A two-hour workshop for all new PGT and PGR Women's Studies students at the University of York, 21st October 2015.

1. Women’s Studies:
getting the most from
library services and
collections
A library workshop for PGT and PGR students
Vanya Gallimore – Academic Liaison Librarian for Women’s Studies

2. By the end of the session you should be:
 Confident using library facilities and
services for your study and research
 Aware of the range of print and
electronic resources available for
Women’s Studies
 Able to carry out an effective
literature search to find relevant
resources
 Able to get hold of full-text materials
both in York and elsewhere
 Know where to go for help and
support
Aims of the session

3. Our Libraries

4. Reference works
Library catalogues
Dissertations and theses
Government Publications
Law resources
E-journals
E-books
Newspapers
Microform collections
Short title catalogues
Texts & documents
Bibliographies
Film resources
Information resources
at York

5. • Locate books, journals and
other resources in the library.
• Find out if items are available
or on loan.
• Link to electronic resources.
• Access “My Library Account”.
• Is available worldwide via the
web at:
http://yorsearch.york.ac.uk
YorSearch Library Catalogue
Finding items in the Library

6. www.york.ac.uk

7. www.york.ac.uk/students/

8. http://yorsearch.york.ac.uk

9. http://yorsearch.york.ac.uk

10. Studying and researching across the disciplines

11. Borrowing
Video guide to Flexible Loans
You can borrow items from the Library using the self-issue
machines. To do this you’ll need to bring your University Card to the
Library.
Items in the Ordinary collection are loaned on a four week basis
and can be renewed as many times as you like as long as no one
else requests them.

12. The Key Text Collections
contain information
resources that are in
high demand. Items in
these collections can be
borrowed for up to 4
hours at a time.

13. http://yorsearch.york.ac.uk

19. http://yorsearch.york.ac.uk

21. British & American titles
17th-21st century
Daily Mirror, Financial Times,
Guardian, Observer, Times,
Illustrated London News, Irish
Times, Times of India
British Newspapers 1600-1950
Search features:
− Search or browse issue
− Limit by publication title
− Limit by section of
newspaper
− Choose PDF option to
print
Newspapers

22. Working either individually or in groups:
 Make sure you are familiar with the YorSearch catalogue
 Then start exploring some of the resources on the Women’s Studies
Subject Guide and the E-Resources Guide:
http://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/womensstudies
http://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/e-resources
 Any questions at this point?
Time to practise:

23. Why is literature searching crucial?
Essential part of the research process. Provides
you with an overview of the research landscape
in relation to your topic.

24. ←PLAN→

25. Good planning will…
…ensure you find the key materials for
your study and research
…help if you find too much information,
or not enough
…help if you don’t retrieve the results
you expect
…save you time

26. Search strategy tips
Break your question down
Think about your topic as a series of questions
that you are searching for an answer to.
For each of the questions identify the key
concepts.

27. Search strategy tips
Identify alternate terms
For each of the key concepts you identify you
should create a list of alternate terms.
You should take into account alternate meanings,
geographical variations in meaning, historical
meaning and technical terms.

28. Search strategy tips
Apply search methodology
Use quotation marks to search for
phrases:
“call girl” “female escort”
Use Truncation and Wildcards :
Femin* finds feminine, feminist,
feminism
Wom?n = woman and women
*? !
& OR NOT
w/3
pre/3
n/3
/p
/s
“”()

29. Combining search terms
• Boolean operators:
ANDOR NOT

30. How is female beauty perceived in
different cultures ?
An example...

31. How is female beauty perceived in
different cultures ?
An example...
female beauty cultures

32. How is female beauty perceived in
different cultures ?
An example...
female beauty cultures
wom?n
female*
girl*
beaut*
attractive*
desirab*
“cross-cultural”
global
“body shape”
international

33. An example...
female beauty cultures
wom?n
female*
girl*
beaut*
attractive*
desirab*
“cross-cultural”
global
“body shape”
international

34. How is female beauty perceived in
different cultures ?
An example...
female beauty cultures
wom?n
female*
girl*
beaut*
attractive*
desirab*
“cross-cultural”
global
“body shape”
international

35. Index academic writings in a particular
academic field
May provide links to full text and library
library catalogue
Key resources:
ASSIA (ProQuest) – social sciences
sciences database
British Humanities Index (ProQuest) –
(ProQuest) – humanities database
Web of Science – interdisciplinary
database containing the Arts & Humanities
and Social Sciences Citation Indexes
BibliographiesBibliographies

44. • Define your own search topic
• Create a search strategy:
terminology, synonyms, truncation
• Try searching some of the
databases;
• Use your search strategy, tweaking
it depending on the database and
your initial set of results;
• Explore the search functions
available for the particular
resources to refine your search;
• Explore databases/resources you
haven’t used before.
Your turn

45. If you can’t find what you need…

46. • Inter-library loans: available via
YorSearch (charged at £2.00 per
request)
• Access to other libraries:
– The British Library at Boston Spa
(free mini-bus alternate Wed/Fri)-
sign up for a reader pass online
– SCONUL scheme allows access to
over 170 UK university libraries
(http://www.york.ac.uk/library/ot
her-libraries/sconul/)
Getting the full-text

47. • White Rose Research Online
» York, Leeds and Sheffield shared repository
» increased access to material normally behind a
subscription barrier (Open Access)
» more information about WRRO at:
http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/
• Other repositories
» SHERPA Search of UK repository content:
www.sherpa.ac.uk/
» OpenDOAR global search: www.opendoar.org
Repositories

48. • York theses
» finding York theses in the Library and online
http://www.york.ac.uk/library/collections/theses
» White Rose eTheses online
http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk
• Theses in the UK
» Index to Theses UK www.theses.com
» EThOS http://ethos.bl.uk
• International theses
» Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
» DART-Europe Etheses Portal
» OAIster (Open access resources)
Theses

49. 49

50. Further Guidance:
Help Desk – in the Morrell Library
By email – lib-enquiry@york.ac.uk
IT Support Office – in the Harry Fairhurst
You can follow the library on twitter @UoYLibrary
Find us on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/UoYLibrary
Vanya Gallimore: lib-women@york.ac.uk

51. Please fill in a feedback form
 Women’s Studies Subject
Guide
 Information Skills tab
 What information do you
need?
Title of session: Women’s
Studies PGT/PGR Training
Tutor: Vanya Gallimore