University of Sunderland

University Library Services have a wide range of resources that you can access online, from on or off campus 24/7. 

Through our web page you can search our Library Catalogue to locate resources in the library, check your account, place reservations or access Electronic-books, use Discover to locate print journals in the library and e-journals online; access our Electronic Databases so that you can search for articles on your topic; search for past Exam Papers; locate your Reading Lists to check your recommended resources.

Our web pages also offer a wide range of help and support; information regarding using the library and details of how to contact us if you need any help.

To access many of our e-resources you will need your University user ID and password.

University Library services have a large collection of books and ebooks which are accessible from the Library Catalogue.

Click here to find out how you can locate and borrow books or view and download e-books.

Click here to read a blog post giving advice and troubleshooting tips when accessing ebooks

Locating and obtaining conference papers and proceedings.

Conference papers and proceedings are vital in the field of research as they are often the first time that research breakthroughs are announced in public. Proceedings are the collection of academic papers which are published in relation to a particular conference. They can be made available either prior to the conference opening or after the conference has finished. This can include collected published papers or summaries of papers which have delivered at the conference. The information is also quickly released before they are published in professional peer-reviewed journals.

To locate conference papers try searching:

• Conference Proceedings      

The British Library Conference Collections

Further information regarding Conference Proceedings is available from The British Library who have one of the most comprehensive and accessible collection of conference publications in the world.

 The British Library Integrated Catalogue

The British Library Integrated Catalogue contains the records of over 400,000 conference proceedings held in stock, with 16,000 new records added each year.  

You can change the catalogue options to only search for conference material.

• Conference Papers (i.e. the individual papers that have been delivered at a conference):

ZETOC

This resource provides an index of conference papers published since 1993 and covers over 20,000 journals. The Conference search includes searches for papers and reports from conferences, congresses, workshops and symposia. It may be possible to obtain copies of papers via our Inter-Library Loan Service.

ISI Conference Proceedings Citation Index

This database is an index to papers given at conferences from around the world. Papers date from 1990 with coverage from over 110,000 conferences. The citation index covers conference literature in all scientific, technical and social sciences, arts, and humanities.

It may be possible to obtain papers via our Inter-Library Loan Service.

If you need further help or support:

• See the Inter Library Loan section on the library website 
• Check the Inter-Library Loan Service or please ask a member of staff.

Locating and obtaining past projects, dissertations and theses.

A selection of past University of Sunderland dissertations and projects are kept in stock and can be used for reference purposes. At The Murray Library they are stored in the Short Loan Collection and can be searched using the Library Catalogue. At St. Peter's past projects and dissertations are stored in the Library and although not on the Library Catalogue they are available for you to browse.
Past University of Sunderland Theses are also stocked in the Short Loan section of each library. They can be searched using the Library Catalogue and used for reference purposes.

Theses from other universities can be searched for using Index to Theses.

Index to Theses

Index to Theses is a comprehensive listing of theses with abstracts accepted for higher degrees by universities in Great Britain and Ireland since 1716.  There are currently over 484,000 in the collection. If you would like to use this service from off campus please ask staff for the required username and password.

If you would like to obtain a copy of a thesis it can be requested through our Inter Library Loan Service.  If available, PhD theses from UK universities will normally be delivered electronically.

Locating and obtaining patents.

Patents are the ownership rights that governments give to inventors so they have the exclusive right to make, use, and sell products or processes they invent. If you are looking for the details of a patent try:

UK Intellectual Property Office
The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) website provides access to a range of databases through which you can search for patent information.

The British Library
The British Library holds Britain's national collection of patents which includes British patents and patent specifications and related materials from around the world. This information is held in the British Library's Business & IP Centre at St. Pancras, London. The British Library offer an online course on intellectual property and also run regular free workshops on searching for patents.

Most patents can be obtained from commercial suppliers, free via the internet or if available via The British Library through our Inter-Library Loan Service. The British Library website provides an excellent listing of free patent databases and patent supply companies and an excellent index of patent related links.

A selection of past exam papers are available online. To search and download them log into My Sunderland and click on 'Me' and select 'Learning' tab. On the left hand menu you will see a link for past exam papers. We maintain a database which you can search by module code, year or browse by subject.

Finding a newspaper or newspaper articles

Newspapers will provide you with contemporary information at a given point of time and are, therefore, a useful information resource for many subject areas.

University Library Services stock The Times; The Independent; The Guardian; The Financial Times; The Sunday Times; The Independent on Sunday and The Observer for a period of 3 months.

Online access to current UK National Newspapers and certain regional newspapers is available via LexisLibrary. Current access to the Financial Times is also available online.

Online archives of The Guardian, The Indendent; The Observer ;The Times and the Financial Times are also available. The holding dates differ per title.

Locating and Obtaining Reports

The British Library has probably the largest, most comprehensive collection in the world of reports available for public use. Approximately 4.9 million are held in total. Particular strengths are British research and practice reports; reports distributed by US federal agencies; reports distributed by international agencies as well as other reports from many countries. 

You can search for reports using the Serials/Periodicals subset of The British Library Integrated Catalogue and if possible we can try and obtain a copy of reports for you through our Inter-Library Loan Service.

Locating and borrowing Art and Design slides

The Art and Design slide collection at The Murray Library consists of over 80,000 slides covering all aspects of Art and Design.  The slides are kept in filing cabinets and divided into two sections: Fine Art and Applied Arts.  Slide viewing equipment is available at The Murray Library.

• You can find slides by searching the Slides Collection on the Library Catalogue, using the artist's name or a subject.
• A maximum of 30 slides may be borrowed for 2 weeks.
• Slides are issued at the Library Desk, and must be returned to The Murray Library.
• If you have any problems finding the slides you need, please see the Library staff who will be happy to help you.

Finding reliable websites

When using websites for academic purposes it is very important that you are confident of the quality of the information it is providing. Check that the information is provided by a reputable individual or organisation, for example, a university research department or a national body.

It is advisable to use websites that have been evaluated and selected by experts and included in academic subject gateways such as the Intute Gateway. The Intute Gateway organises web sites by subject area and provides access to a vast amount of excellent sites. Intute also has an excellent search facility.

Check out the Internet Detective on-line tutorial which will help you develop the advanced skills required for using the internet for academic purposes. This excellent tutorial covers topics such as information quality, evaluation of information and avoiding plagiarism and breaches of copyright.

The Intute Gateway also provides a range of excellent worksheets, help books and presentations on finding quality websites in the areas of Science, Engineering and Technology; Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences and Health and Life Sciences.

Locating Statistical Information

The internet is an invaluable source when searching for statistics:

The UK Office National Statistics
The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS.) Britain's economy, population and society at national and local level. Summaries and detailed data releases are published free of charge.

Government Departments
Many UK government departments include full text statistical publications on their own websites. 

Good examples are:
- Department of Health which includes, figures on hospital and community health services, NHS workforce/expenditure and family health services
- The Home Office Research Development  and Statistics website includes a range of research and statistics relating to crime, policing, immigration, drugs and other areas of Home Office responsibility.
- The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) provides recent statistics including the annual statistics of education and training for the UK and more detailed statistics relating only to England.