Library news

To celebrate Halloween this year our colleague Joseph has written an insightful blog exploring the origins of Halloween.

Halloween is most commonly known for fancy dress and chocolates. However, the traditions associated with this holiday are deep and ancient. Heather Thomas from the Library of Congress writes that the origin of Halloween 'has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced "SAH-win"), a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts' (2011, NP).

The word Halloween comes from the phrase All Hallows Eve. The 1st of November is the feast of All Saints' Day in many Christian traditions and as a result the 31st of October is the Eve (day before- just like Christmas Eve) of All Saints' Day (also called All Hallows - Hallows meaning Holy).

As with many other pagan celebrations it is likely that All Saints' Day was used to Christianise the time of celebration as the new religion become slowly dominant from 0 AD - 1000 AD. Christian Missionaries and Bishops would adapt the Christian faith to local customs to make new converts more comfortable and so that they could keep their cultural practices. At the same time some scholars argue that the two have little to do with one another given that All Saints Day used to be celebrated around May time near to Pentecost and was moved in the 800s. 

Hallowtide (31st of October to the 2nd of November) includes both All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, when Christians remember those who have died. In some places it is still the custom for Christians to go and place candles and to clean the graves of loved ones on the 31st of October and 1st of November. Halloween is traditionally a preparation day for the casting out of evil and the celebration of the victory of life over death during All Saints' Day. 

Even the practice of 'trick-or-treating can, for example, be traced back to a medieval Christian tradition, in which the poor would go to wealthy homes on Hallowtide - the eve of All Saints' Day - and offer prayers in exchange for food and beer' (Waxman, 2019, NP). 

Bibliography

Thomas, H. (2021) The origins of Halloween Traditions. Accessed at: https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions/ (Accessed 19th of October 2023).

Waxman, O, B. (2019). Should Christians Celebrate Halloween? Here's Why That Question Has Been Picking Up Steam Since the 1960s. Time. Accessed at: time.com/5711847/christian-halloween-controversy-history/ (Accessed 19th October 2023).

If you’re a few weeks into your degree programme now is probably a good time to start making the most of the Library. With that in mind, we’ve come up with some tips to help. Want to know more? See the Contact us page on the Library website and get in touch.

1. Ask at the Library Helpdesk

The Library Helpdesk is the starting point for any queries about all things library! Whatever you need help with, our friendly team of staff will do their best to help. They can help you with finding books on Library Search, locating resources, referencing and whatever other library-related issues you have. If they can’t help, they’ll be able to point you in the direction of someone who can (like our friendly Liaison Librarians). You can find opening hours on the Library website, and if you need help outside of these hours please send us an email and someone will get back to you on the next working day. Please don’t worry about sounding silly or feeling embarrassed to ask questions – we have heard everything before and are only too glad to help!

2. Visit your Liaison Librarian

Each subject is supported by a Liaison Librarian who provides in-depth one to one support when you need it. Have you got an essay title and don’t know where to start? Maybe you’re worried your search techniques aren’t up to scratch and it’s stopping you writing great essays? You can find your Liaison Librarian’s contact details under the ‘Help and support’ tab on the Library website.

3.  Sharpen your referencing skills

You can always visit the Helpdesk or contact our Liaison Librarians when you need referencing help near your assignment deadlines, but it pays to stay ahead of the game. With this in mind we’ve created some video tutorials to help you with the basics of referencing and avoiding plagiarism. You’ll find them under the ‘Referencing and academic skills’ tab on the Library website, and we recommend having a look now so you feel more confident when it comes to writing up your bibliography near your deadlines. You’ll also find our detailed guides with examples here, that show you step-by-step how to reference your sources correctly.

If you want to go a step further you can use EndNote, a dedicated reference management tool that collects and organises your references. You can also use EndNote’s ‘Cite while your write’ tool and easily add your references to Microsoft Word. Make an appointment with your Liaison Librarian to learn more about using EndNote.

4. Reserve books

We offer automatic renewals (for up to nine months) on all our books, which is great for you because you can keep them for a lot longer than in the past, and you don’t have to remember to keep renewing these. But if the book you want is out on loan, the quickest way to get hold of it is to reserve it. You can do this by clicking the ‘Reserve’ button that you’ll see when you’re looking at a book on Library Search (you will need to sign in first). This means the person who has it won’t be able to renew it, and you’ll be able to pick it up from the Helpdesk as soon as it’s returned.

5. Explore all the databases

The Library gives you access to a load of really useful databases containing journal articles, news articles, statistics, reports and more. Some of them are really subject specific, some are more general and apply to a range of subject areas. Putting some keywords into the ‘Library Search’ box will search through a large number of these databases – but not all. That’s why it’s good to familiarise yourself with the subject databases listed under the ‘My Subject’ tab on the Library website. There you can go and search within specific databases, and also see which ones you are searching when you use ‘Library Search’. You might come across one that will be really useful for a future assignment. If you want to see a list of all the databases you have access to regardless of subject, click on ‘Databases A-Z’ within the ‘Finding resources’ tab on the website.

So there you have it; our top five tips to help you make the most of the Library! Let us know if you have any more - or if you'd like any more information or help.

This week we have an exciting guest blog from Leeds Trinity's very own Dr Ann Marie Mealey. Read on to find out about her essential new text for early career academics (and where to find a copy in the Library!).

Throughout an 18-year career at Leeds Trinity that involved teaching, leading academic teams, revalidating programmes, acting as an external examiner, listening to and teaching my own students, as well as revalidating and running an Advance HE accredited scheme and PGCertHE, I learned a great deal about what early career academics need.  I learned even more during a short appointment at GBS as their founding Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching (Teaching Enhancement) where I was tasked with designing and implementing a teaching observation strategy and other CPD activities for teaching staff.  Regular dialogue with academics about their professional needs led me to conclude that an introductory book was needed to help new academic staff to grow and to feel more confident about teaching in HE. 

I really enjoyed every minute of my own teaching career, but I found that, when I stopped teaching students and began listening more to early career academics, I felt quite surprised and worried at the number of times academics would use phrases such as: 'I'm not a true academic'; 'I'm not sure this is very academic but...' or 'I'm not sure whether this is ok to say at University but...'. The lack of confidence and indeed the absence of a community of support that early career academics genuinely need (even outside of what is offered through the structure of a PGCertHE, for instance) stood out to me so much that, along with trying to implement initiatives and mechanisms in my day job to support new colleagues, I decided to write an introduction to teaching in HE that might help those on the first rungs of the academic ladder to feel more supported as they read through the chapters.

The book discusses and explains some of the basic methodological terms and approaches to learning that early career academics will need to 'get into' the language and practices in HE that are often taken for granted by more experienced colleagues and can lead to an 'insider-outsider' dynamic in the eyes of the new academics. I try to demystify and encourage readers to understand why assessment tasks must not be a source contributing to the exclusionary practices that keep people in society - and our students in our classrooms where we work and study - in positions of inferiority or subjugation. However well-meaning we might feel we are to our students, without ensuring that they have sufficient 'tacit knowledge' to decode the assessment and the terminology of their subject disciplines, we can inadvertently be perpetuating the structures and behaviours that keep people from fully realising their potential as we are allowing a 'some know' and 'some don't know' dynamic to emerge in the classroom. 

In an attempt to promote 'good teaching' practice, throughout the book I flag the significance of having a commitment to developing values and behaviours as academics that guide who we are to our students and how we see our role. When we are values-driven in our teaching, we are naturally drawn into the field of reflection about what is 'just' practice for students and what would 'hold them in positions of inferiority' or disempowerment. I also suggest that it is this ongoing inner dialogue with oneself that can help us to reach a teaching KPI more effectively as we can begin to see KPIs as existing for a purpose that does in fact enhance student learning rather than something imposed without a purposeful rationale from beyond ourselves. I suggest that our classrooms should - in an ideal world - mirror the kind of society that we would like to live in. In other words, they should be places of teaching excellence, where learning is the top priority and where each and every student knows the 'rules of the game' and feels empowered to ask and to trust their peers and their tutors for help and support should they need it. Values such as mutual respect, trust, literacy around religious commitments and observances that students might have as well as an understanding of diversity within a complex student demographic are all essential.  Furthermore, I suggest that we need also to provide personal tutoring - both academic and personal - that genuinely empowers students to feel confident in their subject discipline and supported fully as a respected part of the University eco-system.

I end the book with some advice and guidance about staying well in Higher Education.  It is so easy to become absorbed into the sector to such an extent that we feel we cannot take rest or find ways of nurturing ourselves as individuals. Developing values around self-care, time out from work, spiritual nourishment (for those who look for this) and a built environment that supports positive office designs are highlighted in order to give the early career academic a healthy support mechanism for continued engagement and success in their teaching career. 

Towards the final pages, I also give some tips and hints about the kind of leadership styles that we should consider if we are to ensure, as leaders, that our team is performing at its best in an environment that authentically supports well-being, high performance and people's personal stories and experiences too. My hope is that this small contribution will help someone out there to feel more 'at home' at University.

Much is said across the sector these days about the need for students to 'belong at University'.  Let's adopt ways of supporting early career academics that enable them to feel as though they 'belong' at University too!

You can find Ann Marie's new book in the Library on the first floor at 378.125023 MEA and online as an ebook.

If you would like to read some of Ann Marie's other books, articles and blogs or listen to her podcast 'Beyond the Dark Clouds', please visit Dr Ann Marie Mealey's Pure Profile.

We lovely folk here at the Library are launching a competition to help welcome our new LTU partner students. 

The prize is a hamper of goodies to help you 'be brilliant' in your studies and has a value of £250! Read on to find out more and to see how to enter.

Who is it open to? All new partner students at any of LTU's UK partner institutions 

What is the prize? A Library ‘be brilliant’ hamper containing goodies to the value of £250: 

• A £100 One4All voucher (redeemable at a wide variety of retailers) 

• An Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet  

• A selection of bee-themed goodies, to help you ‘be brilliant’! 

How do I enter? Eligible partner students can enter the competition by liking and following us on the Library’s Facebook, Twitter (X) or Instagram accounts 

When does it close? The competition will end on 31st October 2023 at 23.59pm and a winner will be selected at random. The winner will be contacted on the platform on which they entered the competition by Friday 3rd November. 

How will I claim my prize? We will post the hamper to any UK address. 

Terms and Conditions 

1. Our LTU Partner ‘Be Brilliant’ Hamper competition will run between Tuesday 10th October and Tuesday 31st October inclusive. 

2. The competition is open to new LTU partner students who are based in the UK.  

3. The competition will be running on LTU Library’s Facebook, Twitter & Instagram platforms concurrently. The top prize is as advertised on our competition post, and has a value of £250.  It consists of: 

• a hamper basket  

• a £100 One4All voucher  

• an Amazon Kindle Fire 8 

• a bee notebook 

• a collection of Burt’s Bees beauty products  

• a bee-themed mug 

• A coaster 

• A seedball box 

• A vegan leather bookmark 

4. Entrants can enter on all three nominated social media platforms (by liking/following our accounts) to receive up to three entries into the competition. 

5. Employees of Leeds Trinity University or LTU partners, or their families or households are not eligible to win. 

6. The prize carries no cash alternative and may not be substituted or transferred by the winner. 

7. The winner will be picked at random and notified on the platform on which they’ve entered. They will have 7 days to respond and provide their address details in order to claim their prize. If no response is received within 7 days another winner will be picked. 

8. The winner must supply the organiser (LTU Library) with an address to which the prize can be posted. The prize will be posted via Royal Mail Recorded Delivery within one month after the address has been provided. 

9. With agreement, the winner’s details may be published on the Library’s social media and other publicity sources. 

10. The competition is open to UK residents only. 

Sage Catalyst premium ebook collection

The Library has recently bought access to over 700 premium ebooks, including key textbooks, covering many social sciences disciplines including:

• Business 
• Management
• Marketing
• Criminology
• Education
• Law
• Media
• Psychology
• Nursing
• Research skills

Once you've logged in with your LTU username and password you can search the collection by title or author, or browse the different subject areas. You can even save your favourites!

The clearly laid out user interface lets you search for keywords and phrases, change font type and page colour settings, and download chapters (copyright restrictions apply).

Highlights of the collection

Essential Study Skills

Packed with study tips, activities, templates and quotes from students, this is your essential guide to university, showing you step-by-step how to study effectively and make the best of your time at university.

Primary Teaching

The second edition of this core text from Learning Matters asks: What is teaching? Does curriculum really matter? Does behaviour need 'managing'? What is a learning environment today? Does my classroom reflect the identities of all of my learners? How can I bring the theme of sustainability to my teaching?

The Handbook for Nursing Associates and Assistant Practitioners

The essential handbook for trainee nursing associates and anyone undertaking a foundation degree or higher-level apprenticeship in healthcare practice.

The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project

This practical book sets out how to approach each stage of your research project, from choosing a research design and methodology to collecting and analysing data and communicating your results - and showcases best practice along the way. 

Despite completing an English degree from Leeds Trinity University, I don’t think I set foot in the Library until second year.

Appalling, I know. How dare a student of books not set foot in the holy grail of books until second year? It sounds ridiculous and somewhat ignorant but up until that point I felt that I hadn’t needed it. I figured I could manage all by myself to find my own research and outside reading.

That was the end of the idiotic thoughts obscuring my brain.

Upon stumbling across the Library threshold (don’t worry, at the very least, I knew where it was located), for the first time, I instantly realised how stubborn and short-sighted I had been. Despite first year “not counting”, it occurred to me that not only had I not taken full advantage of a resource I was paying to have at my fingertips; but I had already presented a year’s worth of work with basic Google Scholar articles (you know the ones, the articles that every other student in your class has at some point already referenced). Dramatic starts to the side, I am not the only fresher who, unintentionally, neglected to use a valuable and individual academic reserve.

Not only are there thousands of books, journals and articles but there are also Liaison Librarians whose job it is to help their specific students find good resources and provide help with referencing. Needless to say, once I had tried what the Library had to offer, there was no turning back. I couldn’t keep myself away from the late night openings, unlimited loan renewals, and databases with content stretching back to the 1600s. I’d be damned if anyone was going to out-reference me!

After around 4 days straight in the Library (reaching 7 hour MINIMUM stints), multiple coffee runs, and suffering an existential crisis or two, I had finally utilised the Library in all its benefits. Fear not young and innocent freshers – stints like this are only to be executed by experienced third year students with iron clad, and exceedingly over-caffeinated will power.

The moral of this short story is: your Library needs you and you need your Library.

It’s a balanced relationship, that whilst at university, you should try and maintain. Be strong! Use your Library!

NB. This blog was first published on our Wordpress blog site in Oct 2016.