All of our online Library resources can be accessed 24/7 from anywhere using your University credentials. When you are on-campus, we have made it as easy as possible for you to access all of our subscribed Library content. That can be a bit trickier to navigate when you are off-campus so here are a few tips and tools you can utilise to ensure you get quick, easy access to our content when you are working from home.
When you are prompted to login to our resources, you will always see the unified login screen and should enter your University credentials in the format: studentnumber@uad.ac.uk plus your network password.
LibrarySearch
LibrarySearch is the best place to begin your search for resources. It simultaneously searches millions of items from multiple academic databases including e-book collections, licensed ejournals, conference proceedings and academic content freely available on the Web. You will clearly see where/when you need to login to access full-text and you'll often be able to instantly download the PDF of an article directly from the results list.
Top tip:
Always sign-in (top right) before you start searching as some resources are restricted for search so won't be included in the results unless you are recognised as being from Abertay. Once signed in you can also make use of all the useful features like saving and exporting items.
View more info and the LibrarySearch FAQ here
Library Resources A-Z
If you want to access individual resources directly, always make sure you use the authenticated links provided on our Library Resources A-Z page or your Subject Guides. It is especially important when you are off-campus to use the links we provide when accessing resources. Logging in with your Abertay credentials mean you get instant access to the full-text content included in our subscriptions.
Top tip:
Make sure to bookmark the Library Resources A-Z page and your Subject Guide to ensure easy access to your favourite resources from home. You might have an extra click or two to get to the full-text when you are off-campus, but usually, if you have already authenticated in a current browser session, you won't be prompted to login again.
Subject Guides
Subject Guides are designed to help you find information and resources for coursework, projects and dissertations. They have been prepared by your Academic Librarian and contain links to the key subscribed resources for your subject as well as useful websites and sources of freely available information in your field of study.
Top tip:
All required reading for your modules should be available from your online reading lists. In addition to prescribed reading, when doing your own research ‘beyond the reading list’, LibrarySearch is the quickest and easiest way to simultaneously search for academic content across a number of different sources. If you get stuck, please don’t hesitate to contact your Academic Librarian.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a useful resource that searches across a wide range of academic literature. It pulls results from publishers, university research repositories and scholarly websites.
When you are searching Google Scholar on-campus, lots of the journal articles etc. that you discover are available to you through Library subscriptions. This is because we’ve set up full-text access to our resources through Google Scholar within the university IP range and we also publish our holdings to Google Scholar. We want you to get the most out of Google Scholar when you’re working from home too – so you just need to make a couple of changes to your settings to ensure you can easily access our subscriptions.
More information and how to configure your settings
Top tip:
Google Scholar uses a wide variety of sources, not all results will be high quality or peer-reviewed. Results may also include unpublished versions of articles and other kinds of sources. While you may still find useful items, it is very important to evaluate these sources. Always think about: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy/Reliability and Bias/Purpose.
BrowZine
BrowZine is a tool which allows you to easily browse, read, and keep up-to-date with current scholarly journal content on any device. The desktop version of BrowZine is fully integrated with LibrarySearch to enhance your journal browsing experience and it is also available as a free iOS and Android app. BrowZine allows you to easily follow titles of interest in your field of study and get notifications when new articles are published.
More information on using and downloading BrowZine
Top tip:
BrowZine is a great way to browse journals and keep up-to-date with new research in your area of study. It is not designed for article searching so you should still go to LibrarySearch when you want to search for content.
LibKey Nomad
Libkey Nomad is a browser extension that automatically provides full-text access to content through our Abertay Library subscriptions from anywhere on the web.
Nomad checks the Library's holdings data in the first instance and then checks open access alternatives to ensure you are directed to the best available version of an article. It also integrates directly with PubMed and Wikipedia allowing you to download articles directly from the search results and reference screens.
Simply download and install the extension then choose 'Abertay University Library' from the drop-down list of institutions. Once installed, you'll see the Nomad icon (green flame) display next to the address bar in your browser.
More information on using and installing LibKey Nomad
Top tip:
If you are a PubMed user, installing LibKey Nomad will greatly improve your research process - once installed, you'll see full-text article links to our subscribed content in the results list. All our full-text content will be one click away!
Lean Library
The Library currently has trial access to Lean Library - a browser extension available for all major browsers that makes it easy to access subscribed library content wherever you start your research process. When you are off-campus, you can use Lean Library to access full-text journal articles and conference proceedings as well as ebooks, reviews and lots of other online content provided by the Library, without having to go to the Library website or LibrarySearch first.
Lean Library requires a very simple 'once only' installation process - just a couple of clicks and you're all set!
Just install the 'Lean Library - Library Access' extension in your browser of choice then select 'Abertay University' when prompted.
More information on downloading and installing Lean Library
Top tip:
You will be quickly guided to the full-text of any content you find on the web where we have an active subscription. The pop-up will provide you with the correct authenticated link ensuring instant access. Please note that this is trial access only so we would love to hear any feedback you have on this nifty product.