Welcome to the Library! We hope you enjoy being a student at Newman University and living in Birmingham.
Some of our resources in the online library can be searched using languages other than English.
You may find Oxford Reference Online useful as it includes:
We have books on English grammar and dictionaries on our shelves at these shelfmark numbers:
423 English dictionaries
425 English grammar and use
428.24 English as a second language
433 German-English dictionaries
443.21 French-English dictionaries
453 Italian-English dictionaries
463.21 Spanish-English dictionaries
469.321 Portuguese-English dictionaries
489.3 Greek-English dictionaries
491.73 Russian-English dictionaries
495.1 Chinese-English dictionaries
We know that some words you will see or hear when using the Library are not familiar. Here’s a glossary or explanation of some of them:
Summary of a journal article
A piece of writing published in a newspaper or journal
Contains references for and details of journal articles, such as author, title, publisher etc. There will sometimes be an abstract too.
A list of books and articles which has been used in a piece of written work
A list of all the books and other resources in the library, which shows the shelfmark for the items to help you find it and whether it is out on loan
A reference to a source used in your (or someone else’s) work.
Your books are due back at the library on or before the due date shown on the self-service kiosk receipt or on My Account on the library catalogue. You may be able to renew your books if no-one else has reserved them. If you don’t return or renew your book before the due date you will be fined.
An electronic version of a book which you can access from the library catalogue
An electronic version of a journal which you can access from the library catalogue
If you return an item to the library after the due date you will be fined
The volumes or issues of a journal which are available in the library
If Newman does not have a particular book or journal article we can try to get it from another library for you
Similar to a magazine but it contains academic articles and research
Used to describe the subject you are researching and can be used when searching for resources
A password or authentication system which gives you access to online resources
Some items, such as dictionaries are ‘reference only’ and cannot be taken out of the library
You can renew an item you have on loan so that you can keep it for longer if no-one else has reserved it.
If all the copies of an item are out on loan you can reserve it using the library catalogue. We will email you when the item is available for you.
Books are kept on the shelves in shelfmark order, so that books on similar subjects are shelved together
In the UK we use different words for some of the library terms you might be used to:
UK term: Shelf mark
UK term: Borrow (or: Lend – You borrow, we lend)
UK term: Reserve
UK term: Short Loan / Short Loan Collection
UK term: Book shelves
Birmingham public library services offer resources which may be useful for you, including English grammar and foreign language books and newspapers. Anyone who lives, works or studies in Birmingham can join.
Newman University has a useful Erasmus und Exchange Students page
