Open Access Week at QUT

Posted by David on 11 October, 2019

Guest blog by Professor Ginny Barbour, Director of the Australasian Open Access Strategy Group (AOASG) & Professor in the Division of Research and Innovation, QUT

As we head towards the end of October – we again turn our focus to a week dedicated to open access (OA). Now in its 11th year, International Open Access Week, 21-27 October, is a global, community-driven week of action aimed at opening up access to research. It has grown into a truly national and global celebration.

This year’s theme is “Open for whom? Equity in Open Knowledge.” As open access becomes increasingly the norm, the 2019 Open Access Week Advisory Committee poses the question, “Whose interests are being prioritized in the actions we take and in the platforms that we support? Whose voices are excluded? Are underrepresented groups included as full partners from the beginning? Are we supporting not only open access but also equitable participation in research communication?” Building upon last year’s theme, “Designing Equitable Foundations for Open Knowledge,” these questions will help us determine how emerging open systems for research will address inequities in the current system and ensure that we don’t unintentionally replicate and reinforce them.

There has been much discussion over the past year of open access news from Europe and elsewhere, and especially of Plan S. Open Access Week is a time to remind ourselves, however, that open access is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end – that of an equitable, efficient, and FAIR means of sharing scholarly information. For academics who publish openly the benefits are concrete. A better readership for open articles is not surprising, but the benefit of increased academic usage are also becoming clearer through more citations. Other benefits are of increased citations associated with posting of preprints and of data sharing. Critically, depositing in an OA repository such as QUT’s ePrints, is demonstrated to be the best way to boost citations. Furthermore, open articles are better connected into global systems for sharing information, which means that ultimately they can have wider societal impact. Depositing records and full text is the most important way that QUT researchers can comply with QUT’s open access policy and that of the two big Australian funders, ARC and NHMRC — all for free. But more than that, QUT’s repository allows anyone anywhere to access its research outputs.

QUT Library and others will be celebrating Open Access Week with a number of events. Once again we will bringing our popular Open Access Bike Tour to Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove campuses on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 October. There will be OA giveaways, lucky dips, badges and more. Watch this short video of last year’s bike tour, and see below to find out when the Open Access Bike will be coming to a campus near you.

All are welcome to attend a webinar with an international focus on Monday 21 October, entitled Advancing Science in Indonesia: Current Global Research Practices. In addition to myself, the webinar features Professor Brian Nosek, the Executive Director of the Center for Open Science, Professor Simine Vazire from University of California, Davis and focuses on improving research practices in science.

On Wednesday 23 October we will be launching Hacky Hour at QUT: Skills for Open Research. Come along to The Pantry at 2:00pm and chat with an expert about skills for open research. Follow us on Twitter @GPHackyHour for details.

Join QUT IP & Innovation Research on Thursday 24 October for a thought-provoking symposium on Open Innovation. This free event, featuring speakers from a range of disciplines, will examine Open Education, Law, Culture, Open Cities, Additive Manufacturing, Agriculture, Robotics and more. Register here.

If you will be attending eResearch Australasia, be sure to come along to our session on Doing open access advocacy by stealth. Stephanie Bradbury, Manager Research Support Team, QUT Library, and I will be running this interactive workshop on Thursday 24 October from 11:40am-12:40pm.

Come along and get involved. For more details, follow @QUTLibrary on Twitter or email library.research@qut.edu.au.

Children’s Book Week

Posted on 21 August, 2019

CONGRATULATIONS to the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) 2019 Book of the Year Award winners and honour books! Gritty, contemporary themes are tackled by many books, challenging their readers to contemplate a range of important social issues.

You can access the CBCA website for the Winners, CBCA Short list and Notables list.

The Library has a lovely display of the CBCA books. All titles are available for loan and can be found in the Curriculum area on level 4 of R Block, Kelvin Grove Library.

We also have a Children’s Literature Library Subject Guide where you can read the shortlisted and winning books and follow the links to QUT Library’s online and print copies.

Enjoy Children’s Book Week and happy reading !

National Science Week and Robotronica

Posted by David on 12 August, 2019

From 10th to 18th August, science and technology take to the streets for National Science Week.

Established in 1997, this annual celebration of science and technology acknowledges the contributions of Australian scientists to the world, and encourages members of the general public to engage with science in all its forms.

There will be hundreds of nationwide events, including many free activities, talks, workshops, and live shows.

Free events include:

VR immersive experiences. Explore beneath the sea or beyond the stars simply by putting on a slightly odd pair of goggles.
Public lectures. Listen to astrophysicists, meteorologists, and other science luminaries explain the mysteries of the universe from a scientific standpoint.
Scinema International Science Film Festival. Watch science films from around the world, screening in various locations around Queensland.
Children’s activities. Introduce your kids to the joys of chemistry, Lego boats, and aeroelastic flutter bees.

And no celebration of science and technology would be complete without quite a few robots. Speaking of which, the Robotronica robotics and technology festival, coming hot on the heels of National Science Week, will take place on 18th August at QUT Gardens Point campus. QUT Library will be part of the action: if you’re keen to experience Virtual and Augmented Reality, the Library is the place to be. Drop in: it’s free!

Artistry & Chemistry: The Robert Augustus Henry L’Estrange collection

Posted on 22 July, 2019

While most of QUT’s library collection consists of the expected textbooks, online databases and other learning materials, we also have our special collections – unique collections of historically and culturally significant materials. Currently on display in the Kelvin Grove Library are items from the Robert Augustus Henry L’Estrange collection, generously donated by his family.

Image: L’Estrange Family, circa 1910

Robert L’Estrange (b.1858- d.1941) had a varied and wide-ranging life but he eventually settled with his family in Victoria Street, Red Hill – less than 500m from the KG campus. He was a keen and prolific amateur photographer and his photographic materials from the turn of the century form the basis of the collection.

Image: Unknown lady with rifle and a saltwater crocodile

Hundreds of his photos, taken between 1880 and 1919, have been digitised from the glass plate negatives by QUT Library. They depict life in Brisbane, North Queensland, and other parts of the world at the turn of the century, just when photography was becoming accessible to the at-home enthusiast. His subjects include early Brisbane cityscapes, local shopkeepers at their work, portraits of his family, and even a young girl’s backyard birthday party.

Image: Children’s party in the grounds of the Herston residence, Coralyn, ca. 1907

Image: Petrie Bight showing National Hotel and Customs House, Brisbane, 1900

Artefacts on display include glass-plate negatives, L’Estrange’s wooden Harrington & Co camera, lab equipment for preparing photographic chemicals, and lantern slides that would have been used with a gas-lit early form of projector.

Come in to Kelvin Grove library and check out the displays on Level 2 (underneath the central staircase) and Level 4 (between the fire stairs and the printers).

Get back into study…. again!

Posted on 18 July, 2019

Need to brush up on referencing? Received feedback that you need to find more academic or scholarly articles for your assignments?

The Library is gearing up for our next round of workshops and we are here to help!

Library workshops include:

Researching made easy – After this session, you will use databases more efficiently to find relevant information and current journal articles for your assignments.
Referencing made simple – This session introduces you to the principles and styles of referencing and citing using QUT cite|write. It also explains how you can paraphrase the work of others, avoid plagiarism, and make sure that your work has academic integrity.

Hands-on APA referencing – Ever had trouble working out exactly what it is that you’re trying to reference? Still not sure where to find all the bits and pieces you need to create a reference? This workshop will help you get more familiar with different types of resources and how to reference them in APA style, including articles, websites, reports, ebooks and more.

QUT students can register here for both face to face (on-campus) workshops and also online workshops!

If you can’t make it to a scheduled workshop you can access the online resources here by clicking on the name of the workshop or feel free to contact us here anytime.

We look forward to seeing you!

NAIDOC Week 2019: Voice. Treaty. Truth.

Posted by David on 7 July, 2019

Sunday July 7th marks the beginning of NAIDOC Week, an annual week of nation-wide events and activities celebrating the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

NAIDOC Week takes its name from the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, formed in the 1990s to help increase awareness of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Each year, NAIDOC Week is built around a particular theme. The theme for 2019 is Voice. Treaty. Truth., the three key elements of reform called for in the Uluru Statement. An overview is available here.

If you’re looking for some NAIDOC-related things to do during the break, take a look at this year’s program of events. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture, and languages.

You might also like to explore QUT Library’s extensive collection of books, films, and other resources focusing on Australia’s indigenous communities. An excellent starting point is The Little Red Yellow and Black Book: An Introduction to Indigenous Australia.

ResBaz Brisbane 2019

Posted by Catherine on 2 July, 2019

ResBaz - Research Bazaar

“The Research Bazaar is a worldwide skill and community-building festival promoting the essential digital skills researchers need to perform modern research…The aim of the event is to equip researchers from all career stages and disciplines with the digital skills and tools required to do their research better, faster, and smarter.” https://resbaz.github.io/resbaz2019/brisbane/

There will be workshops on software carpentry using R and Python; Board games including Copyright the card game and the Publishing Trap (great for early career researchers); data visualization and tips for boosting your research profile; plus guest speakers who have walked the walk and talked the talk and are still making waves in their respective professions.

ResBaz Brisbane is hosted by QUT, UQ, Griffith University, USQ and Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation (QCIF). The location for the event this year, is at our very own Gardens Point campus (P block).

You can follow the event at @ResBazBris and use #ResBazBris to share your experiences.

Places are limited but you can still book here.

Extended Library opening hours for Swot Vac and Exams!

Posted on 5 June, 2019

Now Kelvin Grove Library is joining Gardens Point Library and also opening longer hours for Swot Vac and Exams!

Kelvin Grove Library

From Monday 3 June to Friday 21 June 2019 the Kelvin Grove Library will be open:

Monday – Friday: 7am-2am
Saturday – Sunday: 9am-2am.

The Library will close at 10pm on Friday 21 June.

Entry and exit to the building during extended opening hours is via swipe card access at the main entrance opposite Beadles Café.

Gardens Point Library

From Monday 25 February to Friday 21 June 2019 the Gardens Point Library will be open:

Monday – Friday: 7am-2am
Saturday – Sunday: 9am-2am.

The Library will close at 10pm on Friday 21 June.

Entry and exit to the building during extended opening hours is via swipe card access at the main entrance next to Merlo Coffee.

Service and study spaces

During extended opening hours QUT students and staff have access to all study spaces, study rooms and library collections, including Course Reserve, and the Curriculum Collection at Kelvin Grove.

QUT’s Wireless network is available to all QUT students and staff with a current QUT Access username and password.

HiQ will be available from 7am to 10pm weekdays, and 9am to 5pm on weekends. Self-help services available throughout the extended opening include:

borrowing via self-checkout
printing, copying and scanning from self-service printing stations.

Best of luck with your exams from all of us at QUT Library! If you require any help, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Do you love the library? Or maybe you’ve never even used it before?

Posted by David on 29 April, 2019

QUT Library is keen to hear what you think about our services and spaces. All staff and students are invited to provide feedback via the Library Client Survey.

We really value your feedback: it helps us understand what’s working and what could be improved.

And as a big thank you for taking 10 minutes out to answer the survey, you go into the running to win one of three $150 gift cards! See here for terms & conditions.

To take the survey, click here.

World Poetry Day 2019

Posted by David on 21 March, 2019

“Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.” So said eighteenth-century English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. If Shelley were alive today, he would no doubt be gearing up for World Poetry Day, an annual global celebration of poetry in all its forms.

Declared by UNESCO in 1999, WPD aims to promote the reading, writing, and teaching of poetry; to support linguistic diversity through poetry; and above all to remind us that poetry is a living and vibrant mode of expression—as is evident from contemporary spoken-word forms such as rap and hip-hop, not to mention the popularity of poetry slams.

If you are looking to explore the world of poetry, QUT Library is an excellent resource. Our extensive selection of print and e-books has something for all tastes, from the ancient Homeric epic The Iliad to the works of contemporary poets including Queenslanders David Malouf, Ellen Van Neerven, and QUT Creative Writing lecturer Sarah Holland-Batt.

And check out the Library’s video streaming service, Kanopy, to see poets and poetry come to life on the screen: there are documentaries, filmed performances, and more!