk). Its shelfmark is GB1203.7.WOH 2025.

It is also available as an eBook which can be accessed from a Bodleian Library computer or use it remotely, by logging on to SOLO with your SSO.

Image of an open book with the pages curled to form a love heart

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.

Ukraine from within: an exhibition to mark the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion

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A close up of the Ukraine flag, made up of a band of blue and yellow. On the blue part of the flag is a white outline of a dove of peace with an olive branch in its beak.

‘Ukraine From Within’ is a week-long exhibition at the Social Science Library to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. The art books on display celebrate Ukraine’s creativity, diversity, and determination.

The exhibition takes its title from Ukraїner’s photography book, Країна Зсередини, or ‘Ukraine from within’. This book is part of a multimodal project to document and present the experiences of ordinary Ukrainians, kick-started by Bohdan Lohvynenko in 2016. He and several volunteers travelled across Ukraine from 2016 – 2018, collecting stories and images from Ukraine’s citizens. Their aim was to create a true portrait of Ukraine in all its diversity of community and landscape, through the voices of individual people. Each section carries a QR code, linking to online material. The Ukrainian text can be translated using the Google Translate smartphone app.

Країна Зсередини testifies to the variety of ethnic identity across Ukraine. Memory Guardians speaks for one of these ethnic groups, the Romani people. It offers an account of Romani suffering and survival through the biography of one Roma man, Ivan Bilashchenko, presented as a graphic story. Bilashchenko survived the Holodomor famine of the 1930s, the Nazi genocide of the Romani, and the Second World War, to tell his story to the Roma youth organisation TENET in 2018. He lived to see yet another invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, before his passing in 2023.

Листи на Війну, or Letters on the War, presents the thoughts of Ukrainian children. These letters written by children to soldiers were collected in 2015 – after the annexation of Crimea and the start of the wars in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, but before the full-scale invasion. Designer Olena Staranchuk has arranged these letters and their English translations, without altering their contents. They suggest their authors had a deeper grasp of the situation than some adults. For example, nine-year-old Iaryk wrote simply, “Soldier, I am very happy that you are reading this. Thank you for protecting me, my mother, and my cat.”

Finally, Харківська Школа Фотографії: Гра Проти Апарату (‘The Kharkiv School of Photography: Play Versus the Apparatus’) reveals the subversive power of amateur photography. Amateur photography was popular in the Soviet Union from the 1960s onwards. A series of amateur photographic clubs in Kharkiv created their own form of avant-garde art, which posed a playful but radical challenge to conventional Soviet aesthetics. Only one of these photographers became well-known – Boris Mikhailov, who took part in the first of these clubs during the early 1970s. Hence the book’s author Nadiia Bernar-Koval’chuk found herself initiating a collaborative project to reclaim these bodies of work from numerous personal archives; like Lohvynenko, she acknowledges the dedicated work of many volunteers in the book’s production.

Some readers may find text and images in these books upsetting, or shocking. We hope that readers will also find inspiration in the determination of Ukrainians to keep laughing, loving, creating and communicating, whatever the world may throw at them. The University of Oxford’s statement and resources on Ukraine can be found here.

You can find the books on display around the corner from our issue desk. All items are currently for use in the library only.

Register for OxFOS 2026, Oxford’s open research Conference

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The SSL supports OxFOS 2026, Oxford’s open research Conference

Who owns our knowledge? In the age of AI, how can we make research trustworthy and share it openly (including in non-traditional formats)?

Join the research community in shaping the future of ‘open.’ Come to challenge, learn, laugh, and eat. Free for all to attend, spaces limited.

In-person: Wednesday 4th March 10:00-18:00, including lunch.

Online events: Monday 2nd – Friday 6th March.

Register at https://go.glam.ox.ac.uk/OxFOS26_Info

Why the Bodleian Libraries can’t provide all books electronically

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A person facing front with their head tilted to one side, they have finger on their chin and an unsure expression on their face. Next to them is a question mark.

You can access over 1.4 million ebooks via SOLO but have you ever wondered why the Bodleian Libraries cannot provide all books electronically?

Here is a list of the main reasons why:

  • Some titles do not exist as ebooks. In general, ebook versions are most commonly available for titles printed within the last decade.
  • Sometimes publishers provide ebooks that are for individual private purchase only.
  • Sometimes an ebook licence stipulates only one person can use it at a time, which is too restrictive for books on reading lists.
  • Sometimes ebooks are not licensed for sale in the UK.
  • Sometime ebooks are only available to purchase as part of a large package.
  • Sometimes ebooks are available for purchase, but with additional restrictions to named individuals or cohorts which are counter to current University policies on access to e-resources
A piece of paper on a table with the words 'Sometime ebooks are too expensive for us to purchase ...' Next to is a pen, ruler and a keyboard.
  • We will always try to find a solution, negotiating with suppliers and sharing the cost across multiple budgets.
  • Note that the costs quoted for ebooks on publisher websites are usually for individual private access. Institutional access, when available, is usually much more expensive.
  • Example: A recent ebook that was requested for purchase was almost £5,500 for a three-user licence.
A close up of a side view of a pair of hands typing on a laptop keyboard.

Further information on finding, accessing and using our ebook collections can be found on our ebooks Subject Guide.

The top menu on the SOLO homepage which contains the SOLO logo, the Oxford University log and the link headings 'NEW SEARCH', 'HELP' and 'PURCHASE REQUEST' (the latter is ringed in a yellow line).

You can recommend an ebook (or any other library resource) for purchase via the PURCHASE REQUEST form (available via the top menu on the SOLO homepage).

Our Resource of the Month for February is Web of Science API Expanded

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

John Southall (Bodleian Data Librarian and Subject Consultant for Economics and Sociology) sat beside a computer in the Social Science Library. Book shelves are in the background.

February’s Resource of the Month has been selected by John Southall, Bodleian Data Librarian and Subject Consultant for Economics and Sociology.

John’s choice is Web of Science API Expanded (WoS API Expanded)

Overview

WoS API Expanded Expanded offers a flexible and efficient way to work with large volumes of data, and avoids potential problems of applying TDM to a traditional Web of Science browser interface designed for smaller volume, non-programmatic manual searches.

Key benefits include:

  • Programmatic access to trusted WoS data
    Researchers can retrieve large amounts of publication metadata, cited references, and citation counts directly from the Web of Science Core Collection.
  • Support for large-scale and reproducible analyses
    The API enables automated data collection for systematic reviews, scientometric studies, network analyses, and longitudinal research assessment, supporting reproducibility and transparency.
  • Integration with existing research workflows
    Data can be used with commonly used tools (e.g. Python, R).
  • Enhanced interdisciplinary discovery
    By working at scale, researchers can explore citation patterns and connections across disciplines, helping to identify emerging areas of research.

Comparison with the Web of Science Starter API

The Starter (or Simple) API is still available as part of the Bodleian Libraries subscription. It is generally easier to use for straightforward requests such as basic metadata lookups (e.g., DOI or author checks) or linking Web of Science metadata into external applications with minimal coding. Both APIs are RESTful services requiring applications for API keys via Clarivate’s Developer Portal.

A Subject & Research Guide has been published to support this and other resources as well as outline the principles of Text and Data Mining.

Where can you access the resource

This resource can be accessed via SOLO.

A Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required this database remotely, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

Top tips for Researchers: Book a research appointment with your Subject Consultant

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Your Subject Consultant can help you with more than your literature search …

  • Find out how to construct an answerable research question
  • Get advice on the best reference management tool to suit your needs
  • Find out how to set up automatic searches to keep up to date
  • Learn how to access and manage research data
An infographic of 2 people talking. One is taking notes. An open laptop sits between them. To the left is an infographic of calendar with a date ticked. Above are the words 'Book a research appointment with your Subject Consultant.'

The above are the Subject Consultants based at the Social Science Library. The full list of Bodleian Libraries Subject Consultants can be found via the Subject Librarians webpage.

Visit the Subject Guides: A-Z webpage for specialist support and resources for your research and studies:

  • Key information for your subject area
  • Locate different resource formats
  • Find tools for your research
  • Discover tips to manage your data