Welcome to Information Services (IS) - Postgraduate Students
Information Services provide IT and library services to registered students at Aberystwyth University, subject to Information Services Regulations and Guidelines.
To make use of our facilities you will need an Aberystwyth University IT account and an Aber Card.
Your IT account gives you access to:
- University email and file storage
- your student record
- connect your own devices to the University network
- computing facilities on campus
- information on your subject of study
- Blackboard, the University virtual learning environment
- your library account to manage your loans
- software free to you under the University license
- ApAber - free from your App Store
You will be able activate your University IT account online shortly before your course begins and you will be emailed with instructions for doing this as soon as your account is ready.
Your Aber Card is used:
- as your student id
- as the door key to your study bedroom - depending which Halls of Residence you are in
- to purchase food in University hospitality outlets; if you are in catered residences it will be credited before you arrive
- for library borrowing, including the use of self-issue machines
- to access 24-hour computer rooms
- to access the library out of core hours (to enter and exit)
- to access the postgraduate study centre
- for printing, photocopying and scanning
- as your Student Union card
- as your Sports Centre card
Once you have activated your IT account you should apply for your Aber Card online so that it is ready for you when you arrive on campus.
Essential Library and IT Guide for new students
To find out more about Library and IT facilities please a look at our essential Library and IT guide for new students
Further Information
- If you are teaching during your postgraduate research you may some of the content on our page for new Academic Staff useful
Acquiring library resources
- Both taught and research postgraduates can borrow 40 items at a time. Find out more about loan periods and reciprocal borrowing from the library.
- Use the Document Supply forms in Primo to request books, articles or dissertations from other libraries. Find out more about Document Supply
- Contact your subject librarian to arrange a site trial for an electronic resource
- Both Research and Taught postgraduates can request books for AU library stock via the More Books campaign
E-learning services
- BlackBoard - Virtual Learning Environment
- BlackBoard FAQs
- Nexus - sharing Good Practice in Technology-enhanced Learning at Aberystwyth University
- Trello - Get the latest information and resources on technology-enhanced learning using our bookmarks
- Specialist teaching equipment
- Panopto lecture capture: available in all centrally-timetabled teaching rooms
- Videoconferencing: book one of the five videoconferencing suites
Primo: search the library catalogue
The default search is of Aberystwyth University's library catalogue:
- Search Primo using the Libraries option on the right hand side of the search box to find books, journals, DVDs, newspapers, dissertations and rare books in all Aberystwyth University locations. Find e-books and e-journals too.
- Always Sign in first to access more full text resources
- Use My Library Account to manage your loans and requests
- View your Saved items to view stored records of items you have found and saved searches
- Select Search history to view your previous searches
- Keep up to date with new acquisitions by browsing New Books
Primo: search for articles
- Primo can be used to search for millions of journal articles and database records, with full-text links, harvested from participating publishers; when searching, select Articles from the drop down menu on the right side of the search box.
- For information on how to search for articles using Primo, see our FAQ.
Primo: find electronic resources
- Click A-Z of E-resources in Primo to browse all our subscribed databases and some high-quality free online resources
- Look out for the @Aber buttons in search results in subscribed databases; clicking on the button will check our e-journal holdings for full-text
Access AU e-resources online off-campus
- Follow this advice when working off-campus to ensure you can access e-books, e-journals and online databases subscribed to by Aberystwyth University
Open Access
- Guidance and forms for depositing your electronic thesis
- The University supports the open access provision of all staff research outputs and successful PhD theses through the Aberystwyth Research Portal
Alert services
- Set up Primo alerts to receive messages about incoming library stock that matches your regular searches
- Many databases and online journal collections offer alert services. In particular, ZETOC allows you to supply a free text search for table of contents alerts from the journals subscribed to by the British Library
Reference management software
Local training and support is available for EndNote desktop (for Windows and Mac) and EndNote online, also Citations & Bibliography (MS Word). Contact your subject librarians.
Skills training
Subject librarians can offer wide range of support and training
There are a small selection of recorded presentations available via the Postgraduate Study Practices Programme delivered in partnership with Student Support Services.
Subject information enquiries and training
Contact your subject librarian directly by phone or email, or email librarians@aber.ac.uk, for subject and information skills enquiries and training requests. You can also book online for a one-to-one appointment with your subject librarian via LibGuides.