University of Kent

Studying in the Templeman Library

Silent and quiet study spaces, many offering student PCs, are available throughout the Library. If you want to collaborate, a social learning zone is available on Level 1 East, or you can book study rooms with multimedia equipment.

Study carrels are individual study rooms which are wireless enabled. They can be rented on a daily, monthly, or quarterly basis.

You can borrow a laptop or netbook for use within the Library. Netbooks are available from cabinets on Level 2 Centre - no issuing necessary. Laptops can be borrowed from the IT & Library Suport Desk.

Studying from home

Access the Kent network

Most online services are available from off campus with no additional setup required.

Using a computer or laptop with internet access you can set up the Home VPN Service; this enables you to acess your files on the network, capus printers, and network-restricted resources.

E-resources

Library Services sunscribe to an extensive range of e-resources, including e-journals, e-books, databases, reference resources, and newspaper archives.

Always use the links on the Library website to access subscription-only resources. You will either be taken to a University of |Kent login screen or to a page where you may have to choose 'University of Kent' from a drop-down list before entering your Kent IT account details.

Research

Research resources

The Library provides online and printed resources that can help you with your research, including:

• books on planning and writing up your research
• guides to current research
• information about publishing and disseminating your research
• online collaboration tools

Before purchasing any articles or other research material over the internet, check the Library website to see if the Library already subscribes to the resource you need. Consult your subject liaison librarian if in doubt. Additionally, you may be able to obtain items not held locally using the document delivery service.

More about research resources

Reference management software

This type of software enables you to build a personal database of bibliographic records for each book, chapter, article, or any other type of material that you have read or used as part of your study and research.

It can be used to insert chosen references into Word documents and will correctly format citations and the bibliography according to a chosen citation style.

• More about reference management software
• Reference styles used at Kent

Theses and dissertations

All theses completed for research degrees at Kent, and MA or MSc dissertations which have been awarded distinctions, are held in the Thesis Collection.

Online services allowing you to search for and access theses and dissertations completed elsewhere are also available.

Special collections and archives

Special Collections

Special Collections comprises rare material relating to the theatre, Kent local history, literature, politics, and the history of science. The holdings can be searched through its website and the Library catalogue. An appointment is necessary to access physical material.

Visit the Special Collections website.

British Cartoon Archive

The British Cartoon Archive holds the national collection of political and social cartoons from British newspapers and magazines. Many are digitised and can be viewed on the archive's website.

Visit the British Cartoon Archive website for more information and to search the image collection.

Official publications

The Library also holds collections of official, government, and European Union publications.

Other libraries

You can search the online catalogues of many other libraries; your subject liaison librarian can advise which are most appropriate for your subject.

Once you have identified where material is held you can visit another institution or request material, using the various access or delivery schemes available.

Full information about other libraries, including links to the catalogues of other libraries.

Visiting other libraries

You can gain reference access to, and may also be entitled to borrow material from, any higher education library participating in the SCONUL access scheme.

Other libraries, inclusing many local libraries and the British Library, are also accessible to you.

Requesting material

If an item is not held at the Templeman but is available at the Drill Hall or Tonbridge Library, you can request it through the inter-site loan service.

The document delivery service enables you to request items not held at any University of Kent library; the service is free to you if your school/department agrees to fund the request.

Subject support and training

Subject liaison librarians provide in-depth research assistance and can help you find the best resources in your area of study. specialise in helping you to find the best resources in your chosen field of study. They also produce subject guides, which highlight the physical and electronic resources and services that are most relevant to your subject area.

Information skills training is provided by the Library. Topics covered include using reference management software, advanced use of bibliographic databases and using Microsoft Word for dissertations or extended assignments.

The Graduate School's Transferable Skills Training programme lists upcoming sessions that cover literature searching skills, keeping up-to-date with emerging research, and managing the results of your searches, including referencing.