Newsletter 04.2021
1. The university library takes stock of the year 2020
The use of the university library was shaped by opposite trends in 2020. Analog use, i.e. visitors physically accessing library spaces and its collection, was strongly diminished in the past year, especially owing to restrictions cause by the coronavirus pandemic. However, the library expanded and experienced a strong increase in the use of its digital services. Access to electronic journal articles increased by 55% over the previous year. Similarly, the library registered a 46% increase in e-books being accessed.
Please refer to this media information (German language only) for more statistics results from 2020 and the conclusions drawn.
2. Library service resumes for guests starting on March 15th
Since December 16th 2020 the university library has only offered essential services due to the pandemic, enabling university members to pick up and return items from Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm (currently in the Limona building, which is expected to persist until April 1st 2021). We’re very happy to announce that current developments enable us to extend our service to guests again, starting on March 15th 2021.
You may requests books and DVDs from both the closed and open stacks in the online catalogue (OPAC) and the discovery system BibSearch. Requested items will be available for pickup from the following day, and will be held for five days.
3. Recalling items on loan – calling for your assistance
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To facilitate our switch to a new technology, we are currently equipping all our books and DVDs with new security tags. We therefore ask all our patrons to return items on loan until March 31st 2021, if possible. Only items that have been retagged can be checked out and returned at our comfortable new self-checkout terminals from April 6th 2021. Please assist us in making the switch run smoothly and return your items in time. You can learn more about our new RFID-based technology and the changes it brings on our website.
Since December 16th 2020 we have allowed for far more renewals than usual and not raised any late fees due to general pandemic-related restrictions. As a result, many of our items are out on loan at the moment. As we are going to extend our service to all visitors again from March 15th 2021, and are also anticipating further steps towards reopening the library from April 6th 2021, we expect to raise late fees again starting on April 12th 2021. We will of course keep you up to date on developments in this area.
4. Online course: Bau dir deine Arbeit: Schreiben, Quellen, Stil - Einführung in das wissenschaftliche Arbeiten
In the summer semester of 2021 we once again invite interested students to participate in the online course Bau Dir Deine Arbeit. Together you will learn about the different stages of scientific writing step by step, such as the characteristics of scientific writing, scientific research, literature management or the processes of writing. Weekly thematic blocks will be organized as self-study units (available in German and English) as well as online seminars together with lecturers (available in German). Creatively and experimentally, Students will gain long-lasting security in writing scientific texts.
This seminar is offered as a Bauhaus.Modul for students of all courses and all semesters. You may take the course both graded (3 ECTS/2 SWS) or ungraded. The deadline for registration in the university’s event portal is April 15th 2021. Dana Horch will be happy to answer any further questions by e-mail (dana.horch@uni-weimar.de).
5. Series »Identität und Erbe« (Identity and Heritage) in Open Access in OPUS Weimar
The first volume in the series »Identität und Erbe« by the DFG graduate college of the same name has now been published in open access and is freely available in OPUS Weimar. The series features contributions by international researchers, architects and artists on impulse-giving focal research areas at the DFG graduate college »Identität und Erbe«, which is set up at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and TU Berlin from 2016 to 2025. The series is edited by Simone Bogner, Gabi Dolff-Bonekämper and Hans-Rudolf Meier.
Please find further information on the series here.
6. Reingeklickt – a virtual look behind the scenes at the German National Library
On March 21st 2021 between 1pm and 5pm, the German National Library will open its doors online and invites anyone interested to a virtual tour through its locations in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main and many other exciting items on the agenda. No one who always wanted to know how over 41 million items are conserved long-term or how provenance research is done should miss this. Get to know the German Music Archive, the German Museum of Books and Writing and the German Exile Archive 1933-1945. You can find more information on the German National Library’s website.
Stefanie Röhl
Sachgebietsleiterin
Informationsdienstleistungen