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.

Help for Exams

Very best of luck to you if you have exams coming up soon!

To try and help just a little bit, we at Library Services have put together some downloadable resources which include recommended Revision Techniques, tried and tested Exam Strategies, and even some revision games that might help if you are working with "Study Buddies" to prepare for a particular subject.

But here are some more interesting ways of revising...:

Wi-fi Man! Free Internet in the Toon

Earlier in the year, I posted about how to access the wireless internet network at Newcastle College Main Library (and a downloadable guide is available here ).

However, you don't need to be in College to get free wi-fi access across the city, indeed across the whole country! McDonalds, Caffe Nero, Starbucks, Pret-a-Manger and Wagamama are all offering free internet access to their customers; and you can browse the net over a pint at Wetherspoons pubs (such as The Mile Castle or The Union Rooms nearby), at Odeon cinemas or even on the Stagecoach buses or Network Rail trains.

There are thousands more free wifi hotspots available for everyone through The Cloud - type in your postcode here to see the closest ones plotted on Google Maps for you, or, if you are a BT customer, click here to access even more.

Do you know of any other free wifi services? Let us know...

The Sky(Drive)'s the Limit

A few weeks back I blogged about Skydrive and how Newcastle College students (or indeed anyone) can claim 25GB's worth of free online storage. Well, if you signed up, make sure you re-visit your account soon if you want to keep all that storage space, because Microsoft are making some changes as part of a new pricing structure.

Dissertations - The Abstract

Also known as an Executive Summary, the Abstract is the first real section in your Dissertation (coming straight after the title page and before the Contents), but one of the very last parts that you should write.

World Book Night 2012

One million free copies of these brilliant works of fiction are going to be given away today, as part of a celebration of reading and books in the UK, Ireland, Germany and USA.

Newcastle City Libraries are right behind this terrific event with a full programme of events running throughout the day, plus this evening you can grab your own free copy of the books at Tyneside Cinema, Theatre Royal, Eldon Square or dozens of coffee shops and restaurants around the Toon.

And why not help influence the choice of books for next year's event, by sharing your favourite titles on the World Book Night Interactive Top 100 Books? You might get some ideas for what to read next too.

Don't forget... whatsit?

Here's an online tool that you can use to make sure you never miss a deadline, miss an appointment, or forget Mother's Day (sorry, Mum!) ever again....

Remember the Milk let's you list, date and prioritise tasks; set up alerts and reminders (by email, txt or Skype); even share alerts with other contacts (great if you are relying on someone else to get something done if you're doing groupwork and need to chivvy them along a bit!!)

This video shows you some of the basics...:

...or for more information check out this guide.

Similar services are available from Toodle-do, Wunderlist and Nirvana.

Dissertations - The Conclusion Chapter

In previous posts, I've blogged a few ideas about how to tackle Dissertations.

Now its time to think about what to put in the Conclusion...:

Bargain books for e-book readers

I posted about the free content that you can get from Amazon Kindle a few weeks ago, however there are bargains to be had if you have other branded e-book readers too...: