Information Resources

Services we provide

• Ordering books, periodicals and other library materials;

• Placing and maintaining subscriptions to online information services;

• Accessioning newly received books and periodical issues;

• Preparation of Tropicat records that allow you to search for anything held by the Library using author, title, subjects and other entry points;

• Preparation of books and serials for the weekly displays (see Townsville and Cairns weekly new books lists);

• Expert advice on aspects of the book trade;

• Preparation of serials issues for binding;

• Access to materials in bindery;

• Binding. The Bindery is a workgroup within the Information Resources Unit which provides a complete professional book and journal binding service to the University. Students and staff are also invited to submit work for private binding. Refer to the Bindery webpage or contact the bindery for further information.

• Processing materials received as donations:

• Urgent cataloguing on request for any book that has arrived in the Library; (These books are identified in Tropicat as "in process"; urgent cataloguing will usually take 1 or 2 working days after which the books are ready for normal use);

• Expert advice on Tropicat, cataloguing and classification;

• Accredited training in various modules of Kinetica for libraries throughout North Queensland.

How we do it

• Requests for purchase are checked against existing holdings;

• National and international databases in electronic and print formats are searched to provide complete publication and price details;

• Orders are sent and Tropicat records with status " on order" are created as part of order preparation;

• Books are accessioned on arrival and their Tropicat status changed to "in process";

• Serial issues are accessioned on arrival and data about them is then available on Tropicat;

• Daily newspapers are accessioned within one hour of arrival;

• Serials issues are collated and prepared for binding;

• Networked electronic resources are tested to ensure quality of service and then the necessary web links and guides are created;

• We produce catalogue records to national and international standards and work constantly to ensure that catalogue records are accurate and consistent;

• About 90% of our records are purchased in an "almost ready" form from the Australian Bibliographic Network; the records may then need amending to conform to our local standards; local call numbers and bar codes are then added;

• Other databases and catalogues from all over the world may be searched to find records or additional information to help us create the 10% of records which cannot be purchased;

• Information about our library's resources is added to Kinetica to contribute to national interlibrary cooperation and to expand this national database.

For further information on requesting Library purchases see the Information Resources Guide for Purchasing Library Materials