Wireless upgrade - Tuesday 27th May

Our wireless service is due to be upgraded next Tuesday (27th May). This will mean that the wireless network will be unavailable for approximately one hour from 10am. The network connections for the library PCs on the ground floor will be unaffected, so if you need to access electronic resources, email, the internet etc you will be able to do so through them while the wireless is down.

Bank holiday opening

The library will be open on the bank holiday next Monday (26th), 9am-7pm as normal. Please be aware that there will be no deliveries from the Bodleian stacks that day though, so if you need to order books to read then you should request them to a Central Bodleian reading room. Our deliveries will resume on the Tuesday morning.

WISER sessions coming up

(and I'm doing this one, if that sells it to you!)

WISER: Gadgets and widgets
Friday, 16th May 2008 (week 4), 12.30 - 1.30, OUCS, Banbury Road.
This session will look at some tools that can help you organise yourself on the web, including social bookmarking services like del.icio.us, bibliophile sites like LibraryThing and My WorldCat, and customised start pages.
Jane Rawson and Emma Cragg.
Book at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZWT
Full programme at: http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/training
All enquiries to: usered@ouls.ox.ac.uk

New look for the blog and Trinity Term seating continued

The VHL blog is now just over six months old, and to celebrate I've given it a makeover. Hope you all like the new look! If you usually read our news via a feed reader you might want to drop by the actual page and take a look.

Another thing to flag up, for those of you reading our feed, is that we have a quick poll running on the blog at the moment about the Trinity Term seating issue. We've had a variety of comments from readers about the new system, both in favour and against, and so are canvassing opinion - if you have feelings about this one way or another, please vote in the sidebar.

New database trials: 19th Century US Newspapers & Early American Newspapers, 1620-1922

We have set up trials to two databases of historical American newspapers and are inviting feedback. The databases are 19th Century US Newspapers (Cengage) and Early American Newspapers, 1620-1922 (Readex), and can be accessed via the Latest database acquisitions and trials section on OxLIP. The trials will run until 31st May, so please take advantage of this access and let us know what you think! Please send any feedback to the History Librarian, Isabel Holowaty (isabel.holowaty@ouls.ox.ac.uk).

New books for April

The list of new books received in the library is now available on our website and LibraryThing page.

WISER sessions coming up

WISER: Maps and mapping - online resources and digital mapping
Wednesday, 7th May 2008 (week 3), 12.30 - 1.30, OUCS, Banbury Road.
Many areas of research use spatial data and digital mapping is an ideal way to present it. This presentation will cover both web based resources (online map collections etc.) and the digital mapping facilities available in the Bodleian.
Nigel James.
Book at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZF7

WISER: Digitizing the Bodleian John Johnson collection
Friday, 9th May 2008 (week 3), 12.30 - 1.30, OUCS, Banbury Road.
This collection includes rare primary source materials and evidence of our cultural, social, industrial, and technological histories. It is particularly valuable to anyone interested in the everyday lives of ordinary citizens. For more information see http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/eejjc/ Michael Popham and David Tomkins.
Book at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZWV

Full programme at: http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/training
All enquiries to: usered@ouls.ox.ac.uk