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Finding books & journals: Access resources +OA

Accessing resources top

On these pages:

“Brynmor Jones Library”

More then a building full of books - your conduit to a world of resources

The University Library provides access to a wide range of digital resources helping you to trace books and articles, track down internet resources and view the full text of journal articles from your own device.

Using the Library search

Most of the resources, both print and online, can be found in, and accessed from the Library search. 

Specific journal articles can be accessed by searching for the title of the article or via topics and keywords.  We also recommend you use your subject specific databases available from the Databases by subject link on the Library website. 

Basic search

Conducting a basic search and accessing an item

  1. Go to the Library search

  2. Type what you are searching for (you can use double-quotation marks around your term to search for a phrase) and click on Search 

  3. Library search box

  4. You can filter your results further with the type of materials such as Book/eBook, Journal article etc.

  5. You can also filter by publication year (sliding scale) on the left side of the list - Additional filters include peer reviewed, available online, subject discipline and language.

  6. If you find something you would like to access electronically, click the View Online button (or on the item title).

  7. Availability is shown for print materials - If the item is available, take a note of the location and shelfmark (a quick phone picture works well). 

  8. If you are unsure where the location is or how to find an item using its shelfmark, please ask a member of staff who will be happy to help you. (See the information on the right/below too.)

  9. If an item is currently on loan, you can reserve it and get an email when it has become available. Click the Request Item button above the item title and fill in your campus network login details. Reserved items need to be picked up from the dedicated shelves in the Reading Room.

  10. Use the self-issue machines to issue the book to your account before you leave the Reading Room or the library.

  11. Make sure you take note of the loan period - some fines can build up quite quickly!

Find at Hull

Using Find at Hull

Sometimes when searching for electronic information you will see the  button. Click on this to see if there is a link to the electronic resource. If there is no link to an electronic version there will be a link to request through the Inter-Library loan service.

Doesn't work?

No system is perfect, and if you think it is odd that the  button does not take you to a link for the resource it could be a fault.

Drop us an email at bjlcollections@hull.ac.uk to let us know the link wasn't working so we know to put it right.

Find at Hull

Adding Find at Hull to Google Scholar

You can add the  option to Google Scholar so that you can see which articles the Library subscribes to: 

  • Go to Google Scholar (scholar.google.co.uk).
  • Select  Settings at the top of the screen.
  • Select Library links from the left hand menu.
  • Type Hull into the search box, then select University of Hull - Full text at the University of Hull.
  • Select Save.

When you now do a search, a link  will appear at the right of each search result where Hull has a subscription to that material.

Finding items in the library

Finding items in the library

Until you get to know the library building, it can be difficult to know where things are. Here is a quick guide to the locations mentioned on item records. If you are at all confused, any member of Library staff (look out for their yellow lanyards) will be happy to help you.

BJL Reading Room HDC

BJL stands for Brynmor Jones Library which is the name of the main University Library building. The HDC is our 'High Demand Collection' which is all found in the Reading Room on the first floor of the Library (turn right at the top of the main stairs). Most of the books on your reading lists will be located here. Many books in this collection have a shorter loan period so please take note of this to avoid incurring fines.

BJL Reading Room Mezzanine

This is the raised area in the Reading Room accessible by the stairs near the desk or at the far end (lift also available). It contains our Reference collection, DVDs and print journals amongst other things. 

BJL ? Floor

Floors 2-7 all also contain loanable items. These are organised by discipline and you will soon find where the books related to your subject area are usually found (as well as those in the HDC). Boards around the library list the main subjects and where to find them and the Library search location will include a specific floor number to help you. Use the central lifts (or stairs if you want a free workout) to access floors 3-7.

Hull History Centre...

Our archival collection is held at the Hull History Centre which is found in the city centre. Much of the collection can only be accessed there but some items can be transferred to the Brynmor Jones Library for you to use on campus. Ask a members of staff and they will check for you.

Available on request...

Some items in our collection are held in closed areas - but they may still be loanable or can be available to use within the building.

Take a note of the classmark/location and go to either the Welcome Desk on the ground floor or the desk in the Reading Room to ask a member of staff to retrieve it for you.

Finding Open Access

Finding Open Access items

No library can afford to subscribe to every journal, or purchase every book which matches its readers' interests. Many academic authors commit to make their work openly available to readers who don't have access through a library, by uploading their files to their University website or a subject-specific sharing platform. And sometimes, publishers release eBooks or eJournal articles with open access for everyone, doing their bit to contribute to a fairer society.

Current and former students, staff and members of the public can all use the Library search to find a great deal of Open Access material to read, listen to or watch:

 

a screenshot of the Library Search interface showing an example search for "Covid lateral flow tests" with the results filtered by Open Access status

  1. Type in author names, title words or subject terms as normal, then click on Search.

  2. Filter by “Open Access” to find items in our collection which are free to read/download by anyone,  not just Hull students and staff.

  3. All the items in your search results will be available online, and you won't need to login with a University of Hull ID.

 

You can also try to Add Results Beyond the Library’s Collection, to find eResources which the Library does not subscribe to. Where these are openly accessible, you’ll see a link to the content. (Remember that University of Hull staff and students can use the Inter-Library loan service if you find something you really want to read which is not open access).

 

There are many more sources of Open Access material worldwide which aren't included in the Library search.  Web developers have created several browser extensions which can help readers locate Open Access items when using any search engine or database.  For an introduction to these, start from the Library's guide to Open Access Discovery.