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Library 101 for FreshiesUnderstanding NTU Libraries and making it work for your academic life!

The most popular question asked by freshmen like yourself – how many books can I borrow from the Library, and for how long?

Let’s face it: you’re going to encounter the library many times during your academic life here at NTU, whether as a quiet place for studying with your friends, to take advantage of the library resources (both in print and electronic) or as a venue for discussions with your group mates.

As a NTU student, you are welcome at any of the seven libraries.

Library Known as

Location

Art, Design & Media ADML ART-01-03

Asian Communication Resource Centre

ACRC WKWS-CI-01-18

Business BUSL N2-B2b-07

Chinese CHNL S3.2-B5-01

Humanities & Social Sciences

HSSL S4-B3c

Lee Wee Nam (Engineering & Science)

LWNL LWNL NS3-03-01

Wang Gungwu WGWL CHC-02

NTU Library consists of seven libraries:

Have your matriculation card with you at all times because it serves as your library card. You can return your books at any library or book deposit bin.

Knowing your buddies at the Library

You’ll need to distinguish the wide range of resources available at our library homepage (www.ntu.edu.sg/library).

What is convenient is our library’s OneSearch. Treat it like a search engine that attempts to cover almost everything the library provides. To use an analogy, it’s like a shotgun – it’s effective, but may not be precise. Use it as a discovery tool to jumpstart your research needs.

The next buddy that is often ignored is the good ol’ trusty Library Catalogue. Use it if you’re searching for a particular book title or a print journal. Best of all, it tells you exactly where the title is located (at which library, under a specific call number). However, it doesn’t locate journal articles. That’s what the next tool is for.

Use the E-journals A-to-Z List if you already have a specific journal title in mind, with full citation details. We can’t promise you that we have every journal in the world, but we have an impressive list. If it fails, you can still rely on our Document Delivery Service to hunt that article down.

Lastly, we have the Databases – they’re powerful (imagine a military tank) and they pack a lot of information in them. Some might focus on a particular subject, others cover broader areas. We’ve categorised them to make life easier for you, so that you can zoom in to the databases that suit your needs best.

Spend more time with these buddies, and you’ll get to know them better. Gradually, you’ll appreciate these tools and you’ll be studying smarter.

Email: library@ntu.edu.sg

Online version and archives at www.ntu.edu.sg/library/pages/xpress.aspx

Contents

Orientation

Events & Activities

A Slice of History at the Library

OrientationLibrary 101 for Freshies

ResourcesSpringerMaterials – The Landolt-Börnstein Database

Do You Know?

中文资讯系列介绍（三）: 中文电子书

Info Buzz

The Immersive Business Library Experience

Events and ActivitiesShare and compare: What are libraries doing in Australia?

Snap Shots

New Staff: Faith, Du Juan, Venki, Jing Wen

A Word from the University LibrarianNew Students & Libraries

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Did you say past examination papers are available online?

Yes, they are available from most schools. Find them at the library homepage or head to http://www.ntu.edu.sg/library/collections/Pages/ExamPapers.aspx.

What’s the catch, you ask? Answers to the examinations are not provided.

If all else fails, ask a librarian

How do I start gathering data for my first project and presentation? How do I ensure that all my sources are cited correctly and accurately in my paper (and not be accused of plagiarism)? Drop an email detailing your predicament to askalibrarian@ntu.edu.sg and we’ll do our best to assist you.

Alternatively, speak to us in person at the Research Assistance Desks. Check the opening hours at http://www.ntu.edu.sg/library/about/open/Pages/default.aspx.

FAQ for Freshies

Scan QR code for quick answers to: » How many books can I borrow from the Library and for how long?

» How do I renew my books, where can I return my books and how do I pay my fines?

» What printing services are available and how to get what I need printed out?

» How do I navigate the long list of e-journals and databases that the library subscribes to?

http://bit.ly/FAQforFreshmen2012

Edward LimAssistant Librarian(Access Services)

edwardlim@ntu.edu.sg

Men YaliEngineering Librarian (Materials Science & Engineering)

ylmen@ntu.edu.sg

SpringerMaterials – The Landolt-Börnstein DatabaseIf you are looking for reliable information to design new materials or interested to find out which materials offer the most suitable parameters for your research project, use the SpringerMaterials database. It offers extensive resources for critically evaluated physical and chemical data in materials science.

The SpringerMaterials Landolt-Börnstein database is mainly based on the Landolt-Börnstein book series, including its electronic supplementary materials. It also comprises LPF database, a subset of DDBST, and chemical safety documents. The content is expanded and updated quarterly. The structure of SpringerMaterials is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Structure of SpringerMaterials

(1) Landolt-Börnstein: It is a unique book series of numerical data and functional relationships in science and technology.

(2) LPF database: “Linus Pauling File Multinaries Edition - 2008” is a famous database on inorganic solid phases. It consists of three data collections: structure and diffraction data, phase diagrams, and physical properties.

(3) DDBST (Subset): This is a subset of “Dortmund Data Bank Software & Separation Technology” database which contains thermophysical properties of the 50 most important organic liquids plus water and their 1225 binary mixtures.

Figure 3. An example of thermophysical properties of Ethanol-water

(4) Chemical Safety Document: Over 44,000 Chemical safety documents are included in SpringerMaterials.

Figure 4. An example of chemical safety document regarding Ethanol

To access SpringerMaterials, visit www.ntu.edu.sg/library/databases

Resources

 

Figure 2. An example of Al-Mg-Zn ternary phase diagram

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中文资讯系列介绍（三）: 中文电子书

Do you know

?

上一期介绍了本馆所藏中文电子期刊，这一期介绍中文电子书。

什么是电子书？ 简单地说，电子书就是电子格式的书籍。它可以下载到电脑、个人计算机、笔记本、掌上电脑或者其他任何形式的电脑上，通过屏幕进行阅读。电子书以其便于获得与携带、随时阅读、方便检索、信息容量大、多种媒体形式等特点而深受读者喜爱，对于图书馆来说，电子书还可以节省库存空间。

近年来，由于智能手机、平板电脑等移动通讯工具的普及，电子阅读逐渐占据阅读上风，电子书的需求与日俱增。 应时代需要，本馆订阅了丰富的中文电子书，分为古籍和现代两类，现分别介绍如下：

古籍类。收录从先秦到六朝时期的甲骨文、金文、竹简帛书等出土文献，以及先秦两汉及魏晋南北朝时期的传世文献。由香港中文大学中国古籍研究中心开发制作。关于隋唐以前的古典文献，这个文库收藏得相当完备，其检索功能也很强大，例如其中的《甲骨文文库》，就包括释文

古籍类。清朝乾隆年间编纂的《四库全书》，是中国古代最大的一部丛书，共收书3461种，总字数约7亿字，前后有4000多名学者和工作人员参与其中，历时十年编纂完毕。全书分为经、史、子、集四部，内容涵盖广博，包括哲学、历史、文艺、政治、社会、经济、军事、法律、医学、天文、地理、算学、生物学、农业、占卜等，历来被誉为“中国古代文献之渊薮”，具有很高的史料及研究价值，向为学术界所重视。

这部书因卷帙浩繁，当时不曾付梓刊行，只手抄了7部，分藏文渊阁等7座藏书楼，每部约36000册。后经战乱，今存世者仅3部半，其中文渊阁是保存最完整的一部。

1. 汉达文库 CHANT (Chinese Ancient Texts) Database

2. 文渊阁四库全书电子版 Siku Quanshu – Wenyuange Edition

检索、释文单字检索、词语检索、甲骨字检索、甲骨字总表、释文对照甲骨文、字频表等检索方式。

注意：为了正确显示甲骨文造字，请先下载字型，并按照指示安装字型到系统中。

“文渊阁四库全书电子版”以台湾商务印书馆《景印文渊阁四库全书》为底本，由上海人民出版社和迪志文化出版有限公司合作出版。该电子版具有全文检索功能，用户只需输入整段、片段甚至单个字词语，就可在极短的时间内查找到所需资料，还可以随时在电脑上作笔记。该数据库附有《四库全书简明目录》、《四库大辞典》、《中华古汉语字典》等电子字典供查询字义，此外还有古今纪年换算、干支／公元年换算、八卦、六十四卦换算等电子工具可以利用。

注意：这个数据库安装在中文图书馆的一部独立的电脑上，如需利用，请亲临中文图书馆，并与柜台人员接洽。

现代图书类。由北大方正电子集团提供的中文电子书数字资源平台，在原Apabi电子书数据库的基础上发展而来。目前我们图书馆购买了共7356种，分属世界经济、国际经济关系、中国经济、邓小平著作、毛泽东著作、各体文学评论和研究、中国文学评论和研究、文学史、文学思想史，外交国际关系、中国政治等类目，出版时间约为1990年代至今。

3. 中华数字书苑 - China Digital Library

注 意 ： 如 果 要 在 线 阅 读 所 定 购 的 电 子 书 籍 ， 请 先 下 载 和 安 装 Apabi Reader。欲用iphone或iPad等移动设备作移动阅读，你可以在AppStore下载并安装ApabiReader。由于技术问题，目前只能利用手机阅读其免费书籍，本馆所购书籍还不能阅读，我们正与有关单位合作，会尽快解决这个问题。

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You can access and read in the Business Library a variety of highly regarded management focused magazines as well as financial and business newspapers from the library iPads provided at the Management Circle which is located next to the Current Periodicals area. A selection of top management books is also available there for you to browse and read. In addition, you can browse the nearby current periodical shelves for the latest print issues of business magazines.

The Immersive Business Library Experience aims to create an immersive learning environment for library users by surfacing print, digital, audio and video content from our library collection. Users can access, retrieve and use this wide range of library resources for learning and discovery while immersing themselves in the physical library environment.

Info Buzz

The Immersive Business Library Experience

Immerse yourself with strategic management thinking from acclaimed management gurus

The Business Library houses a strong collection of management books with many written by prominent and highly regarded management thinkers. You can immerse yourself in the thoughts and ideas of these management gurus with the setting up of the Management Thinkers Display. Walking through the library, you will find caricatures of some of the top contemporary management thinkers on large size posters accompanied by quotable quotes and QR codes which streams audio biographies as well as provide bibliographies of their books and articles available in the library.

By scanning the Audio QR codes with your smartphone or tablet, you will hear, learn and immerse yourself with ideas, thoughts and management concepts made famous by these gurus. Scanning the Bibliography QR codes will provide you with lists of seminal works published by them. You can then retrieve these works in the library or via subscribed databases, e-journals and e-books to read and understand further the management ideas and concepts.

Management Thinkers Display Management Circle

Akbar Hakim bin Haji HarunHead, Business Library

akbar@ntu.edu.sg

Events and Activities

现代图书类。由北京超星信息技术发展有限公司开发，内含大量中国大陆出版的中文图书，是中国最早的中文电子书数字图书馆。目前我们图书馆购买了共99,565种，分属中国哲学，语言文字， 文学，以及历史地理等4大类目，出版时间由1920年代至2005年，不再更新。

4. 超星数字图书馆 Superstar

注意：如果要在线阅读以上电子书籍，请先下载和安装 Superstar Reader。至于移动阅读，目前我馆正与出版商接洽之中，希望不久的将来这个功能能够实现。

阮阳中文图书馆主任

ruanyang@ntu.edu.sg

Read up on real world management issues in business magazines on library iPads

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Several of the host libraries are reacting to new learning environments by conceptualizing the library’s role with information literacy frameworks. They are identifying essential information skills and mapping them to their university’s “desired learning outcomes” or “graduate attributes”. All libraries were trying to align the library with the university’s educational goals.

Each host library had a unique approach, philosophy, and culture. Some host libraries were inspired by business and took cues from retail; other libraries identified with public institutions

and modelled themselves on museums and public libraries. However, the innovation that we saw on the LATN study tour suggests that libraries are able to develop their own perspectives and do not need to model themselves on other organizations.

Share and compare: What are libraries doing in Australia?I recently joined six librarians to represent NTU on a study tour of university libraries in Sydney and Melbourne. Spending a full day at five different libraries, I got a great introduction to academic libraries in Australia. Each library was as unique as the institution it belonged to and I made mental comparisons with NTU Libraries, the Canadian libraries I used as a student, and the many libraries I have visited in between.

Who? One librarian from each of the seven members of the Libraries of the Australian Technology Network (LATN).

What? A study tour of academic libraries that are engaged in innovation in learning and research.

Where? Five host libraries in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.

When? One week in May 2012.

Why? For librarians involved in learning and research to find out what other libraries are doing, to exchange ideas, and to foster collaboration within LATN.

Events and Activities

The easiest observations to make were about physical space. All host libraries had recently undergone refurbishments of some scale. The best renovations were designed with the users’ habits in mind: we saw the importance of power points and diverse types of seating (including the trend of “stage seating”). Almost all of the space at UNSW was

well-used because students could access power points everywhere; they told us that a library could never install too many of them. What was interesting was that all libraries took refurbishment as an opportunity to examine and improve their service models too. Our numerous tours reminded us that aesthetics and physical space should ultimately be used as tools to help provide a service to our users.

Many libraries (including UTS, Deakin, and Monash) employed “rovers” that had no fixed workstation, but would roam around the library to help users when required. Quite often the rovers were students, who wore easily-identifiable t-shirts and answered questions related to IT, course management systems, or directions, while escalating research questions to the appropriate librarian. UNSW took this concept further and completely replaced service desks with “help zones” in which users would serve themselves with the guidance of library employees.

Interestingly, many libraries use the concept of “co-location”, in which non-library staff are stationed at library service points to specifically address academic skills like writing, citation, and study. At Deakin, learning and language support staff and representatives from Student Life sit at the service desk and even share the library’s office space. At Monash the university’s Learning Skills office is actually a part of the library organization.

LATN study group on a walking tour of the University of Melbourne campus

Popular “stage seating” at UNSW Library, with readily available power points.

Seating built into the reference collection shelving at the University of Melbourne

Directional kiosk at UNSW, part of their self-help service model.

Participating Libraries:

Auckland University of Technology

Curtin University

Nanyang Technological University

Queensland University of Technology

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

University of South Australia

University of Technology, Sydney

Host Libraries:

Deakin University

Monash University

University of Melbourne

University of New South Wales

University of Technology, Sydney

Melissa ManLibrarian (Instructional Services) Art Librarian (Design)

melissaman@ntu.edu.sg

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Snapshots

New Staff

Faith Teh

Head, NTU Art & Heritage Museum

faithteh@ntu.edu.sg

Faith joined NTU in April 2012 as Head of NTU Art & Heritage Museum.

She received her Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences (majoring in History and Political Science, Public Administration) from National University of Singapore in 1996 and Master of Arts (majoring in Southeast Asian Studies) in 2002 from National University in Singapore.

She started her career in the heritage field with the Heritage Conservation Centre, an institution of the National Heritage Board (NHB). She headed the Collections Department and was in charge of the care and preservation of Singapore’s art and heritage collections. She also worked closely with the national museums to develop collections and museum management policies for NHB. Over the years, she had also given consultancy services and was involved in training staff from other museums in Singapore and Asia. She joined the Maritime Experiential Museum & Aquarium as a Curator in 2010.

After her short stint in the private sector, she decided to continue her career in a public institution. Faith will be working closely with her colleagues at the NTU Library to carry out the work of the museum.

She enjoys travelling, reading and spending time with her three dogs. She is also actively involved in animal welfare concerns, which include sponsoring, adoption and care for stray animals.

Events & A

ctivities

A Slice of History at the Library

Du JuanAssistant Director (Library Technology & Systems)Science Librarian (Mathematical Sciences)

dujuan@ntu.edu.sg

Du Juan is with the Library Technology and Systems Division where her responsibilities include coordinating the development, operation and enhancement of library systems. She is also a subject librarian for mathematical sciences.

Du Juan obtained her bachelor’s degree in Library and Information Studies from Beijing University. She started her professional career as a systems librarian at the National Library of China (NLC). She was involved in the design and development of library management systems for NLC.

She came to Singapore to further her studies at NUS in 1991. After obtaining her MSc, she joined Temasek Polytechnic Library as a system specialist.

In 1998 she worked for National Computer Board (now known as Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore) on various IT projects including the digital library system, e-learning platform and content, enterprise knowledge management, and corporate information management.

Just before joining NTU Library, she worked as a senior librarian at the National Library Board, Digital Library Division from 2006 to 2012. She was involved in the design and development of a L2010 project: Knowledge Infrastructure, an online socialisation and collaboration platform for the public to share their knowledge and information.

When she is free, she reads biographies of notable people. She also enjoys taking care of her potted plants in the office and growing vegetables in small containers at home.

Cargoes of shipwrecks can provide insight into maritime trade among regions in the past.

Earlier this year, the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Library and Lee Wee Nam (LWN) Library took turns to host a shipwreck archaeology exhibition.

Curated by Assistant Professor Goh Geok Yian from the School of HSS, the month-long exhibition introduced a number of shipwrecks including the Belitung (Batu Hitam) Wreck which is the most important shipwreck discovery in Southeast Asian waters to date. Other shipwrecks featured in the exhibition included the Intan and Cirebon Wrecks, the Java Sea Wreck, and a few others.

There is a local connection to the Belitung Wreck. Artefacts of the wreck were acquired by The Sentosa Leisure Group and were due to be shown at the Smithsonian Institution when it decided late last year that it would not proceed with initial plans to host them due to concerns that the wreck was commercially salvaged.

Artefacts on display

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Tham Jing WenLibrarian (Serials & Electronic Resources) Science Librarian (Physics)

jwtham@ntu.edu.sg

Kannadasan VenkatachalamAssistant Director (Library Technology & Systems) Engineering Librarian (Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering)

venki@ntu.edu.sg

Jing Wen is the subject librarian for physics as he has a strong interest in seeing how theoretical physics such as quantum mechanics interacts and influences the world around us. He is also with the Serials & Electronic Resources Division.

Jing Wen graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Computing. He had a keen interest in information organization and management, something cultivated from his days as a secondary school librarian, so he decided to enter the library field.

After a stint at Ngee Ann Polytechnic Library, he joined NUS Libraries as an assistant librarian. To further develop himself, Jing Wen went on to take up the Master in Information Studies in 2008 at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

After a few years, Jing Wen left NUS Libraries to start up a photography studio with some partners but eventually returned to the library field. He joined NTU Library as he enjoyed his experience of using NTU Library and its resources during the course of his postgraduate studies

In his free time, Jing Wen enjoys gaining knowledge by reading books on various topics on the sciences or just relaxing with a nice novel. He also pursues his hobby of photography, taking photos of landscapes, nature and still life subjects. Of course, like all Singaporeans, he loves sharing a good meal with friends!

Venki is an information technologist with vast experience in systems administration, application development and IT infrastructure support. Prior to joining NTU he was a systems librarian with Singapore Polytechnic Library for 10 years. His learning desires and interest in library science provided him an opportunity to pursue his master in library science from NTU. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Annamalai University, India. As a systems librarian, he enjoys promoting library services to all users through the use of technology. He believes in the mantra that “knowledge shared is knowledge doubled” and lives by it.

In May 2012, Venki joined the Library Technology & Systems Division as an Assistant Director to manage and support library IT infrastructure. He is also an Engineering Librarian (Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering) and looks forward to his new role in serving the NTU community.

In his spare time he enjoys reading fiction, self-improvement, philosophy books and computer magazines. He also volunteers his services at Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Tank Road. He is a happy-go-lucky guy and always loves to spend his weekends with family and friends.

The UNESCO convention stipulates that private funding cannot be used to recover shipwreck artifacts; in this case the cargo was recovered by a commercial salvage company, even though the latter had obtained legal permission from the Indonesian government. They were also opposed to the sale of the wreck’s cargo to a foreign buyer, in this case the Singapore Tourism Board, even though the transaction was legal and made with the complete agreement of the Indonesian government.

… This episode demonstrates two important lessons: 1) there are no precise internationally-agreed standards for undertaking underwater archaeological operations; the primary concern should be the systematic recovery of data pertaining to information on the ship’s construction, cargo stowage, and its cargo. 2) In Southeast Asia, collaboration between governments, professional archaeologists or archaeological institutions, and commercial salvage companies may be inevitable considering the high costs of underwater salvage operations. The key criterion is that governmental permission must be obtained prior to the operation and proper archaeological research must be undertaken before the cargo is removed from the wreck site.

– Excerpt from the exhibition poster

You may read more about the controversy or view the virtual exhibition at: http://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/library-resources/history/guides

Title: The Nanhai trade : the early history of Chinese trade in the South China Sea

Call No.: HF3838.A7842W246

Location: Wang Gungwu Library

Title: The Wanli Shipwreck and its ceramic cargo

Call No.: NK4565.5.S625

Location: Humanities and Social Sciences Library

Title: Shipwrecked : Tang treasures and monsoon winds / edited by Regina Krahl ... [et al.] ; with contributions by Alison Effeny ... [et al.]

Call No.: DS646.15.B55S557

Location: Humanities and Social Sciences Library

Title: Maritime archaeology and shipwreck ceramics in Malaysia

Call No.: DS593.B879

Location: Humanities and Social Sciences Library

Ng Kiak PengHumanities Librarian (History & Philosophy)kpng@ntu.edu.sg

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A W

ord From U

niversity Librarian

New Students & Libraries

Choy Fatt CheongUniversity Librarianlibrarian@ntu.edu.sg

We would like to welcome all new students who are beginning their academic life in NTU this August. There will be many adventures and experiences to savour in the next few years as you explore the new academic environment which is likely to be quite different from what you had previously experienced. One of the differences that you may notice is that the University has much larger libraries than the junior colleges or polytechnics you came from.

University libraries are larger not just in terms of space, but more importantly in the range and depth of information resources and the services that we provide. This is for a good reason. Our libraries are primarily built to support research at the cutting edge of all disciplines undertaken by our academic staff and researchers. This requires us to provide access to information and primary literature that is highly specialized. At the same time, we also ensure that the learning needs of students and beginning researchers are not neglected by providing sufficient information resources or secondary literature that lead to learning and better understanding of the primary literature. In short, we aim to provide resources and services that a novice on any subject could use to progress to become an expert.

We hope that all students will make full use of this as they immerse themselves in various learning and research activities during the next few years. For a start, get to know what the Library offers and how to use its resources and services effectively. This will reap benefits that surpass the time invested.

The Library has close to 780,000 print books spread out in 7 subject libraries. You can either browse the systematically organized collection or search for titles in our attractive catalogue which provides synopses and images of book covers. For those who enjoy intellectual stimulation, browsing is an immensely satisfying activity and is a good cure for writer’s block. If you do not feel like stepping into the libraries, you can also access our growing collection of e-books which you can view online in the convenience of your home, a café or anywhere. There are also more than 33,000 audio visual materials, from movies to documentaries for those who prefer visual stimulation or simply want to supplement their text-based learning.

One of our greatest strengths is the wide range of electronic resources available. Every staff and student here has access to more than 48,000 electronic journals at their finger-tips. There are few topics in the world that are not covered in the tens of millions of articles from this collection. You can either browse by journal issues or search for individual articles in search engines and database interfaces.

We subscribe to more than 200 databases covering a wide range of disciplines. You can search and access full-text articles, images, audio and videos using sophisticated search parameters. For example, instead of searching for an article by keywords, you can use citation databases to identify seminal articles in a discipline and then find related articles that make references to them. In many databases you can do a fielded search and indicate a combination of key characteristics to retrieve a more precise set of documents.

It will take time to learn how to use our library resources optimally. We offer classes conducted by subject librarians to help you get started or explore further into becoming competent in finding and using information. If you wish to explore these resources on your own, we also have 40 subject rooms which are web portals that collate relevant search tools and tips on most subject disciplines covered in NTU. Our subject librarians will also conduct practical-oriented workshops on how to do good literature reviews, information research and guide you towards writing papers that conform to good standards of academic integrity. However the most effective way is to talk to the subject librarians in the discipline you are enrolled in. We are always pleased to hear from you or assist in anyway.

There are many useful and interesting things you can do in the Library and we hope that we will be your companion whenever you pursue your learning and research activities.

The Library is a tremendous resource for learning and probing at the frontier of knowledge.“

”

For more information on Library Orientation 2012, please visit:

http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/lib orientation/