How we FindIt@Bham using Primo

The University of Birmingham is currently investing in its library and systems. A three year programme of activity, completed in Autumn 2013, has seen a review of all printed monograph material held by Library Services and the implementation of a new resource discovery solution, ‘in-house’ reading list software and a library management system. During this period, it has been announced that funding will be provided for a new Main Library which is due to open in Autumn 2016. Combined, this investment will allow the University to better support the University’s learning, teaching and research agenda. This article will focus on the resource discovery system (RDS) which was launched in September 2012. The article will consider why an RDS was required; it will give details about the implementation of the system as well as the extensive customisation which was made to the ‘out-of-the-box’ product. The value of user focus groups during the customisation process will be discussed as well as some technical tips and advice for anyone considering doing similar customisation. The article will conclude by considering the impact of the new system during its first year of operation

Evaluation of a Resource Discovery Service: FindIt@Bham

In autumn 2012, the University of Birmingham launched FindIt@Bham, a Primo-based Resource Discovery Service, after a series of focus groups with students and staff to help determine its initial configuration and customisation. This paper presents the results from a large-scale online survey and focus groups that were conducted to poll users’ attitudes to the service over twelve months later, adding to a small body of research on user satisfaction with established resource discovery services. From the survey the overall level of appreciation was high with 71.13% rating FindIt@Bham to be ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’. The level of appreciation was compared across undergraduates, postgraduates (taught and research) and academic staff which revealed that undergraduates are the group of users most happy with the service with academic staff being least satisfied. The reasons for this discrepancy are considered, along with users’ behaviour and a discussion of their perceptions of individual functional areas. The survey results led to focus group activities tailored to extract deeper information on system usage and satisfaction. From these combined activities, future customisations and developments to FindIt@Bham such as tuning of result relevancy, improved online help and additional functionality can be prioritised

Photography

The media: an introduction, is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of media studies, cultural studies, communication studies, journalism, film studies, the sociology of the media, popular culture and other related subjects

Pop-up Library at the University of Birmingham: Extending the reach of an Academic Library by taking 'The Library' to the students.

Aligning with student engagement and promotional strategies, a Pop-up Library project was initiated at the University of Birmingham. This involved setting up temporary, staffed stalls in different locations across campus in order to informally communicate with students and effectively take ‘the Library’ to them. This article discusses the planning and implementation of the Pop-up Library, including the rationale for the initiative. Details are given of the stalls themselves, the wide range of staff involved, the many locations trialled, the promotional materials used, and the ways in which the venture was advertised and subsequently evaluated. Results of a questionnaire used on the stalls are presented. Conclusions are drawn as to the effectiveness of the Pop-up Library as a communication tool, with particular emphasis on breaking down barriers between students and library staff, and proactively raising students’ awareness of the many ways Library Services can enhance their learning

Organisational Skill Sets For the Information Professional

There has been a recent call for information professionals to possess work skills that span many disciplines. Skyme & Earl(1989) mapped out the characteristics of the business worker and saw technical, business, organisational and personal skills as being important. Organisations are devolving in span of operations and downsizing in personnel levels. Technology is under constant change and information professionals are being asked to cope with the need to develop differing skill sets. Against this scenario our survey mapped the organisational skill sets of the information systems, information services and managerial professional within a range of commercial and academic areas. The results of this survey showed that of the eleven organisational skill sets studied only one, being actively involved with information users, showed a significant difference (ANOVA) between the three groupings

Photography

Photography explores the photograph in the 21st century and its importance as a media form. Stephen Bull considers our media-saturated society and the place of photography in everyday life, introducing the theories used to analyse photographs and exploring the impact of digital technology

Project StORe: Physics Report

Results are presented on the Physics Survey of Researcher Use of Repositories which constitutes the culmination of Work Package 2 (in Physics) of Project StORe (Source to Output Repositories). The data were obtained by Project StORe from an online questionnaire and individual interviews during the period March 2006 to June 2006. A comprehensive study of the project’s principal aim of linking source to output repositories (and vice versa) is given along with a detailed study of the associated topics of source data, source repositories, metadata, data access and sharing, output repositories and support. A brief overview of Project StORe, the Physics user survey and a summary of significant observations from this survey are given. The in-depth results and commentaries from both the Physics questionnaire and interviews are detailed. A brief summary identifying consistent messages and potential follow-up actions is given

The Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Ion Implanted Ceramics

The mechanical properties of ion implanted ceramics are primarily a function of the radiation damage produced by the implantation process. For crystalline ceramics this damage is chiefly nuclear displacements, though for glasses electronic effects have also been observed. In this study a number of single crystal and polycrystalline ceramics and a soda-lime-silica glass have been implanted with a range of ions in the energy range 90keV to 400keV and the changes in mechanical properties produced have been followed using hardness, indentation fracture and scratch testing. The damage structures which remain after implantation will control both the indentation hardness and surface fracture properties of cetamics. Changing the temperature of the substrate during implantation (in the range. 150K to 760K) has been found to alter this damage state and hence produce changes in the measured mechanical properties. In this temperature range, the effects of damage annealing at low doses were found to be minor for sapphire although for MgO damage annealing was found to result in a eduction of the radiation-induced hardening above 473K. The surface softening and stress relief accompanying amorphisation at higher doses was found to be strongly temperature dependent. Thus, the recrystallisation of amorphous material is important in determining the final mechanical properties of the implanted specimens. The tribological properties of the implanted ceramics were investigated using single pass scratch tests. Friction coefficients were found to increase with dose up to the onset of amorphisation, even when visible scratch tracks were produced. This increse is due to changes in adhesion between the slider and the flat induced by ion implantation. The reasons for these changes are as of yet unclear, though a possible explanation could be the removal of surface adsorbates which has been observed for MgO. Similar mechanical and tribological property changes observed for the polycrystalline ceramics as for the single crystal systems, but some extra effects were observed.The research was supported by the SERC as a CASE award in collaboration with the UKAEA (AERE Harwell)

A simulation environment for drone cinematography

In this paper, we present a workflow for the simulation of drone operations exploiting realistic background environments constructed within Unreal Engine 4 (UE4). Methods for environmental image capture, 3D reconstruction (photogrammetry) and the creation of foreground assets are presented along with a flexible and user-friendly simulation interface. Given the geographical location of the selected area and the camera parameters employed, the scanning strategy and its associated flight parameters are first determined for image capture. Source imagery can be extracted from virtual globe software or obtained through aerial photography of the scene (e.g. using drones). The latter case is clearly more time consuming but can provide enhanced detail, particularly where coverage of virtual globe software is limited. The captured images are then used to generate 3D background environment models employing photogrammetry software. The reconstructed 3D models are then imported into the simulation interface as background environment assets together with appropriate foreground object models as a basis for shot planning and rehearsal. The tool supports both free-flight and parameterisable standard shot types along with programmable scenarios associated with foreground assets and event dynamics. It also supports the exporting of flight plans. Camera shots can also be designed to provide suitable coverage of any landmarks which need to appear in-shot. This simulation tool will contribute to enhanced productivity, improved safety (awareness and mitigations for crowds and buildings), improved confidence of operators and directors and ultimately enhanced quality of viewer experience