Help with Referencing and Bibliographies

Do you need some help with Harvard Referencing your work for College?

Perhaps you want to double-check how to incorporate quotations or paraphrasing or author-date citations in your work. Maybe you are unsure how to organise your Reference List or Bibliography (indeed, maybe you're confused about the difference between the two).

In the Harvard Referencing pages of this blog, we've put together a number of resources to try and help you get to grips with the Referencing standard used at Newcastle College. These include:

• Presentations ranging from a quick overview to more insights into more advanced rules.
• Handouts, including our Referencing & Bibliographies booklet and examples of Harvard in action.
• Online Guides showing worked examples of how to construct references for pretty much any source that you might use.
• Links to software that can construct Harvard References for you.

Click here for the full collection, and if you have any other suggestions for resources; or come across any particular problems when referencing your work, then don't hesitate to get in touch.

Newcastle College's Online Books and Journals

e-Library is Newcastle College Library's collection of e-books, electronic journals and specially selected online resources to help you with your assignments and give you access to high quality information, even when our branches are closed.

Links to the most popular resources can be found on the Research and Study Support page of this blog, but if you want to access the full collection, here's what you need to do...:

P'Interesting New Fiction

Fancy taking a break from all the study and revision, and curling up with a good book in the sunshine instead?

Here's a list of our most recent additions to the Leisure Reading Collection at Newcastle College Library. Just click on the links for more information, or to Reserve the books you want, if you are a current Newcastle College student.

As you can see we have a broad selection, ranging from Horror and Fantasy to Crime Thrillers, Romances, even Biographies.

If you have any recommendations of new books for us to order in, then let us know, either in the comments box below, or by jotting down the title in our Suggestions Books in the Fiction Section of the Main Library. And don't forget to vote in our poll to find out our users' favourite genre.

Alternatively, if you're still feeling studious, browse our most popular Research and Study Skills Books - again just click the link to read more or Reserve.

Making the Web Work for You 2 - IFTTT

Would it be useful to you to automatically get an email everytime your favourite website posted an update about a subject you are researching?

...Or to automatically get sent a txt if rain were forecast?
...Or to automatically have your email attachments backed-up on Dropbox?
...Or to automatically update your Facebook picture whenever you change your Twitter avatar?
...Or to automatically calendar Tweets?
...Or to automatically get an alert whenever you are mentioned online?

Here's an online service that can do all of this and much much more!

Revision Space

With the last few weeks of the Exams ahead, don't forget you are more than welcome to come and use the Library as a Revision space to get in that last bit of cramming.

We've offer both group study areas (coloured Light Green on the Floor Plan below) if you want to revise with friends, and quiet study zones (shown as Dark Green on our Map) with individual carrels should you prefer to work on your own. And don't forget its silent study on our First Floor if you want to work without any noise at all.

Increasing numbers of students have been staying on to work into the evening too over the past dew weeks, so why not come and join us? We have the books, PCs and study guides that you need, and you can get ready for the exams away from the distractions (and frustrations!) of trying to study at home.

Hidden Newcastle

Are you interested in the murky, macabre history of the Toon...?

Making the Web Work for You 1 - RSS

Here's something that could completely change the way you use the internet.

Plagiarism Checker

Many Colleges and Universities upload assignments to Turnitin to check them for Plagiarism - the deliberate or unintentional submitting of someone else's work as your own - but that option is not always available to students.

Here's a free online alternative to check whether

Ask A Librarian

I know what you think - Librarians are just people with bad dress sense who stamp books all day and "Shhh!" at you, right?

Well, believe it or not, we can actually be quite useful if you are carrying out research. Take this service, for example...:

Ask A Librarian 24/7 is a UK wide service that connects you with a trained researcher to help you find the answers to your questions. In most cases, you'll get a response within 24 hours and a full set of notes will be emailed to you (including all the links).

Don't be put off by the slightly dated website, this is a really good service that might be invaluable to you if you are having trouble tracking down that key fact for your research. Simply enter your details and your question, then press 'Connect'.

And don't forget, our own staff at Newcastle College Library Service are available to help every weekday during term time between 9am and 7pm, with a 4pm finish on Fridays.

Presenting, an Alternative

If you've got to deliver a Presentation, but want to avoid ANOTHER Powerpoint for your audience to have to sit through, then try this....:

Renew Online

You can extend the loan period of items you have borrowed from Newcastle College Library by renewing online.

Simply go to http://library.ncl-coll.ac.uk/, use the Library Catalogue link in the Library pages of NCG Online, or click on the Library Catalogue logo at the foot of this blog; then log in using your usual Newcastle College Username (eg 's' + your Student Number); the Password is "12345" (unless you have changed this for yourself).

Logging in to the Library Catalogue

  

Click the word "Loans" in the left-hand menu or, from the Home Screen, double-click "Current Loans" in the My Portal Summary section beneath the Search Box....:

The Renew Icon

When the list of items you have out comes on screen, click on the green "Renew" button next to the items you wish to keep for longer.

The new return date will be listed in the "Due Date" column.

The Renewal Screen

NB: You cannot renew items that are overdue or have been reserved by other Library Users.

Click here to get automatic reminders of when you need to renew your library items.

A guide with full details of our Online Catalogue's functions and features can be downloaded here.

May Day Holiday - 7th May 2012

by Wiccked on Flickr. Creative Commons.

Like the rest of Newcastle College, all Library branches are CLOSED to customers on Monday 7th May 2012, for the May Day holiday.

If you need to renew your books, please click on the Library Catalogue link at the foot of this blog page; ring (0191) 200 4020; or email us at: libraries@ncl-coll.ac.uk

Access to our electronic resources is unaffected, so you can still use our e-book and e-journal resources 24/7 either via the FE/HE Library link on the "My Courses" page of blackboard or through the Research and Study Resources link in this blog.

Normal service will resume from 08:45am on Tuesday 8th May.

Local History Month

(by Newcastle Libraries on Flickr. Creative Commons).

May is local history month at Newcastle City Libraries, and there's lots to enjoy covering all periods from Roman times to the Victorian era in a series of specially commissioned events including exhibitions, guided city tours, illustrated talks, even mat-making!

Click here to download the brochure, and check out Newcastle Libraries' Photo-stream of Flickr.

Dissertation Checklist

I hope all is going well if you are working on a dissertation or extended project right now.

Before too long, you'll be thinking about bringing all your material together and compiling the final document.

Here's a checklist of all the sections that you'll need so you can see what needs to be done and, equally importantly, in what order you'll need to arrange them.