It’s nearly the start of term so here are some of the essentials which will get you off to a flying start.
Library Inductions
We will be offering induction sessions throughout Freshers’ week. In these sessions we will give you a tour of the College Library, show you how to find and borrow books, and register you with a reader account.
For undergraduates we are running tours in subject groups. You can view the timetable for undergraduate tours here: Undergraduate library inductions, 2015
For graduate students we will be running sessions every Wednesday and Friday at 11am.
We will gladly do refresher sessions for returning students, so if your Freshers’ week induction seems a long time ago, come and see us or drop us an email at library@magd.cam.ac.uk
WIFI
The most common questions we get asked at the start of the term are about accessing the internet. Full information about IT facilities in College, accessing your email, network charges etc. can be found in the Computer Facilities Guide, but here are the basics:
Eduroam is a worldwide wireless network for educational use. Once you have set this up on your computer or mobile device in College, then you will be able to access Eduroam not only across the University, but at any other participating insitution. To set this up for the first time, first retrieve your Eduroam token from https://tokens.csx.cam.ac.uk/ (you will need your Raven password). Then select the Eduroam wireless network on your computer and use your email address as the UserID and your token as the password.
When you connect to Eduroam for the first time you will need to register your computer on the Magdalene network by opening your web browser and following the instructions.
The UniofCam wireless network is available at many University locations across the city. Simply select this network and then open a web browser and log in with your Raven password. Between Eduroam and UniofCam you will be covered for wifi across most of Cambridge.
Printing etc.
In the Library we have an A4 duplex colour printer, a scanner and an A3 multi-function device which can do colour photocopying, printing and scanning. There are IT and printing facilities in a number of other locations in College including the Andrew Clarke Suite (Mallory Court) and the Cripps Court Computer Room.
You can send documents to our printers from any of the computers in the library, or from your own laptop. In order to print from your laptop you will need to install the College printer on your laptop. Instructions for doing this can be found on page 13 of the Computer Facilities Guide.
Printing charges are added to your College bill at the end of each term. Full details of charges can be found in the Computer Facilities Guide.
Finding resources in your subject
In your induction tour we will point out the relevant sections of the library for your subject. You can search Magdalene College’s Heritage catalogue to find books in the College Library, LibrarySearch to find books, e-books and print journals across the University (Colleges, Faculty & Department Libraries and the main University Library) and LibrarySearch+ to search for online articles.
LibGuides is a new website launched in 2015, with guides to library resources and services for each subject. If the sheer volume of print and online resources available to you seems overwhelming at first, your subject’s LibGuide page will break it down and outline what is going to be relevant to you. The screenshot below shows part of the English Literature page:
Library Staff
We are here to help you with all of your questions, so please make use of us! I am in the Library every weekday between 8.45am-1pm, and 2-5pm, and Sophie is here on weekday afternoons. We can also be contacted by phone on 01223 332125, by email at library@magd.cam.ac.uk, and on Facebook and Twitter.
We are always buying new books and welcome suggestions from students. If we don’t have a book that is on your reading list please email us the details or fill out a recommendation form next time you are in the Library.
Annie Gleeson, Deputy Librarian (College Library)
Thanks Annie and team for this very comprehensive guide!