The HardiBlog

  New this year at the Library & IT Servicedesk : Study and Exam Aids We're excited to be newly offering this year a collection of Study and Exam approved Aids. These are available to any students . If you'd like to borrow, drop by the Library & IT Servicedesk to see about availability. They are available on a 3-day loan, which does not automatically renew. The equipment include s : CPen Exam Reader 2 – Students can point these to any printed text – a textbook, a handout, an exam paper – and hear it read aloud instantly, no phone, no app, no Wi-fi needed. Headphones with microphone, Platronics with USB connectivity - Students can dictate answers and ideas and watch them appear on screen using their own dictation software – a game-changer for students who find it easier to speak their thoughts than to type them. Audio headphones – Students can listen to notes, readings, or study materials through their preferred app – perfect for auditory learners or anyone who f...

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics is the central reference work in the field of politics, which provides authoritative, peer-reviewed articles which comprehensively and rigorously examine the discipline.  Topics include authority, liberty, and justice, along with political processes, systems and behavior.  Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics is timely and current, including up-to-date analysis of the most pressing issues of the day, such as environmental challenges, authoritarianism and conflict, the impact of technology, economic inequalities, and global power dynamics. Access to  Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics is available via the library catalogue . Collection Development

LSEG Workspace provides access to fundamental financial data on public companies, mergers and acquisitions, financial market data and quotes, analyst reports, and private equity and venture capital. It features powerful screening and charting capabilities. Access to LSEG Workspace is now available until 30 April 2027 via the library catalogue .  Note: Users must first self-register with their @universityofgalway.ie email for a user account before accessing this resource. Please consult detailed instructions on self-registering for a user account here .  Collection Development / Forbairt Bailiúchán    

  Fulltext access to International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (3rd ed., 2026) is now available via the library catalogue . This new 14-volume set is an invaluable resource for researchers, academics, students and professionals in linguistics, anthropology, education, psychology, language acquisition and pathology, cognitive science, sociology and media/cultural studies. The 3rd edition of International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics has been thoroughly modernized to address the considerable growth and development in this field since the previous edition published in 2005. Existing chapters were revised and updated, obsolete material was removed, and approximately 300 brand-new chapters were commissioned to cover newer areas of research, such as machine learning and natural language processing. Supplementary multimedia such as high-quality figures, audio files (highlighting differences in accent and dialects within languages) have been added to complement t...

For many years, open publishing has been described through colours of Green, Gold, Hybrid, Diamond, and Bronze. For those working in the space, these terms are familiar and easy to say. For authors and researchers, I would question how useful they are, especially for early career authors. At University of Galway, we have been changing the way we talk about open. Rather than asking authors to start by understanding a set of colours, our guidance increasingly begins with Routes to Open  describing what the author needs to do, where the open version will be available, what rights are involved, and whether payment is required. Currently OpenAlex and its Community Advisory Board are consulting on a more fundamental revision of open-access classification, potentially replacing the colour categories with a system based on access, location, and licence [1,2]. Why we started changing the language The problem we perceived is in what colour terms communicate to an author. In 2025, our own Re...

The Library is marking Mental Health Week / Seachtain na Meabhairshláinte  (5th Oct - 10th Oct)  with a display of mental health and wellbeing books in the Library Foyer. The book display contains a range of titles such as: Busy and Wrecked: Create Space and Energy  Eat your Ice Cream: six simple rules for a long and healthy life  Gardening for Mind, Body and Soul: how to nurture your well-being with Nature The mindful self-compassion workbook : a proven way to accept yourself, build inner strength, and thrive  (e-book) The mindful college student : how to succeed, boost well-being, and build the life you want at university and beyond  (e-book only) Overcoming Anxiety, Stress and Panic: a Five Areas Approach (e-book) David Gillick's Kitchen: Good Food from the Track to the Kitchen The Complete Book of Wild Swimming in Ireland                                      ...

The first  ReproducibiliTea Galway journal club  workshop for semester 1, 2026 will focus on the MORPHSS project  - Materialising Open Research Practices in the Humanities and Social Sciences . J oin Dr. Jen Smith from the Library Research Services team and Dr. Jenni Adams, MORPHSS Research Associate, for our hybrid session on the 7th October. The  ReproducibiliTea Galway journal club takes place  on the first Wednesday of each month for October, November and December 2026 . Researchers at all levels  who are interested in open research, open science, and open scholarship  are welcome to participate.  While most researchers in the STEM disciplines have a basic understanding of what "data" means in their work, it can be harder to define the term for the humanities and social sciences (HSS), which has meant that open " science "/research practices have evolved in different ways. T he MORPHSS project (Materialising Open Research Practices in the Huma...