Ian Snowley Director, Academic Services University of London Research Library Services

Online Library Policy Funding for the Online Library Embedding resources in courses Access to local libraries

The Online Library Carolyn Malsher Law Librarian University of London Research Library Services

Overview What is the Online Library? History and current status How to access the Online Library and why you should! –For students –For tutors Run through of databases Website: online help and features Questions

What is the online library? A service dedicated to students of the University of London’s External Programme and the tutors who support them. We provide online resources and professional support and guidance for External Programme students wherever and whenever they have chosen to study.

Background to the Online Library November 2000: Senate House Library, University of London, invited by External system to develop online library service Until then library provision had been solely through paid membership of Senate House Library The Online Library began as a project with an initial service for Laws and LSE students. We are currently in transition from project to sustainable service and our collection and range of courses supported is growing.

LLB students with Athens accounts: EMFSS students with Athens accounts: Statistics LLB students with Athens accounts: 6270 EMFSS students with Athens accounts: 3296 Tutors supporting LLB with Athens accounts: 45 Tutors supporting EMFSS with Athens accounts: 171

Accessing the library as a student The databases available via the Online Library are password-protected. An Athens account is needed to access them. We must verify that a student is registered with the University of London to comply with licensing agreements with the commercial providers of the databases. Students should contact us with details of their 9-digit student reference number so that we can create an account. Please note that a student has to have paid their fees before they can get access to the library.

Accessing the library as a tutor Recent development (since last year) as a result of feedback from institutions. As with students, we must verify status and confirm that the applicant is supporting a University of London course. Institutions should have an authorised signatory who can vouch for each applicant. Application forms should be faxed/posted to us or a scanned version ed (because we need an actual signature).

Using your library you can … Access the full text of articles/cases cited in subject guides Keep up to date with current developments in your field Check the availability of resources for lesson planning and writing of study materials Help develop students' research and study skills “Read around” a subject And N.B. for Laws – compulsory legal research element

Multidisciplinary and Social Science databases: ABI/Inform – Key business and management journals, some as far back as 1905-present. Also has ProQuest Newspapers which hosts major UK broadsheets from the early 1990s-present which is useful if you want to see how a high-profile case was reported in the press. Academic Search Premier – Largest multidisciplinary database with the full text of more than 4650 titles, many from 1975-present. Business Source Premier – Business research database with full text access to more than 8800 journal titles. Some as far from 1965-present. JSTOR – Back issues of more than 600 scholarly journals. Good for older materials and easy to use.

Law specific databases – a brief overview: Justis – Law reports (1865-present), UK statutes and secondary legislation. Use to see statutes as they were passed. Once an act has been amended only Justis will give you the historical version. LexisNexis Professional – UK cases, legislation, and journals. Extensive US and international materials. Use for All England Reports. Westlaw – UK case law & journals, UK civil procedures, EU cases, treaties, and directives, and some material relating to the US. Use for articles from the Law Quarterly Review from 1986 to date. Casetrack – transcripts, not case reports, of High Court and Court of Appeal judgments. Sometimes more up-to-date than the larger databases. Coverage 1996-present. HeinOnline – More than 800 full text law journals. Full archives for several titles. Use for the Cambridge Law Journal Kluwer Arbitration – case law and materials in the field of International Commercial Arbitration. Specialised database likely to be of most use in some Final Year subjects.

Enquiry service Telephone: +44 (0) Mon-Fri 9am-5pm GMT. Voic messages out of hours. We will call back if you leave a number. Electronically: to or by filling in a webform: Provide us with as much information as possible about your enquiry, especially for technical queries We ALWAYS get reply within 2 working days but it’s usually much quicker than that.

Example enquiry 1 “I want to use an article from the Journal of Economic History in some study materials. Will my students be able to access it via the Online Library?” Our answer: “Yes they will. But depending when the article was published they will need to use either Cambridge Journals Online (2001 to date) or JSTOR (1941 to 2001)”

Example enquiry 2 “How can I keep up-to-date with changes to legislation?” Our answer: There are a several good current awareness options with regard to British legislation. It’s possible to set up RSS feeds from the website of the Official of Public Sector Information The Government News Network is a central source for information from all Government Departments. Checking the Home Office section will update you on legislation. Various legal journal websites have “breaking news” features which would cover legislative developments: Law Society Gazette; The Lawyer; Solicitors Journal and Legal Week are all recommended.

Example enquiry 3 “…I am trying to do homework about separation of powers in public law and I don’t really understand the effect of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 on the role of the Lord Chancellor and the creation of a Supreme Court. Could you please help me?” Our answer: “There's an excellent article from the journal Public Law that will help give you the background to and impact of the Constitutional Reform Act: Title: The Constitutional Reform Act 2005: the politics of constitutional reform Author: Lord Windlesham Citation: Part I: 2005 Public Law ; Part II: 2006 Public Law It's available via Westlaw. Choose Westlaw from the alphabetical list of databases on our website: Access the database using your Athens username and password. At the first screen choose 'UK journals' from the list of options in the left hand column. In the UK journals search screen enter 'constitutional reform' in the 'Legislation cited' box and 'Windlesham' in the 'Author name(s)' box. Links to both parts of the article will come up. Click on the hyper-text link to view the full text.”

Research skills Each database is accompanied by a quickstart guide written specifically for distance learners Plus Online Library tour: Guides and tutorials for information skills development: Specifically legal research skills: and

Free internet resources Links to quality-assured sites, gathered together for ease of use. We welcome recommendations. Monitored and updated as required, e.g. when URL changes or (for Laws) when new links are mentioned in annual ‘Recent Developments’ booklets

And finally … Any questions?