125 years of the IEEE

I’m a bit late with this post given that it’s already May but 2009 is the 125th year of the IEEE and their celebration website is well worth a look if you haven’t already.

The site has lots of great features including a whole range of videos from speakers discussing how emerging technologies can change the world, and the Engineering the Future Day on 13th May.

The IEEE celebration can also be found hanging about on social sites Facebook and YouTube and event pictures are available on Flickr.

Don’t forget that Learning Centres have an online subscription to the IEEE Computer Science Digital Library for access to IEEE journals and conference papers.

SCIT Librarian on the Web

The www is a fast moving place and the sheer volume of information that can be found from a simple search is mind boggling. Hopefully you will be finding SCIT Blog a useful source to help you identify useful sources for academic research, but did you know you can also subscribe to my Delicious links and, now even follow me on Twitter?

In my guise as SCIT Librarian, I can be found on the web picking up all the useful snippets of information relevant to SCIT students and staff. If you are a Twitter user you can follow me on Twitter where I will post quick updates and links to useful stuff, and all the best academic websites for computing and maths are stored and tagged in my Delicious account.

You can subscribe to the RSS feeds from SCIT Blog, Delicious, and Twitter however you wish to receive the updates. I’d love to get your comments and feedback about any of the services, so feel free to comment here or @SCIT_Librarian on Twitter.

Grid, Distributed & Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a hot topic at the moment. GridResources is a “subject tracer” blog which seeks to bring together resources for grid, distributed, and cloud computing. Regularly updated, the blog is a recommended starting point for research in the area.

Some suggested further reading on the subject include this short introduction to cloud platforms by David Chappell.

Video debates from British Computer Society

Stay up-to-date with the latest debates in the world of IT with the British Computer Society video series. The most recent debate is “IT’s help in the credit crunch: What can IT do to help enterprises cope in the current economic climate – and is it all bad for IT professionals?” View the video here.

What is Python? Free Safari webcast

If you are interested in or studying Python, you might be interested in signing up for a free webcast from Safari online. This is a one hour webcast with author of Core Python Programming Wesley Chun.

The webcast is taking place on Wednesday 29th April. Visit Safari Books Online for more information and to register for the event.

Academic Earth

Academic Earth is a collection of videos from top scholars at US Universities. A great resource containing both computer science and mathematics categories.

New quiet study area

Photo from Flickr, uploaded by ewphoto

There have been a few changes at Harrison Learning Centre recently, and in response to student and staff feedback, the 3rd floor has now been designated as a quiet study area. All spaces, tables and study rooms are for individual study. Please note that this only applies to the book floor and not the IT suite.

We hope that this move will be welcomed and supported by students and staff. Your feedback is always valued so please comment here, fill in a comments form in the Learning Centre or submit comments online.

Trial to ProQuest Computing

We currently have a trial to the ProQuest Computing database. To access ProQuest Computing, visit the Databases A-Z page and click on Current Database Trials at the top of the page to access the trial URL.

From the ProQuest database drop-down menu, select Technology – ProQuest Computing before searching. The trial will run until 31st March during which time you will be able to search and download full text papers.

Further information about the database can be found here and a full title list and coverage details can be found here.

Please feedback any comments about the resource by commenting here or contact me by email.

ACM Crossroads

Crossroads is the student magazine of the ACM. The magazine is run for and by students and the full text is available online without a subscription. It has articles on student life and a range of computing and technology topics. The papers are concise and readable, with references for further reading.

Have a look at the topic index for an idea of the subjects covered and you can join the mailing list for news and new issue announcements.

EThOS – UK theses to your desktop

The British Library new EThOS service is now up and running. EThOS is a freely available service that allows you to search for UK theses. The search is open to anyone to find a theses and if you wish make a request to view one, you will need to register with the site. The British Library will then deliver the the theses direct to your desktop.

This means that we will no longer be supplying theses through the inter-library loan service. For more information, please ask at Learning Centre helpdesks or email us.