Summer Reading

Posted by Catherine on 3 December, 2018

You’ve finished all the course readings for your studies for the year or you’re winding up those work projects and now, it’s time for you to do some recreational reading and have a little ‘me time’.

QUT Library has fiction and non-fiction books for all ages for your recreational reading needs. Discover a new author or genre that you’ve never read before. This summer could be a great opportunity to venture into your first graphic novel or a new Christmas themed children’s book from our wonderful curriculum collection at Kelvin Grove.

We have ebooks and audiobooks too, so if you’re on a summer break, it’s not too late get some holiday reading fun. Use the ebook databases to browse our collections today (details can be found here).

A Portrait of the Artist: Nick Earls on William Robinson

Posted on 19 November, 2018

Prolific Brisbane novelist and short-story writer Nick Earls has turned to non-fiction to celebrate one of Australia’s most significant living artists in William Robinson: A new perspective.

Commissioned by QUT’s William Robinson Gallery at Gardens Point Campus, Earls’ enlightening and often humorous chronicle of Robinson’s life and work comes in an attractive hardcover edition, available at the Gallery and at the QUT Bookshop.

William Robinson: A new perspective was launched in tandem with the Gallery’s currently showing Nature Imagined exhibition, featuring Robinson’s visionary renderings of the landscapes of South East Queensland.

For a more interactive experience,The Cube (Gardens Point Campus) is displaying selected Robinson landscapes digitised at high resolution, allowing you to zoom in on the details and gain insights into his techniques.

Want to learn more about William Robinson and his work? Keen to sample some of Nick Earls’ fiction? The QUT Library is an invaluable resource.

The Invincible Spirit of Queenslanders (Portrayed through their built environment) – 100 Years of ANZAC

Posted by Catherine on 2 November, 2018

11 November (Remembrance Day) 2018 marks the 100^th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice – the agreement that led to the end of the First World War (1914-1918).

The Cube at QUT Gardens Point is hosting a free digital exhibition from 2-11 November to commemorate the Queensland soldiers and families who answered the call from the British to join the First World War. It incorporates their stories and images to bring to life their journey to the front, repatriation and the return home.

There are also stories of events and places that helped to shape Queensland to be the place it is today. More information is available at http://www.thecube.qut.edu.au/cube-screens/2018/anzac.php?short.

There is also a curated display in Old Government House at Gardens Point from 11 October to 11 January 2019 and is also free. http://www.ogh.qut.edu.au/whats-on/2018/invincible-spirit.php

On the 11 November, there are events all over the country and state that you can attend to show your support. Find out more at https://anzac100.initiatives.qld.gov.au/.

QUT Libraries have a whole host of material on the First World War if you want to do your own investigations. For the school teachers among you, there are kits available to share with your classes.

Lest we forget.

The Invincible Spirit of Queenslanders – Portrayed through their built environment

October is for Mental Health

Posted on 9 October, 2018

There is a lot going on in October!

Queensland Mental Health Week 6-14 October
World Mental Health Day 10th of October
Mental Health Month

Did you know?

1 in 5 Australians are affected by mental illness, yet many don’t seek help because of stigma.

We can all do something to help shed a more positive light on mental health.

Here are some links to the various events that have loads of helpful practical information for you or someone you know.

Queensland Mental Health Week

World Mental Health Day

Mental Health Month

Save the date!

Posted on 3 October, 2018

QUT Vintage Book Sale for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

17 October, 12pm–3pm, Gardens Theatre Foyer, Gardens Point campus.

Hundreds of beautiful books will be available for purchase. All proceeds from the event will go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, to help provide books and literacy programs to remote communities.

Perils & pitfalls for early career researchers

Posted by Sandra on 27 September, 2018

Predatory publishing continues to be a trap for young players with more and more early career researchers falling victim. When this happens, not only do they effectively lose ownership and copyright of their hard work (with that the ability to publish it elsewhere), they often lose confidence, they can lose standing in their field, and they most certainly lose the potential for their research to be cited and shared with other researchers and future collaborators.

Looking for a publisher for your research should be a more of an experience like buying a new laptop or a car. Hopefully you don’t buy the first shiny thing you see. Hopefully you rely on people whose opinion you respect. Hopefully you check out the product reviews and comparison websites to see what your options are. Hopefully you don’t send a cash deposit after receiving a spam email from a car dealer.

Your diligence when looking for a potential publisher should likewise be seen as an investment in your future. Look to the journals the experts in your field are publishing in. Look to the journals your peers are publishing in. As an early career researcher, reputable journals will not send you email invitations to publish with them so don’t be tempted by vanity publishers. Don’t let your desperation for publication override your common sense.

Follow the Think Check Submit protocols. If you are still not certain, ask your faculty or liaison librarian to help you.

Predatory conferences, like predatory journals can also be difficult to spot, and without due diligence you can end up at a dodgy hotel, in a scary part of town, signing your authorship rights away and delivering a paper to six people, who will likely be the only people who ever hear about your research. You can check the Pivot database on the QUT Library’s databases page for legitimate calls for submissions for conference papers.

Australian Reading Hour

Posted by Catherine on 14 September, 2018

Australian Reading Hour

What is Australian Reading Hour? Australian Reading Hour is an initiative supported by the Australian Government, Better Reading and the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund to encourage all Australians across the country to pick up a book and read for one hour on your own or with your children. It is being driven by libraries all across Australia to promote the benefits of reading.

What are the benefits of reading? Well, it helps to increase literacy and numeracy skills and has a positive and significant effect on your work. Reading reduces stress by 68%, relieving stress more quickly than listening to music, going for a walk or having a cup of tea, and we all know that tea fixes everything 😉. The more leisure books people read, the more literate they become and the more prosperous and equitable the society they live in becomes. Reading a gripping novel causes positive biological changes in the brain that can last for days. Who knew that indulging in your fave author or book genre could have a positive effect on society and yourself? When tested for empathy, readers of narrative fiction achieved significantly higher than other groups. With a bit more empathy, our world would be a more harmonious place to live.

Children who know adults who read for pleasure take it for granted that reading is valuable and reading is closely linked to increasing our understanding of our own identities. It was found by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research that reading to children six to seven days a week puts them almost a year ahead of those who are not being read to. So reading to children and encouraging them to read is setting them up for success in life. Isn’t that what every parent wants?

Sounds good. When is it? It’s on Thursday September 20 2018, and the hour and reading material are your choice. Find more information and to register your interest on their website, go to https://www.readinghour.org.au/.

I don’t have a book to read for leisure at the moment. Do QUT Libraries have anything? Yes! QUT Libraries have more than just your textbooks. There are great fiction novels in print and online, for adults and children. Check Quick Find today.

But I prefer non-fiction. That’s okay. QUT Libraries have that covered too. We have autobiographies, biographies, commentaries, self-help books plus a whole lot more. The choice is yours! 😊

Don’t forget, when searching in Quick Find, you can limit your results to books and ebooks only.

Peer Review Week 2018

Posted by Natalie on 11 September, 2018

www.peerreviewweek.org

What is Peer Review Week?

This week focuses on the important place peer review has in scholarly communications and in maintaining scientific quality. This year’s theme is ‘diversity and inclusion in peer review’ and provides a chance for individuals, institutions, and organisations to spread the word that good peer review helps ensure quality and credibility in academic publications. For more information about this event, including online webinars, visit the Peer Review Week website.

What is the peer review process?

Peer review is the evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by others working in the same field. Scholarly journals use peer review as a quality-control mechanism. Consequently, articles published in a peer reviewed journal have higher status than articles published in journals which do not use peer review.

If you are not sure if a journal is peer reviewed, look at the section of the journal web page where information for authors is provided. Alternatively, search the Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory database by the name of the journal. If there is a referee jersey symbol () in the ‘Refereed’ column it means the journal is peer reviewed.

If you’re interested in being a peer reviewer, see Publons’ Peer Review Resources. By creating a Publons profile (e.g. Adrian Barnett’s profile) you can get credit for the reviews you’ve completed and attract the attention of journal editors looking for reviewers.

Looking for peer-reviewed journal articles in Quick Find?

You can search for articles in QUT Library’s Quick Find (just enter your search terms, tick the peer reviewed box and click search). You can also filter your results in Quick Find to show only peer reviewed. For more information or if you need help finding quality peer reviewed articles, contact QUT Library.

Loads of assignments to do? We can help!

Posted on 30 August, 2018

Keep calm and chill – we’ve got all the information you need to get your assignments done.

If you are looking for online resources to help with your assignments, then check out these pages from the digital workplace/HiQ:

If you prefer help in person you can book in to attend these Practical referencing workshops. You can also ‘drop in’ for Language and learning support where you can get assistance with assignment strategies and improving your writing.

Still not calm and need to chill quicker? Contact us either in person, chat online, phone or email us to get some help with your assignments here.

Wikipedia Editing Workshop

Posted by Catherine on 24 August, 2018

17 years ago, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger started Wikipedia and today, it’s one of the most popular websites in the world. It’s visited on average over 41 billion times a month! (Wikimedia Statistics 2018).

Are you one of those 41 billion visitors? Have you read something on Wikipedia and thought, ‘That’s not right! Someone should fix that’. You can be the one to ‘fix that’ and set the world right – learn how by attending a QUT Library Wikipedia Editing Workshop.

It’s a great opportunity for academics, HDR students and Research Support staff to engage with your research area using Wikipedia. In the workshop, you’ll practice writing for a general audience and contribute to Wikipedia by checking, verifying or adding information in your area of research or interest.

Join Wikipedia and make a profile before arriving, then put your editing skills into practice when you get here.

It’ll be held in QUT Library in conjunction with State Library of Queensland’s #QWiki Club.

3 September 12-1.30pm

QUT Kelvin Grove Campus, R306

image of a man and woman looking at an underwater seascape in the background. Overlaid with text about the wikipedia editing workshop

Book in to the Wikipedia Editing Workshop