Library facilities and services at District General Hospitals

Guide to accessing Library resources and services off-campus

Reading Lists for the MBBS course

Click on a hospital name to see the general library facilities and services available there:

• Barnet Hospital
• Basildon University Hospital
• Hemel Hempstead Hospital
• King George Hospital & Queen's Hospital
• Lister Hospital
• Luton and Dunstable
• North Middlesex Hospital
• Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
• Watford General Hospital

For Libraries serving Great Ormond Street Hospital, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Royal Free Hospital, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and other UCLH hospitals, and the Whittington Hospital, see the list of UCL Biomedicine & Health Library Sites.

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While on placement, you will be entitled to use the resources and services of the library at the District General Hospital at which you are located. Details about the libraries are summarised above. Please note that, if you borrow any books or other items from your local DGH library while on placement, it is your responsibility to ensure their safe return before you leave.

You may also continue to access a substantial range of library resources and services provided by UCL Library Services while you are on placement, even when you are unable to visit a UCL library in person.

1. Key data to check in advance of your placement

You will see mentioned below a range of userIDs that you may be prompted to provide while accessing resources and services remotely during your placement. It will be difficult for you to trace these once you are on placement, so please make time to find out what these are, and make a note of them somewhere safe, before you leave for your placement. Please note that, as with your UCL computer account, this data should not be shared with anyone else at any time.

a. Barcode number and PIN code

Your barcode number can be found on the back of your UCL ID card. When accessing your library account you will also be asked for a PIN code. For Explore, this is available by asking in person at any UCL Library Issue Desk. For Horizon, used at the Archway Healthcare Library, you will have been issued with a PIN when you registered. If you have forgotten your PIN please contact the Library by phone: 020 7288 3580 or e-mail AHL@mdx.ac.uk

b.UCL e-resource login

Some of the electronic resources that are available to you remotely will require logging in with your UCL userid and password, see the information at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/e-res

Note that by accessing Remote Cluster WTS (or Departmental Cluster WTS from some placement locations) you will not need to enter your UCL userid and password to access most of the Library's electronic resources, and you will have full use of UCL's software; see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd-extra/common/windows/wts-web/

c. Special passwords 

For some electronic resources, access is possible only with special passwords. These are listed at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/UCL/passwords (you will need to enter your UCL userid and password). For licensing reasons these details must not be shared with anyone else at any time.

2. Accessing computers while on placement

For many purposes, e.g. to access your Library account and many electronic resources remotely, you will simply need access to a computer with an Internet connection. You will also need to have made a prior note of the key data listed under section 1 above. The details of where and which type of computers may be available to you will change over time. At some placement locations WTS has been implemented on locally managed computers.

3. Managing your Library account

Email

If you will be visiting UCL only infrequently, it is important that you check your UCL email account on a regular basis. This is the way that the Library will contact you if, for example, books you have borrowed are about to become overdue or have been reserved by someone else, or if an item you have requested is ready for you to collect.

It is possible to access your UCL email account over the Web. Check the Information Services web pages here for more information.

Checking your UCL library record online

As well as regularly checking your UCL email account, you can also keep an eye on your library account online by logging on to Explore. Go to Explore and click on the ‘Sign in ’option. Enter your barcode number and your PIN code (see section 1 above). In this way, you can monitor when your books are due back and also renew them. Library staff may occasionally place messages here for you as well.

See section below for details of how to check your Archway Healthcare Library Horizon account online.

Recalls

Each book in the Library is assigned a loan type that determines the period for which it can be borrowed. The date a book is due back is usually stamped on to an issue slip inside the front cover. The most common loan periods are one week and eight weeks.

It is important to bear in mind that other users can recall books at any time. If this happens, the due date of an eight-week loan will be shortened to one week from the date of recall and one-week loans will become non-renewable. You will be advised of the new return date by email.

Although it can be problematic if you are able to attend a UCL library only infrequently, unfortunately it is not possible to be flexible about the actual return date. It is therefore important that you check your account regularly to make sure you are aware of any recalls.

Renewing books

You may renew books online (see Checking your library record online above), or you may telephone the appropriate UCL library to do this. The relevant telephone numbers are given at the end of this guide. To renew your books online, you will need your barcode number and PIN code (see section 1 above).

Please note it is not possible to renew books by email.

Reserving books

If, while you are checking Explore, you see that all copies of the book you wish to borrow are on loan and you wish to reserve one, choose the 'Request' option (note: you will need to sign in first using your barcode number and PIN code - see section 1 above). You will be notified by email when the book is returned and is ready for collection. Books are held for 1 week; please do not reserve books if you are unable to visit the relevant UCL Library in time to collect them.

Fines

UCL libraries exercise a ‘tolerance’ limit of £20.00. This means that you will still be able to renew books if you have a fine below this amount.

Credit card payments for Library fees may be made by phone at some sites; please see contact numbers at the end of this guide.

Courtesy notices

The Library sends out reminders to your UCL email account. For eight-week loans you will receive a notice three days before the item is due and for one-week loans you will receive a notice one day before the item is due.

Archway Healthcare Library

Books can be borrowed for seven, fourteen or twenty-eight days and can be renewed, as long as another library user has not requested them. To renew your books you can either telephone the library or renew them online at http://www.archway.ac.uk/AHL. Select Library Catalogues, then Middlesex University Catalogue and then select ‘My Account’. Enter your barcode number (the same as your UCL one) and your PIN (see section 1 above). If you have any problems renewing a book online, this may mean that another borrower has requested that book or you have accrued more than £10.00 in fines. You then need to telephone the library and speak to a member of library staff.

To reserve a book, find the title in the library catalogue and click on the ADD TO MY LIST button. When you have finished, click on the MY LIST button in the top right hand corner of the screen. The books you selected will be displayed. To request a book on the list, click on the REQUEST ITEM button. You will then be asked to log in. Type in your UCL barcode number and your PIN and click on the LOGIN button. Check that you have requested the correct book, select which site of Middlesex University you would like to collect the book from and then click the REQUEST button. You can then return to your list to request further items or continue searching. Always remember to LOG OUT of the catalogue when you have finished.

4. Electronic resources

The UCL Library Services web pages at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library are a good starting point for comprehensive information about the Library’s resources and services.

Books/ebooks and journals/ejournals

Explore may be searched to find books and journals held both in print and online.

Databases

UCL subscribes to a number of bibliographic databases that can be used to search for journal articles and sometimes full-text resources. See the following Web pages: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/database/ for a list of available databases. Click on the name of any database to discover how to access it off-campus.

Exam questions

Sample exam questions can be accessed over the web from the Medical School Intranet site at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/medicalschool/current-students/assessments. These may be accessed off-campus using your UCL userid and password.

5. Material not held by the local DGH library

Some DGH libraries may offer their own inter-library loan services to students on placement – please see relevant information sheets at your DGH library or ask a librarian for help. If you need material that isn't available at your local DGH library, first check to see whether it is available to you as a UCL Library Services electronic resource – see section 4 above. Please notify the local DGH librarian if you think that a specific resource should be available to you. Feedback of this nature may also be communicated to the UCL Library Services Academic Support Managers for Biomedicine: Kate Cheney (k.cheney@ucl.ac.uk) or Betsy Anagnostelis (b.anagnostelis@ucl.ac.uk).

6. Contact information

To contact the libraries please call or email (but note that books may not be renewed by email):

The Web pages of these UCL libraries are as follow

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Last modified 9th June 2011