john wright: user support librarian

walk on the wildish side August 15, 2007

On Saturday I embarked on a sponsored ascent of Wales’ premier mountain: Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa. I have to admit to feeling a little bit of apprehension since I’m not an experienced mountain walker and the forecast was poor. However in the event the rain held off for most of the day and the Miners and PYG tracks proved to be perfectly navigable. In fact I was mildly disappointed by just how straightforward it was, especially when I saw children as young as 5 scampering down from the top in their white trainers.

This is me on the way up the Miner’s track with Martin and Helen. We were all walking in aid of the current Career Development Group International project. On the way down we discussed what ‘Yr Wyddfa’ might actually mean. I surmised that if it refers to ‘gwydd’ : ‘goose’, that it might mean ‘place from which to view geese’, or ‘place to meet geese’. But that’s only a guess.

Over this period previously referred to as ‘the summer’ I have been experimenting with Endnote Web. This is a stripped-down version of the desktop Endnote (available on the University network) but has more or less the same functionality. The big advantage is that you can use Endnote Web anywhere with web access, via the Web of Knowledge database. You can access Web of Knowledge from the General resources link on our Databases menu. First of all you need to register with Web of Knowledge in order to create an Endnote Web library. You can then go ahead to save your references (from Web of Knowledge and most other databases), organise them into libraries, create bibliographies in your chosen referencing style, and use the ‘cite while you write’ feature whilst writing in Word. If you’d like to know more just get in touch.

“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” Zora Neale Hurston