Library services for retired staff

The OU Library has negotiated access to the resources below for retired staff, including abstracts and indexes, full-text journals, electronic books, images and statistics. Access is via the relevant link in the A-Z list below. Your log in is set up automatically when you register with the Retired Staff Association. Details of how to register are available via the Registration for Retired Staff Association website.

Copyright

You are reminded that photocopying of print material and printing and downloading of online material is limited by Copyright restrictions. In particular, due to licence restrictions by the suppliers, these resources can only be used for private study and not for any commercial purpose, such as research for books. You will be asked to ‘sign’ a copyright declaration form on access to each database.

Help

Help on specific access problems is available from the Library Helpdesk, and we would greatly value your feedback on these pages and the resources available.

Information skills

The Library has produced a range of resources to aid in developing your information skills:

• Information skills for researchers. A web site specifically designed for postgraduate researchers. It also has a useful section on mind mapping.
• Web Guide. A general guide to using the internet for OU students, with hints and tips on making effective use of the web.

Library resources

For help in finding resources see: 

• How to Find Information in your Subject: The Library website is a good place to start looking for information on a topic.
• Publicly available resources: Contains a Library produced selection of freely available web resources arranged by subject.
• How to do a Literature Search: Develop a search strategy, find appropriate resources, and build an effective information search.
• How to do a Citation Search: Find articles that have cited key works in your subject area.
• How to avoid Plagiarism: A handy guide on how to make sure you don't pass off others' work as your own.