Booker Booker On The Shelf...

"He should have seen it coming. His life had been one mishap after another. So he should have been prepared for this one…"

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobsen, winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize, is now available for loan in the main lending section of the Library.

Notable as the first comic novel to win the prize, it was described by Andrew Motion, Chair of the judges as "very funny, of course, but also very clever, very sad and very subtle. It is all that it seems to be and much more than it seems to be. A completely worthy winner of this great prize."

The other shortlisted titles for this year's prize are also available from the Library, including Room by Irish author Emma Donoghue. Check them out!

Maths Week Exhibition

To celebrate Maths Week we are currently displaying a variety of books, articles and posters relating to symmetry and other visual aspects of Mathematics at the entrance to the main library.

The collection is entitled Symmetry and Art and contains materials by and about people such as M.C. Escher, Hans Freudenthal and Hermann Weyl.

Many of the books have been donated to the Library by members of the Mathematics Department for the duration of the exhibition so please come up and have a look at them while you have the chance.

At different times during the day we are also displaying a related slideshow of symmetry-related art on our information screen.

Our thanks to Maurice O'Reilly, Head of Mathematics for his help and donations for the exhibition.

2010/11 Library Guides Now Available

Our new Library Guides are now available at our Information Desk. We've squashed all the essential information about our Library and Information Service into a handy super-slim A5 guide.

Great for those starting out in Pat's - we will also be providing them at our Library Inductions. Also for those who've been here a while but need a refresher, it's got (almost) everything you wanted to know about us but were afraid to ask...

New Irish Press Online Archive

Thirty years of back issues of the Irish Press (which began in 1931 and ceased operating in 1995) are now available via the Irish Newspaper Archives database.

The coverage is from 1930 to1960, with the remaining 35 years due to be added by the end of the year.

The Irish Newspaper Archive can be accessed via the Databases A-Z on our website and like all our online resources is available off-campus also.

We are able to provide access to this resource thanks to the IReL initiative. If you have any questions or problems regarding usage of this online resource please contact our Information Desk - info.library@spd.dcu.ie/8842175.

New DCU Referencing Guide

DCU Library have produced an updated version of their guide to citing and referencing using the Harvard style. It is available to download as a pdf file for staff and students of SPD from the citing and referencing section of our website. The guide has been completely revised and updated by two of DCU Library's subject librarians Amanda Halpin and Lisa Callaghan. It is specifically aimed at those using the Harvard style of referencing so students should check first with their lecturers or supervisors regarding their preferred style of referencing.

We also provide access to Refworks, the web-based reference management tool which can help you manage your references and create the bibliographies you need for your assignments in a variety of styles. If you have any questions or problems regarding the use of Refworks please contact the Information Desk info.library@spd.dcu.ie/01-8842170.

Fáilte!

The Library would like to welcome our new students to St. Patrick's College and wish them every success for the year ahead. Library tours and inductions are available at the beginning of term. B.Ed's and postgraduate students will have time slots allocated to them in the first few weeks while B.A. students can come to the Information Desk in the Library to book a slot for themselves.

Please ask a member of Library Staff for help if you need it - it's what we're here for!

Encyclopaedia Britannica

As part of a government initiative providing the resource to all national schools, Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition is now freely available to members of St. Patrick's College.

To access the resource just click on the link above and enter your 8-digit College ID number for verification.

You can search the entire encyclopaedia or, alternatively, use the three sub-sites offered which filter material suitable for either primary school, secondary school or 'A-level' students. It also contains a Teacher's Resources section and Britannica Learning Zone for early learners.

Our thanks to Encyclopædia Britannica and also to NCTE for providing us with access to this excellent resource.