Connect XV: Home

Hello and welcome to the Connect newsletter which highlights service and resource updates to help you make effective use of your library and learning services.

Welcome to the Autumn Edition of Connect!
Welcome to new and returning students and staff - if you are new to the library the best place to start is the Welcome to the Library which offers lots of information about library resources and services.

A few highlights for this term -

• New Webinar Programme
• Are you a good student?
• New resources, including - Financial Times, Emerald, Statista and Screen International
• News from the Archives -  the Tessa Boffin Archive moves it new home at Farnham
• Update on myUCA Ultra, book recommendations, a new sustainability and environmentalism reading list, and lots more...

and remember we are here to help - Contact the Library.

A new and exciting programme of library and learning webinars has been scheduled for the new academic year, embracing Artificial Intelligence.  For more information and joining details see - Library & Learning Webinars.

Don't worry if you miss a webinar - Library & Learning Webinars also gives you access to recordings of these and previous webinars.

Financial Times
To ensure your research and practice is future-forward, the worldʼs leading global business publication Financial Times, provides access to cutting edge news, analysis and interviews across creative business and technologies.

Statista
Statista is one of the world's leading databases offering access to statistics and studies on 80,000 topics and 170 industries. It enables you to access relevant market, company, and consumer data quickly and conveniently – a fantastic tool for finding data to interpret for SWOT or PESTEL analysis.

Emerald
Expand your academic research with access to high quality peer reviewed journals. Our new Emerald package provides access to an additional 110 journals and thousands of articles on topics including: Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business, Management, Strategy, and Marketing.

Screen International
Screen International is the essential resource for the international film industry.

Click and Collect
Click and Collect allows you to reserve three-week loan books and DVDs from across the University campus libraries.  Following a successful pilot last academic year Click and Collect has now been extended to include all 7 day loans.

Loan Limits
All undergraduate loan limits have been increased - you will now be able to take out up to 20 items at a time.  Postgraduate students and staff loan limits remain the same at up to 30 items at a time.

Tessa Boffin Archive & Library has moved to the Farnham library.

As a photographer and performance artist Tessa's work was at the front-line of international queer culture and politics. The Archive is an amazing resource to explore the LGBTQ+ art and cultural landscape of Britain in the 80’s, early 90’s. The archive contains her private collection of books, postcards, teaching notes, research, and biographical material as well as original photographs.  To see some of Tessa's work online - Tessa Boffin Archive and to access the Archive at Farnham get in touch with Archives & Special Collections.

The University Archives
The Canterbury and Rochester institutional archives have now come together and are accessible at Canterbury. These include a wide range of prospectuses, course information, annual reports, student fashion shows, exhibition catalogues and press cuttings from the Kent art and design schools and their subsequent mergers. Records at Canterbury, include -

• Canterbury School of Art
• Maidstone College of Art 
• Medway College of Design
• KIAD Kent Institute of Art and Design
• University for the Creative Arts Canterbury and Rochester

To access the University Archives at Canterbury get in touch with Gateway.

Students and staff at Maidstone Studios now have a specialist collection and library space to enjoy.

Approximately 550 books have been moved to the Studios - these are available to borrow and all University library services, including - 

• Click & Collect
• Document Supply
• SCONUL Access
• Collection Recommendations

are offered at Maidstone.  In addition, to support TV production the Library now offers an online subscription to Screen International.

The library is offering an exciting series of webinars for research staff and PhD students as part of the University's Researcher Development Programme. Webinars planned so far include -

For more information and joining details see - Researcher Development Webinars.

Recordings of previous research webinars can also be found on myUCA.

We will be planning more webinars in 2023/24 on important topics such as research data management. If there’s anything in particular that you would like to see added to our events, please get in touch.

Studiosity
Studiosity is a new student learning service which allows you to submit drafts of your assignments for review. It is designed to support and develop your learning by addressing common writing issues such as referencing, punctuation, sentence structure and argument formation.

It does not address content or context presented nor does it offer comment on whether it has met the project brief or predict a grade.

You will be able to access two services - upload a written assignment for review and/or talk to a tutor online at any time. Studiosity is available via the new Assist area in myUCA.

Studiosity complements the help available from our Liaison Librarians and Learning Development Tutors.  Where issues are identified, you will be referred to appropriate University guides and support services.

For more information, see - Studiosity.

Good students use the library!
We looked at our degree awards from 2023 and found a close correlation between loans, online library usage and good degree outcome - so be sure to make use of your library!

The University's virtual learning environment - myUCA, has been upgraded over the summer to Ultra.  Ultra offers a number of improvements, including -

• mobile friendly, so it will work on your phone and tablet
• new navigate menu to speed up access to core areas of myUCA
• simpler interface to make it easier to use

See for yourself -

For more information see the myUCA Ultra Student Induction and myUCA Ultra Staff Induction.

So, you think know about AI?
Over the last year there has been a lot of publicity about AI: how bots, such as ChatGPT, can generate impressive responses to questions asked of them. The library is exploring how students can use AI technologies to support their learning.

The library is offering two on AI -

• Wednesday 1 November 2023 – 12:00 UK - will explore how students can use AI ethically and responsibly in your studies.
• Wednesday 8 November 2023 – 12:00 UK - will demonstrate how to reference research from AI in your assignments..

For more information, see Library Webinars.

The Library has put together a reading list of books relating to sustainability and environmentalism in creative arts, business and technologies. This list is not exhaustive but may provide a starting point for research, inspiration or interest in areas such as sustainability, environmentalism, climate change, anthropocene and ecology.  Topics include - 

• Sustainability & Environmental Justice
• Climate Change
• Architecture
• Business and Management
• Crafts and Design
• Fashion
• Film and TV
• Fine Art and Photography
• Graphic Design and Illustration
• Textiles

See - Sustainability & Environmentalism Reading List.

David Parkes
Learning Development Tutor

Hi, I’m David and I work at the Epsom campus as a Learning Development Tutor.

As a Learning Development Tutor, I work with students to help them to improve their learning skills, such as academic reading and writing, along with creative and critical thinking skills.

I also work on projects that improve how we support our students with their studies. For example, at Epsom there has been an increased emphasis on developing research skills, and I produced a webinar discussing how to write questions for a questionnaire.

The University has Learning Development Tutors at all it's campuses to help you to reach your full academic potential.  To learn more about how Learning Development Tutors can help you, see – Learning Development Tutors.