Health Library

When are you open?

We are open 7 days a week, with reduced hours at the weekend, excluding bank holidays. See our complete opening hours.

Is there any out-of-hours access?

You can only access the Health Library during normal staffed opening hours. There is no out-of-hours access.

How do I get there?

We are located at the UHNS Hospital Campus in Stoke on Trent. See our Contact Us page for our address and our Getting Here page for details.

Where can I park at the Health Library?

Parking facilities at the Health Library are provided by the UHNS. You can find more information here.

Why do I need to bring my Library Card with me?

You will need your Library Card - whether for Keele or the NHS:

• Whenever you want to take items out, renew items, request items or pay any fines; it allows us to easily identify you and swiftly access your library account.
• To request a temporary IT login.
• To access the library via the access control system during the evenings and at weekends.
• To pay for printing from the Keele network and any photocopying.

You are responsible for the use of your own card.

How can I use my Keele Card at the Health Library?

You can use your Keele Card to:

• Borrow items - it is also your Library card
• Add credit - use the machine in our photocopy room
• Pay for printing and photocopying
• Pay your overdue charges
• Pay for any purchases at the counter
• Access the library during evenings and weekends via the swipecard access control system

I work in the NHS and can't get in to visit the Health Library. Is there any help for me?

We have an NHS Outreach Service where our outreach librarians can visit you to help you to get access to our resources and services. See the NHS Outreach page for more information and the team's contact details.

I am a student on placement with the NHS in North Staffordshire, can I get access to any resources?

Yes, we support students who come on placement to the NHS organisations that we serve. You can use some of our facilities, services and resources. See our section for students on placements for a full list.

Can I suggest a book title for the Health Library to buy?

You can ask that the library purchase a particular book by using either the stock suggestion forms in the Health Library or the online stock suggestion form.

Please give a good reason for the purchase - this may be:

• part of a reading list
• recommended text by a professional body
• essential subject reading
• classic text
• a popular existing text

Can I borrow items from Keele Campus Library?

Yes, all our users can borrow items from the Campus Library. You can go up there to browse the shelves or you can request that an item is brought to the Health Library for you to pick up - ask at the counter. Short Loan items cannot be picked up from the Health Library - you must borrow and return these at the Campus Library.

How many books can I take out?

The number of books that you can take out will depend on the type of member you are.

How can I renew my on-loan items?

You can renew any items you have by:

• bringing the items and your Library Card to the counter
• bringing just your Library Card to the counter
• telephoning us - have your Library Card with you
• online - login to view your Library Account and renew your items

You may not be able to renew your loans if:

• someone else has requested the item - you must return it as soon as possible to the Health Library
• you have exceeded your overdue charges limit - you will need to clear this before renewing any items or borrowing anything new
• you have exceeded the overdue date limit - you have had the book out too long without renewing it and you need to return the book to the Health Library
• it is coming up to the summer vacation period which prevents some borrowers from renewing their loans. You can return your items physically to the Health Library and then have them re-issued to you. If this is not possible then please contact us and we will try to renew the items for you.

Why wont the online system let me renew my loans?

You may not be able to renew your loans if:

• someone else has requested the item - you must return it as soon as possible to the Health Library
• you have exceeded your overdue charges limit - you will need to clear this before renewing any items or borrowing anything new
• you have exceeded the overdue date limit - you have had the book out too long without renewing it and you need to return the book to the Health Library
• it is coming up to the summer vacation period which prevents some borrowers from renewing their loans. You can return your items physically to the Health Library and then have them re-issued to you. If this is not possible then please contact us and we will try to renew the items for you.

Why do I have to pay fines?

Fines or overdue charges are applied to items that you have not renewed or returned by their due date. Library resources are shared resources and should be made available to other borrowers if you no longer require them.

You can avoid fines by:

• renewing items on time
• returning items once you have finished with them or they are requested by someone else
• using electronic resources

What is an EMOS card and how do I use it?

EMOS cards are no longer in use at the Health Library. They were previously used to pay for printing and photocopying.

Please use your Keele Card or NHS Library card to pay for printing and photocopying.

How much does it cost to photocopy?

Photocopying is 5p per sheet.

You can use the cash-operated photocopier - note that it does not give change. Or you can use your Keele card or NHS Library card to pay for photocopying.

Is colour photocopying or printing available?

We do not have a colour photocopier. If you want a copy of something in colour you could try scanning it and then printing it on the colour printer - check any copyright restrictions.

We have a colour printer on the Keele network. Colour printing can be paid for using your Keele card or NHS Library card.

Is there a scanner I can use?

We currently have 2 scanners attached to PCs which are available on the Keele network. You will need to login with your Keele computer username and password, or request a temporary login from the counter. Instructions on how to use the scanners are available next to each scanner.

Do you have wifi in the Health Library?

We do not have open access to wifi in the health Library.

The UHNS provided wifi may be accessible from the Health Library. NHS users must contact the UHNS IT department for access.

Our IT deparment are working towards supplying wifi access for all our users. They have issued the following statement:

"Keele University Faculty of Health is very aware of the lack of Wi-fi at UHNS for our students and the potential inconvenience that might engender. We have been working very closely with our partners within the Trust to try and find a way that would allow relatively unrestricted Keele Wi-fi traffic to travel across what is, essentially, a NHS network at UHNS. As can be imagined this is a complex undertaking and not something that can be achieved without undergoing very significant due process. Please be assured that a workable solution is being considered and we would hope to see a test scenario within the next 12 months. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding." [12/10/2012]

Where can I find eBooks?

You can search the catalogue to find ebooks that Keele University or the Health Library subscribes to. Select the "electronic resources" collection from the drop-down box to search for ebooks only. Many of these texts are available to both our Keele and NHS users. You will see a link on the ebook page indicating whether you can get access.

NHS users can also access the NHS-subscribed ebook collection. You will need to log in using your NHS Athens username and password.

How do I access eBooks?

When you have found an ebook on the catalogue, you need to make sure that you click the correct link. You will then be presented with a login screen. You will need to use either your Keele University computer username and password or your NHS Athens username and password to login and access our ebooks.

You can access ebooks from University, work or home.

Where can I find journals?

We have a number of collections of journals:

• Print journals
• Keele electronic journals
• NHS electronic journals

You can find out how to access these on our journals page.

How can I find a specific article?

To find an article you need to already have quite a bit of information about that article, including:

• the title of the article
• the author(s)
• the journal that article is published in
• the year the article was published
• the volume and issue of the journal where the article was published
• the page numbers for the article if possible

Then you can start searching:

• Look on our catalogue to see if we have the print version of the journal; check that the holdings cover the year, volume and issue that you are looking for.
• Check the Keele A-Z list of ejournals for the journal title and see whether the issue you need is available.
• Check the NHS My Journals list of journals for the journal title and whether the holdings include the issue you are looking for.
• Check whether the article is available via open access by searching on Google Scholar.

If you cannot find the article ask a member of our staff or apply for an inter-library loan.

How can I find journal articles for a particular subject?

To search for articles in a particular subject you need to use a bibliographic database.  Our databases index bibliographic information about articles such as article title and author; and publication details such as the journal where the article is published, as well as the year, volume and issue number. They also include information such as keywords, subject headings, thesaurus terms and abstracts which will help you to find an article relating to your subject.

You will need to develop a search plan to help you use the search functions in the databases, in order to find the information you need.

The databases that you have access to will depend on the type of user you are.

Keele users can access any Keele-subscribed databases; there is a selection for medical, midwifery and nursing students. You will need your computer username and password off-campus.

NHS users can access the databases available in the Healthcare Databases Advanced Search facility - see the database link on our Health Information Resources page. You will need your NHS Athens username and password.

Why can't I get access to the full-text of all the journal articles I find?

When you are searching databases for journal articles you may find that you can get access to the full-text of some articles but not all the articles. This is because although we have subscribed to the database for the bibliographic information we do not have a subscription to all the journal titles it contains.

Where we have a subscription to the journal title you should automatically see a link to the full-text within the database. If you do not see a link it is worth checking on our A-Z journal lists to see if that journal title is available in a different database or check on the catalogue in case we have the print format.

If you need an article that we do not have full-text for you can request an inter-library loan and we will try to get it for you from another library.

Why can I access an ejournal in the library but not in my office or at home?

Some of our ejournal titles are not available via Athens login. These will only be available to you via the Health Library network and you will need to come to the IT suite next to the library in order to access them.

Keele University allows our NHS members to access their networked resources via walk-in access. You can request a temporary login in order to access the Keele IT network.

What can I do if the item I need is not in the Health Library?

If you cannot get access to the item you need from the Health Library you can request an inter-library loan and we will try to get it for you from another library. We charge a small fee for this service.

Go through our check-list to make sure that it is not available first.

What is single sign-on?

The idea of "single sign-on" is that you have only one username and password to access lots of different resources. This means that you don't have to remember a different username and password for example for each database or each ejournal title.

We are reliant on our publishers and providers allowing us to do this. Many do but unfortunately a few don't.

For Keele users the "single sign-on" is your Keele computer username and password. When you log on to a database or ejournal you need to look for the "institutional" or "shibboleth" link. Follow the links until you are asked to select your insitution from a list; then select "Keele University". You will then be presented with the Keele University login screen, enter your Keele computer username and password. You should then be allowed access to the resource. For more help see the Campus Access page.

For NHS users the "single sign-on" is your NHS Athens username and password. When you log on to a database or ejournal your need to look for the "Athens" link. Follow the Athens links until you are prompted for your Athens username and password. See our Athens page and our NHS ejournals information page for more help.

What is Athens?

Athens is an authentication system which provides you with a username and password to access many of our electronic online resources.

An Athens account is linked to an organisation so that you can access the resources that the organisation has subscribed to. So each set of resources for each organisation will be different.

We administer NHS Athens accounts for our NHS members.

For more details about accessing our resources see our Athens page.

Who can help me with my Athens account?

If you are a Keele user you will be switched to "single sign-on" where you use your Keele computer username and password to access resources. This is managed by the Campus Library. Please see their Access web page for the appropriate contact details.

If you are an NHS user your Athens account is managed by the Health Library. You can find information to help you on our Athens web page.

Why don't we have Keele Athens anymore?

Keele is switching over to "single sign-on" where you use your computer username and password to access our eresources. This means that you only have to remember one username and password. You can use this when you are off-campus to use our resources. See the Campus Access page for more details.

Where can I get some help?

Well, you've started in the right place by checking the frequently asked questions section. But if your answer isn't here then:

Check our Help section for:

• help finding your way around the website
• information about facilities, services and resources for new students
• information about facilities, services and resources for NHS users
• help finding information whether articles, books, journals or internet resources, whether in print or online
• how to contact us - feel free to get in touch and we'll do our best to help

How can I arrange some training?

We offer a scheduled training programme at the Health Library which covers:

• Finding health-related information on the Internet
• Literature Searching
• the Cochrane Library
• Rapid Critical Appraisal
• Refworks
• and NHS-based resources

We can also arrange one-to-one sessions if you need more help and deliver training in your workplace if needed.

You can book online or contact our trainers to arrange a session.

Is there any help online?

You can browse through our Online Guides and Support section to find guides and help pages to help you to find and use our resources. These include step-by-step instructions to using:

• Athens
• eBooks
• eJournals
• Databases
• Dynamed
• Keeping up-to-date
• Refworks

You can also try our etutorials where there are are short presentations and videos demonstrating finding and using books, ebooks, articles, print journals, ejournals, databases, and Internet resources.

Can I book the training room (GF45b)?

The training room (GF45b) can be booked by Keele University academic staff or by NHS staff. Pelase speak to the CEC reception staff.

This room cannot be booked by students.

Can you help me with referencing?

Keele University does not have a consistent university wide referencing standard. Students will need to check your school handbook for advice about referencing standards required for your assignments by your school or tutor.

Librarians at the Health Library will be able to assist with general referencing queries.