Library guide for academic staff
Welcome to the University of St Andrews Library!
Our service comprises the Main Library on North St and two satellite libraries - St Mary's College Library in South Street (for Divinity and Medieval History), and the J.F. Allen Library (for Mathematics and Physics) on the North Haugh. Staff and students have equal rights to all these libraries.
There are in addition a few independently operated libraries within academic Schools. These are run by and for the staff and students of these Schools, but most will allow reference access to colleagues from other departments.
Details of opening hours and services of the satellite and departmental libraries can be found on the Departmental libraries web page.
The Academic Liaison Team
New members of academic staff are advised to contact the Library's Academic Liaison Team as soon as possible after their arrival at the University. The Academic Liaison Librarians will be happy to provide an introduction to the Library and its services, and advice on how to make best use of its wide range of resources.
Dr Alice Crawford (ac101@st-andrews.ac.uk) is the Academic Liaison Librarian for Arts and Divinity, Vicki Cormie (vhc1@st-andrews.ac.uk) is the Academic Liaison Librarian for Science and Medicine and Hilda McNae (hmm9@st-andrews.ac.uk) is the Academic Liaison Librarian for Social Sciences. Their role is to act as the first point of contact between the Schools and the Library. Conversations with the Liaison Librarians will ensure that your specialist research requirements are met, and that your teaching programmes are appropriately supported by the Library.
The Academic Liaison Librarians also offer information skills sessions for staff and students to enable them to search the literature of their subjects effectively. Training can include how to use the Library, searching online databases and the use of bibliographic referencing software such as Endnote and RefWorks. Please contact the Team if you would like to arrange information skills training for any of your classes.
More information is available from the Academic Liaison web page.
Library Representatives
All Schools have Library Representatives, who act as the main link between staff in their subject area and the Library. A list of current School Library representatives is available via the Library web pages. Working closely with the Academic Liaison Librarians, the Library Representatives:
- act as a channel for recommendations from members of the School for purchases for the Library's collections
- keep the Library informed about the School's teaching and research needs, alerting them, for example, to new degree programmes
- advise the Library of any problems encountered by staff or students in relation to the Library service
- pass on information about new Library services so that students and staff in their School may use the Library to its best advantage
- represent the School's views on major inter-disciplinary purchases or changes to Library services
- serve on a variety of Library committees including the Library Users Group
- monitor the School budget allocation for Library purchases to help ensure the School's allocation is fully spent up.
Please note that if you wish to buy library books for your subject, you should ask your Library Representative whether your School participates in our Coutts online book-ordering service. If so, please contact Dr Alice Crawford who will obtain a password for you and provide some guidance on how to use the system. If not, please complete a Book recommendation form and send it to your Library Representative, who will forward it to the Library. More information can be found in the Recommending Resources section.
Using The Main Library
Finding the materials you need
Books and periodicals
To find out whether the Library has the books and periodicals that you require, check SAULCAT, the online catalogue.
SAULCAT contains mainly post-1972 material, but includes an increasing amount of older material too. It also contains details of periodicals currently received by the Library, including those held in most departmental libraries. PAGE-CAT (the printed catalogue), located on Level 2 of the Main Library, contains pre-1972 material. The three bound volumes of an older (obsolescent) Periodicals Catalogue (on Level 2) contain details of back runs of periodicals to which the Library no longer subscribes.
Note the Location i.e. the Library in which the item is held, and the classmark to find the item on the shelf. The Status field will indicate if the item is currently available or on loan.
Books and periodicals are shelved in separate sequences in classmark order on Levels 3 and 4. Level 3 contains classmarks A-H and books in Z. Level 4, the top floor, has classmarks J-V. Pre-1900 books are held on Level 1.
Current print periodical parts and the immediate past issues are shelved in classmark order in pamphlet boxes in the Reading Room on Level 2. Older issues are bound and shelved together on Levels 3 and 4.
Floor plans indicate the location of particular classmarks.
Electronic Resources
E-Journals
The Library has access to over 20,100 electronic journals, as well as a growing number of electronic books. Many of the e-journals are full-text and you can access them via direct links from SAULCAT, or from the electronic journals list.
Databases
We subscribe to around 200 databases covering a wide range of subjects. The best way to access these is via the A-Z list of databases, but they can also be accessed via SAULCAT if you know the name of the database you want (just do a title search, and SAULCAT will provide you with the link). A list of databases by subject is available, which will show you the range of databases relevant to your area.
Access to the Library's databases is automatic from within the University network. If you wish to use the databases from off-campus, you should follow the instructions on our off-campus access web page. We are now using the UK Federated Access or Shibboleth system, which will ask for your University user name and password if you are logging in from off-campus.
For more information about gaining access to electronic resources see the Electronic Resources web page.
Borrowing
Borrowing entitlement
Academic staff may borrow up to 50 items, of which 4 may be from Short Loan. Normal loans may be kept for a year from the date of borrowing, unless someone else recalls them. Short Loan items are borrowable for periods of 4 hours, and Multiple Copy (MC) books may be borrowed for 7 days. Fines are charged on overdue material. Your University ID card is required when borrowing Library materials, either via the Service Desk on Level 2, or via the Self-Issue machines.
Recalling items
You can place a hold on Normal Loan books and periodicals on loan to other users via SAULCAT. Click the Recall button and follow the subsequent steps. You will be sent an e-mail telling you to collect the book when it has been returned. Library Recall, Overdue and Collect notices are sent to your University e-mail address.
Renewing items
You can do this via SAULCAT .Click in the box beneath the heading Your Library Record on any page in SAULCAT, enter your library borrower barcode (from the reverse of your ID card), click on Items currently checked out and mark the items you wish to renew. You may also bring the items you wish to renew to the Library and renew them via the Self-Issue machines or at the Service Desk.
Checking your Record
You can do this from the Library home page or any page in SAULCAT. Choose Your Library Record to view which books you have on loan, when they are due and the progress of your recalls.
Other Library Services
PC Cluster
Internet access is provided via the cluster of classroom PCs on Level 2. All are connected to networked printers, which operate on a pre-pay print quota system. Print credits can be purchased online or from the IT Services Helpdesk on Level 2. Further details about printing can be found on the IT Services web pages. Responsibility for this cluster and the printers lies with IT Services.
Inter Library Loans/Document Delivery (ILL)
The Library may not stock all of the books and journals, conference proceedings etc. that you require. Material not held here can usually be obtained via Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests to the British Library.
Each loan costs the Library over £10. There is no charge to staff for this service: staff and postgraduate requests are monitored by the Schools. Additional charges, available from ILL staff, are payable on certain types of loans e.g. theses, copyright fee-paid requests, items from abroad. All current staff and students of the University are entitled to use this service.
Full details of the ILL service are available on the Inter-library loans web page.
Binding and Printing Services
A binding and printing service is available from the University's Print & Design Unit. For other binding services outwith the University, please see the External Binding Services webpage.
Photocopying
Photocopiers are available on Levels 2 (including a colour copier), 3 and 4 of the Main Library, and at St Mary's College Library, the J.F. Allen Library and the Purdie Library. Further details on the Photocopying web page.
Please note: Members of the University may only make photocopies within the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Full details on the Copyright Information web page.
Short Loan Collection
Short Loan is a collection of core material in heavy demand by classes. If you wish to recommend essential reading to be added to the Short Loan collection for your students, please read the Guidelines for Teaching Staff. The use of the collection is monitored and usage statistics for material you have placed in the collection are sent to you by e-mail. Some essential journal articles and book chapters can be made available as photocopies or digitized and made available via the Module Management System (MMS), subject to copyright regulations Links to electronic journal articles can also be added to module lists and Moodle pages. For further information about any Short Loan matter please contact shloan@st-andrews.ac.uk
The self-fetch Short Loan collection is located behind the Service Desk and accessed by a turn-stile at the far end of the Desk. A maximum of 4 items at a time can be borrowed.
The Library will ensure that student demand for material is satisfied as far as possible by monitoring the number of loans and recalls. Short Loan staff will contact the lecturer of a module in cases where demand exceeds the number of copies available or when copies are missing. Requests for the purchase of additional or replacement copies should continue to be made via the Library Representative in your School.
Reading Lists
Staff are asked to send copies of all reading lists to readinglists@st-andrews.ac.uk each Semester as soon as possible after they are prepared, so that the Library can check that all items required are in stock before the classes meet.
Reading lists are converted to digital format which enables students to access the full text of journal articles (where permissible under Copyright law) and the Library classmark on SAULCAT of all books. Reading lists may be accessed via the Library's Reading lists web page, and module organisers are sent the URL for the lists which will also allow them to display the Reading Lists within Moodle or other webpages.
Access to other Libraries
Details about accessing other libraries are available from the Library web pages or the Service Desk staff. Other Library Catalogues can also be accessed from St Andrews Library web pages.
Universities of Dundee and Abertay Dundee
A reciprocal agreement exists between the University of St Andrews Library and the libraries of the University of Dundee (including Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art) and the University of Abertay Dundee, which allows staff and students of these institutions to borrow books from any of these libraries.
Please ensure that you take your current University of St Andrews ID card and another form of identification with you to these libraries, so that you can be registered as a reader.
SCONUL Access
Academic staff and postgraduate students are eligible to join the SCONUL Access Scheme which allows you to borrow material in other libraries. An application form is available from the SCONUL web site. Return the completed form to the Main Library Service Desk where you will be issued with your SCONUL Access card. Please allow one working day for your application to be processed. Your card will be valid until your employment contract expires or for a maximum of 3 years, whichever is shorter. If you need to renew your membership for a further period, please contact the Service Desk . A list of participating institutions is available from the SCONUL web site.
Recommending resources for purchase or subscription
We rely on you to advise us of the material you require to support your teaching and research programmes. While this has traditionally meant books and journals, other forms of electronic resources are becoming increasingly important. Please talk to your Academic Liaison Librarian at the earliest opportunity about your information needs, for advice on how we can best meet them.
Books
Many Schools are now using the online book-ordering service (OASIS) hosted by our supplier Coutts, and it is hoped that this programme will be rolled out to all Schools shortly. If you belong to one of these Schools and require a password for the system, please contact Dr Alice Crawford who will obtain this for you and provide some guidance on how to place orders. If your School doesn't yet participate in the scheme, you should complete the Book recommendations form on the Library webpages and send it to your Library representative.
For further assistance, please contact your Academic Liaison Librarian.
Journals
The Library now controls the budget for all periodical purchases. If you wish to order a new title, please contact your Academic Liaison Librarian, who will add it to the centrally held "wish list." Once subscriptions for existing periodicals have been paid (usually in early Spring), it will be possible to place orders for items on the wish list as long as funds remain.
Other types of material
The Library is acquiring an increasing number of electronic resources, including abstracting and indexing tools and full-text databases. We are always pleased to consider recommendations to purchase or subscribe to such material. Please contact your Academic Liaison Librarian if you wish to recommend such material.
Purchase of Material from Academic Departments or Staff
Teaching staff should ideally not buy books for the Library themselves and then seek reimbursement. We recognise, however, that there are exceptional circumstances where it may be more advantageous to purchase material for the Library from individual members of academic staff or departments, or for them to arrange purchase on our behalf.
If you have information on the whereabouts of, for an example, an out-of-print book, please reserve the item with the bookseller, making it clear that it is not a firm order until the Library gets in touch with them with an official order. Then either email Acquisitions (acquisit@st-andrews.ac.uk), or call in to the Library Acquisitions department with your request (recommendation form should be completed), with bookseller details / catalogues attached. Once the purchase has been agreed with your School's Library Representative, and it has been confirmed through SAULCAT or the PAGE Catalogue that we don't already have the title, the order will be placed.
We are happy to receive donations of the Proceedings or Papers of conferences you attend. If, however, these have to be paid for, we would prefer it if you would send a recommendation form to your Library representative marking it "urgent" and we will prioritize these orders. As a member of the Scottish Libraries Book Consortium, we receive significant discounts on English-language titles and pay no postage, saving your School money. In exceptional circumstances, should you wish to make purchases outside the UK for the Library, please ensure receipts are kept and an expenses form is completed when presenting the book to the Library. We will then be able to reimburse you in due course. If, however, we discover that we already have the title in stock, we will be unable to reimburse you. You may then have to claim the expense back from your School, if they agree to this arrangement.
Special Collections
The Special Collections department is situated on Level 1 of the Main Library. The Department houses the following material:
Rare Books and Special Collections. (All books printed before 1901 and some rare, later volumes are administered by the Special Collections Department.) Manuscripts Muniments (University Records) Photographic collectionsThese share a supervised Reading Room, which is open for use by staff and students of the University, visiting scholars and the general public. Facilities include 24 reader places with power points for personal computers, microfilm and microfiche readers and printers, photocopying and photographic services.
Full details on the Special Collections web pages.
Library Guides and Leaflets
A full range of Library Guides and Leaflets is available on our Leaflets and guides web page.
Other useful information
All Library staff are contactable by email - see our A-Z staff list.
Postal address: University Library, North Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TR
Tel: 01334 462281 (Office) / 01334 462283 (Service Desk)
Fax: 01334 462282
E-mail: library@st-andrews.ac.uk
Updated 18 May 2012
