The Cameron Smail Library reopened today, 30th January, after having closed last Tuesday 24th January at 8.30pm, at that stage until further notice, which allowed us to deal with disruption to hot water and heating services. The same issue also affected the Mary Burton building.
As a reminder, students can make use of alternate study spaces such as GRID building or the Learning Commons in the Hugh Nisbet building, which is open until midnight.
Posted by andrewdbevan on 25 January 2023
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2023/01/25/edinburgh-campus-main-library-closed-25th-january/
The new Skills Hub classes are now open for booking.
This semester we’re offering webinars (open to students from any campus including Orkney and Independent Distance Learners) and face-to-face classes at Dubai, Edinburgh, Malaysia and Scottish Borders Campus.
You can learn how to find quality information for assignments, brush up on your citing and referencing skills, or improve your academic writing. There’s also advice on topics like coping with your reading list, avoiding procrastination, and designing academic posters.
Microsoft Office webinars include Excel pivot tables, Word page layouts and numbering, introduction to OneNote and many more.
These are just a few of the topics – the full calendar is online at https://go.hw.ac.uk/SkillsHubClasses
If you prefer to learn in your own time, you can find videos and written help on the Skills Hub website, and one-to-one advice is available from Liaison Librarians and Effective Learning Advisors. Training for staff is listed on the IS Training calendar.
Posted by Kirsty Thomson on 17 January 2023
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2023/01/17/skills-hub-webinars-and-classes/
Most of the Heriot-Watt University libraries will reduce their opening hours during the December break.
Please check the opening hours before you visit: https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/is/library-essentials/library-opening-hours.htm
Posted by Kirsty Thomson on 13 December 2022
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2022/12/13/december-break-opening-hours/
We are pleased to announce access to IBISWorld on a free trial basis until 30 June 2023.
IBISWorld offers global industry reports performance, outlook, products & markets, major companies, operating conditions and key statistics.
Access IBISWorld from library’s A-Z databases page, subject guides or via this direct link to IBISWorld.
See IBISWorld YouTube channel for tips on how to use and get the most from the database.
Posted by Marion Kennedy on 31 August 2022
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2022/08/31/new-trial-resource-ibisworld/
Information Services are implementing some changes to improve access to our Edinburgh campus library and study spaces. Up-to-date opening hours for all our libraries globally can be found on the IS website.
The Cameron Smail Library at the Edinburgh campus library will be open:
Monday 5th Sept – Friday 2nd Sept – 0830 to 2030
Semester one (starting Monday 12th Sept) – open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
LC1 will be staffed Monday to Friday 1100 to 1500 from 12th September onwards.
GRID IC1 will be staffed from Monday to Friday 1100 to 1500 from 12th September onwards.
The EGIS Resource Centre will be staffed Monday to Friday 1000 to 1600 from 12th September onwards.
All study spaces will be open longer than they are staffed. These longer hours are subject to building opening and SafeGuarding.
Support services are available through the student portal and askHWU.
The library will be the focal point for 24/7 study on the Edinburgh campus, with IS customer services Monday to Friday 0830 to 2030 and Saturday and Sunday 0945 to 2015. There will be a reception/security presence at all other times
Bookable spaces include group study rooms, individual study rooms & study spaces. All of these will be on ResourceBooker.
Information Services will regularly review occupancy & enquiries across all managed study spaces and make any adjustments to the service based on the data collected.
Posted by Kirsty Thomson on 30 August 2022
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2022/08/30/semester-one-opening-hours-edinburgh-campus-library-and-study-spaces/
The security certificate used for connecting to the eduroam wi-Fi service is due to expire
This certificate will be replaced on Thursday 11th August at 12 Noon. Changes in the certificate chain mean a different top-level certificate is issued to validate the HWU authentication servers that users connect to.
This change will result in users having to re-configure their personal devices to maintain connectivity to the eduroam Wi-Fi service, when on a HWU campus or other eduroam participating institution.
Apple devices, running iOS, will likely notify a user about the certificate change. The new certificate is issued by GEANT OV RSA CA 4 and users should accept this new certificate at the point of connecting to maintain connectivity.
Unfortunately, users with Android, Windows, macOS and Linux devices may be required to manually amend their existing configurations or delete and replace them with the new certificate settings included.
The easiest way of correcting any issues is to remove any existing eduroam profiles (and uninstall the SecureW2 app from any mobile device), connect to the HWU Wi-Fi Setup service and install a new profile using the SecureW2 configuration utility for personal devices.
** Please note that users with HWU managed laptops should NOT need to run the SecureW2 config utility
If you need any further help please contact your local campus IT Helpdesk.
Posted by andrewdbevan on 04 August 2022
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2022/08/04/eduroam-security-certificate-notification/
Your opinions drive our actions. Our digital insights survey now has one week left to run and we really want to hear your views.
Join your colleagues in sharing your opinions on all things digital through a national survey to find out more about how you use technology in your work at the University.
Take the Insights Survey (sharepoint.com)
The survey will allow us to:
• Target resources towards issues that matter to you
• Understand how you use our digital environment and services and how we might improve them
• Understand better how you use technology in your work at the University so that we may better support you
Don’t miss this opportunity to have your say!
Posted by andrewdbevan on 14 June 2022
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2022/06/14/one-week-left-to-have-your-say-on-your-digital-experience/
HWU has a licence for Point Solutions (previously Turning Point) and you can find out more by checking our Turning Point page on the IS Training Centre, check LibCal for upcoming training sessions or contact us at ishelp@hw.ac.uk
Polling via Turning Point has three main components:
You can use Point Solutions to create polls, quizzes and surveys, deliver them in-class and students can respond in real-time. Results can be displayed instantly or saved for later analysis.
Information Services are also trialling Mentimeter – please contact the IS Helpdesk for more information.
Interested to see how polling can be used in your learning and teaching? Check out the LTA Padlet for further ideas/resources.
Posted by andrewdbevan on 10 June 2022
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2022/06/10/thinking-of-using-polling-software-already-using-it-but-would-like-to-find-out-about-more-features/
Staff H: drives will not be available from 5pm on Monday 27th June until 8am on Tuesday 28th while essential system upgrades are carried out in Edinburgh.
We advise you to save any files you might have open before 5pm and where possible log out for the evening.
We also recommend use of OneDrive for storage, see https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/is/research-support/data-storage-and-security.htm
Posted by andrewdbevan on 02 June 2022
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2022/06/02/staff-h-drives-essential-upgrade/
We have now fixed the problem with Shibboleth access to online resources such as e-journals and databasesmwhich prevented access to content and generateed an error message when any user attempts to login. Apologies for the inconvenience.
For future reference, all eResources which use EZProxy to authenticate will work regardless of Shibboleth. This means most links from Discovery, the A-Z of databases and the subject guides will work rather than going directly to the resource’s website and using the institutional login there, which should be avoided currently. For example, if you use the main Scopus login from https://isguides.hw.ac.uk/az.php?a=s (not the alternative login) this should work.
Ebook Central and VLeBooks don’t have an alternative at the moment but other eBooks should be available from Discovery.
Posted by andrewdbevan on 25 May 2022
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2022/05/25/shibboleth-access-to-online-resources-error/
InformS 