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University of Bradford >> Library >> Distance Learning >> FAQs
Postgraduate students can borrow up to 14 books. Undergraduate students can borrow up to 8 books. Postal loans are for 4 weeks in the first instance. If you renew the loan it will extend the time you can keep the item by either 1 week or 4 weeks, depending on the item type. If any book you have on loan is reserved for another reader then you must return the book.
If you often visit the campus you can reserve items which are currently on loan for yourself using the “reserve” tab on the Library Catalogue. However, only do this if you are prepared to collect the items for yourself from the library. If you wish the items to be posted to you then use the postal loan service and we will reserve any items which are currently on loan on your behalf and post the item(s) to you once they become available.
Fines are charged for overdue items. Information about library fines is available online.
For renewal options visit the renewals information page.
If you know the details of the article you need check the Library Catalogue under title of journal. If you want to find articles on a particular topic you will need to use the journal databases that are available through the eResources and Databases webpage. For more information about finding journal articles please contact your Subject Librarian.
Many journal articles are available online. Check the Catalogue to find out if the journal you need is in stock. You need to check under the title of the journal, not the title of the article. If we hold the journal a catalogue record will be available giving you information about the years that the library holds for that journal, either in paper copies within the library or through electronic access. If available online follow the url link from the library catalogue to the journal webpage then browse for the year, volume, issue number and pages you need. If the article is not available online, please use the photocopy request service.
An e-journal is an electronic version of the journal. An advantage of e-journals (or electronic journals) is that you can read them without having to come in to the library. Check the catalogue for individual titles.
Databases contain references to things like journal articles, book chapters, book reviews, conference papers etc. Some databases specialise in certain subject areas, others are more general. The journals, books etc. that they choose to scan for references will vary from database to database. None will be comprehensive therefore in order to do a complete search of the literature you may need to search more than one database.
The database will sometimes only have the reference to the document, in other cases there may be a link to the full paper for you to read. You will only get access to the full article if the University has paid for the access.
In order to find which databases the University has purchased for your subject area you need to go to the eResources and Databases web page and then look for resources by subject area. You will then be given a list of databases, e-journal packages and other electronic sources that are available in that subject area and have been recommended by your Subject Librarian.
Select one of the databases or e-journal packages in your subject of interest, link to it, and start searching using keywords. Limit by further keywords, date, language etc. If you need more help on searching see if there is a help sheet available or contact your subject librarian. You may need to do repeated searches trying different keywords in order to get the results you need.
You should in most cases get a full reference and an abstract of the document. Access to the article in full is only permissible if the University has paid a subscription to the journal, or purchased the e-book, e-conference etc. You may also need either your University username and password or your Athens Username and Password to gain access. If you see an Athens login screen, try accessing using your Athens login details. If you cannot gain access after entering your Athens username and password, in most cases the reason will be that the University hasn’t paid for the access to that particular item.
Some databases use SFX linking, which basically means that if full text is available, perhaps through a different supplier or publisher, the database will link you to that document on an alternative website. Therefore, if you see an SFX button, click on it and if the document is available through a different service it will show you the full text option as the top link in the SFX box.
If a document is not available online through any service we have purchased, try checking Google Scholar in case it is freely available on the web. If you cannot access an electronic version of the document you will need to request a copy via the photocopy request service.
If your question is not here please email distance-services@bradford.ac.uk
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