Thanks to the distance students who gave us feedback in the Student Experience Survey this year. As a result of your comments, one of the things we'll be working on is letting you know about the Library services and help available for distance learning.

While we already do a range of things from coming out to the Regional workshops, information on our website and sending print brochures, it looks like many of you might not be aware of everything that we offer or how to make the most of our facilities when you’re studying at a distance. Sometimes it’s knowing what services are available, but also how to search for information for your assignments. We will be looking for your input on how to do this better, but if you have specific ideas you’d like to share with us now, feel free.

We are also always looking for better ways to help you develop your research skills and make it easier for you to find the information you need. Things like our new search tool Discover (the Library's answer to Google!) and our Show me How demonstrations might be helpful, and we are also working hard at being in your Stream papers where you actually need us. From many Stream papers you can search the Library resources directly. If we aren’t there and you’d like to see a Library presence then let your Paper Coordinator know!

Most importantly - if you are stuck, don’t hesitate to contact us for some help.

We've made some improvements around the libraries in response to your comments in the Student Experience Survey...

At Hokowhitu Library we have new chairs and computer desks, and rearranged the shelves to give you a bit more space. Comfy couches are on the way.

Turitea Library has more quiet study spaces on Level 1. Extra powerpoints for laptops are going in this week, and the ongoing replacement of the sad old chairs with new red ones is continuing. Next year we'll be clearly marking the quiet/individual and noisy/group areas so people have a better idea of expectations.

Wellington Library has improved wireless access this year and more powerpoints will go in after exams. We have 3 new Macs - one with an A3 scanner attached. Our new Parents Room has a computer, playpen and toys.

Unsurprisingly, people are pretty happy with Albany Library as it is. However, we are putting in more wireless access points for laptop and mobile use.

We know from the Student Experience Survey that we need to do more to publicise the magic of MasseyLink and accessing full text (the full version of the article as published), so here goes …

If you can’t find the full text of an article in a database (usually accessible as a PDF) then click on the MasseyLink icon:

Behind the scenes the MasseyLink software will try to find if full text is available in another database. You will see the results of MasseyLink’s efforts in the MasseyLink panel that opens. Check out our short demonstration that shows you all about using MasseyLink and how to interpret the results.

Here are some important points to note:

1. Follow all the steps on the MasseyLink screen – for instance, you may need to click on the link which checks the Library catalogue to see if there is another online full-text option that MasseyLink didn’t pick up. In some cases, we may only have a print copy of the journal.

2. MasseyLink doesn’t guarantee you will get the full text of all the articles that you see in your search results. Unfortunately we can’t afford to subscribe to every journal available (no Library can!). In this case your best option is to use the Interlibrary loan service – use the Request the article link on the MasseyLink panel.

3. If you are using Google Scholar, make sure you access it via the Library’s article databases page. Google Scholar will then recognise you as a Massey student, and you can access what we subscribe to. If you are off campus you will need to set up Massey under Scholar preferences - check out our earlier post for information on this. Note that MasseyLink appears as a text link on Google Scholar and not an icon, so look out for this:

If you have any questions about MasseyLink or accessing full text please get in touch with us.

You told us in the Student Experience Survey that you'd like more online resources. This is a top priority for us when we buy new Library material.

Ebooks
The Library now has well over 150,000 ebooks, with more being added all the time. Many books (especially text books) are still available in print only, but we do try to get the ebook format when available, particularly if we already have a print copy. Most Library ebooks are viewed online, while some may be downloaded to ebook readers. For information on how to find ebooks, have a look at Ebooks at Massey University Library

Online journals
We prefer to subscribe to journals online rather than in print if possible. In Discover, and many other databases, you can limit search results to articles that are available online - handy if you don't have time to follow up with print articles.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Most new reference resources tend to be online. A couple of good general online encyclopedia packages to start with are Sage and Science Direct.

Theses
All new Massey theses are now submitted to the Library in electronic format, and are available on Massey Research Online. These will also show up in Library Catalogue and Discover searches. In addition, we have an ongoing project to digitise older theses.

If you need help with our online resources, just contact us.

Many of you told us in the Student Experience Survey that it’s not always easy to find the information required for your assignments, study and research, and some of you are not sure where to start. Finding information to get started or to go further and give your assignment the X factor can take quite a while, and is not always straightforward!

Here’s some ways you can track that information down:

1. Check out our How to Find page, which explains how to find books, journal and newspaper articles. It also includes some demonstrations - short tutorials that will get you up to speed quickly if you haven’t used a resource before or if you need a refresher.

2. Check out Discover – the new megasearch option on our library home page. This searches across the Library Catalogue and many of our databases in one hit – some students refer to it as our version of Google. Try it out and see if it works for your topic – it can be a great way to grab some books and articles when you are not sure where to start.

3. If Discover doesn’t deliver for your search this time – or if you need to dig deeper - head over to our subject guides. These will help you target the best resources for your subject area – such as background information resources and recommended article databases. We have been reworking these to make them even more useful – some of the new ones include Aviation, Education and Finance and Economics.

4. Have a look at what Library resources have been provided in Stream for your specific paper. You may find we have been asked to provide resources right at the point where you need them for an assignment. If we aren’t there where you need us, let your Paper Co-ordinator know!

5. Sometimes if you are just stuck you’ll just feel like getting in touch with someone for help. Please do! Remember you can contact us via email, phone or visit the help desk at one of our campus libraries.