Bodleian iSkills

Workshops by topic
Workshops by date
Handouts and presentation slides
About iSkills

Workshops by Topic

Searching and finding scholarly materials (general)

Bodleian iSkills: Finding stuff - scholarly literature for your research (Next date TBA)
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A practical introduction to searching for scholarly materials to support your research, covering a range of tools for finding monographs, journal articles, conference papers, theses and more.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates, researchers and academics.
Bodleian iSkills: Getting started in Oxford Libraries (Next date TBA)
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An introduction to Oxford Libraries including guidance on which libraries to use; accessing e-journals and other online resources; SOLO and other finding aids and making the most of Library services.
Who is this session for? Anyone who would like an introduction to Oxford Libraries.
Bodleian iSkills: Google for academic research (Next date TBA)
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Google is often dismissed as being irrelevant to the academic literature search. However, changes to the nature of the dissemination of scholarly research and official information in recent years mean that a wealth of relevant information can be accessed via standard Internet search engines such as Google. Too often however such information is lost amongst thousands of irrelevant, spurious and misleading results.
Based on an understanding of how the Google search engine works this practical workshop will show you the basic techniques to quickly filter your results for high quality academic material.
A couple of other search engines will be considered briefly, including DuckDuckGo which has become a popular alternative to Google in the light of concerns about the privacy costs of a ‘free’ search within search engines such as Google or Bing.
Who is this session for? All DPhils and Research Students in the Social Sciences
Bodleian iSkills: Preparing for your literature review in the Social Sciences (Next date TBA)
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This workshop will be invaluable for researchers who are preparing to carry out a literature review. This workshop will allow researchers to use their own research questions to build a search strategy and apply it to a range of databases. Techniques for structuring a search will be explained, an overview of key online resources for the social sciences will be given, major search tools will be explored, and strategies for approaching large results sets and sourcing papers will be discussed. This practical workshop will involve paper exercises and online activities using attendees own research topics.
Who is this session for? All DPhil Students and Research Staff in the Social Sciences

Materials in special formats (images, manuscripts, maps etc.)

Bodleian iSkills: Archives and modern papers for Social Sciences and History (Next date TBA)
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The Bodleian's Weston Library has a wealth of resources covering almost all aspects of modern British society and culture. This session will introduce key finding aids and get you started with the research skills needed to make the most of these resources. We will look at identifying relevant material in Oxford and elsewhere; considerations when working with archival material; types of archives and modern papers; and how to find out more. You will have an opportunity in the session to handle some actual examples.
Who is this session for? Students in History and Social Science subjects; researchers and other Bodleian Libraries readers considering using special collections.
Bodleian iSkills: Discovering archives at the Bodleian Libraries (Next date TBA)
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This session will introduce participants to the key catalogues and finding aids for post-1500 archives and manuscripts at the Bodleian. In particular the session will focus on Bodleian Archives and Manuscripts, the new online catalogue for post-1500 archives and manuscripts. The session will also briefly introduce some of the major UK online gateways for discovering archives.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates, researchers, academics and anyone interested in the topic
Bodleian iSkills: Introduction to Web Archives (Next date TBA)
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An introduction to web archives, their value for researchers, web archive search and navigation techniques and how to cite websites properly. The session will focus on two prominent UK-based web archives: the UK Web Archive and the Bodleian Libraries’ Web Archive.
Who is this session for? Students, researchers, university staff and anyone interested in the subject
Bodleian iSkills: Newspapers and other online news sources from the 17th to 21st centuries (Next date TBA)
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Newspapers are a valuable resource for researching not only news, but also many other aspects of society. In this session we will introduce key historical and contemporary sources of news and how to make best use of them.
Who is the session for? Students, researchers and anyone else who is interested.
Bodleian iSkills: Picture this! Using Creative Commons images in your teaching (Next date TBA)
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Using images in your teaching, whether on slides, handouts or videos, can really enhance the student's experience and making learning easier. However, most images are subject to copyright, and there can be a lot of complications using copyright material in your teaching. This session will focus on how to find and use images not subject to copyright restrictions such as those in the public domain or under creative commons licences. We will cover searching for images with Google image search, Bing image search and a selection of other useful image websites.
Who is this session for? Anyone using images in creating teaching materials, presentations or posters.
Bodleian iSkills: UK parliamentary and government materials - an introduction (Next date TBA)
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Of vital help to all history, politics and social science students is this general overview of the main sources for finding and accessing historical UK parliamentary material, pre-1800 and post-1800. We look at sources for government publications both in print and in electronic format, including: Parliamentary proceedings – Hansard, Journals of the House of Commons and Lords; Legislation; Government and departmental papers.
Who is this session for? History, politics and social science students, and anyone new to the subject

Reference management (RefWorks, Endnote, Zotero, Mendeley)

Referencing: Choosing and using software (Next date TBA)
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Formatting your in text citations/footnotes and bibliography correctly for your thesis or publication is a chore. Reference management software makes it easier and saves you time. This introductory session gives an overview of how reference management works, explores the pros and cons of a wide range of reference management packages and gives you the opportunity to try out four different packages so that you can work out which one is best for you. The packages included are RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley.
Who is this session for? Postgraduate students, researchers and university staff.
Referencing: Endnote (Next session TBA)
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EndNote X8 is a desktop based reference management tool for Windows and Macs which helps you to build libraries of references and insert them into your Word document as in text citations or footnotes and automatically generate bibliographies. Who is this session for? This introduction to EndNote is open to all.
Referencing: Mendeley (Next date TBA)
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Mendeley is a reference management package that helps you build libraries of references and then add citations and bibliographies to word processed documents. This session will be run in two parts with a break in between. If you are an advanced user of Mendeley you need only attend the second part, starting at 15.25.

Key topics:
- An overview of reference management with Mendeley
- Creating a Mendeley account and installing Mendeley Desktop
- Adding, editing and organising references
- Creating bibliographies
- Managing PDF documents with Mendeley
- Using the Mendeley 'Papers' database
- Collaboration and social networking with Mendeley

Who is this session for? Postgraduates, researchers, academics and undergraduates wishing to use reference management software.
Referencing: RefWorks for Humanities (Next date TBA)
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RefWorks is an online tool which allows you to manage your citations/references, insert them into your work as footnotes or intext citations, automatically generate bibliographies and easily switch between citation styles. This introduction is open to all, but the section on importing references will focus on Humanities examples.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates, researchers.
Referencing: Refworks for Sciences and Social Sciences (Next session TBA)
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RefWorks is an online tool which allows you to manage your references, insert them into your work, automatically generate bibliographies and easily switch between citation styles. This introduction is open to all but the section on importing references will focus on Science/Social Science examples.
Who is this session for? All University members and alumni.
Referencing: Zotero (Next session TBA)
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Zotero is a reference management package that enables you to build libraries of references and add citations and bibliographies to word processed documents. This introduction covers the main features of Zotero.
Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to Endnote (Multiple dates - click here for full list)
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Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This hour-long session will introduce you to Endnote X9, which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily.
Who is this session for? Postgraduate students, researchers, and university and OUH staff based on the Old Road Campus or in Medical Sciences Division departments elsewhere in Headington.
Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to Mendeley (Multiple dates - click here for full list)
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Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This session will introduce you to Mendeley (www.mendeley.com), a free programme which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily.
Who is this session for? Postgraduate students, researchers, and university and OUH staff based on the Old Road Campus or in Medical Sciences Division departments elsewhere in Headington.

Research data management

Bodleian iSkills: Managing research data and Data Management Planning (DMPs) (Next session TBA)
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Good research data management is a vital component of academic practice. Part of this is the principle that the data used to develop the arguments and outcomes of your research should be effectively stored and managed during a project, preserved for the future and - where possible - shared with other academics. This session introduces the University’s research data policy and outlines the practical impact this will have on your work. The services available at Oxford to assist you will be outlined. This session is not only essential during your current studies but will be invaluable if you plan to continue in research as a career.
Who is this session for? All DPhil students and research staff.
Bodleian iSkills: Data sources for research - discovery, access & use (Next date TBA)
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This workshop will provide a grounding in the different ways quantitative and qualitative data is being made available to benefit researchers. By the end of the session you will also have some insight into how your own future work could add to the process and become part of the research discourse.
The course aims to provide an overview of macro and micro data sources available at the University of Oxford, including national data archives, subscription services, business data, and offers some pointers for further searching.
Who is this session for? DPhil students and research staff (particularly in Social Sciences). This workshop will be most beneficial to those researchers planning to use secondary data sources (quantitative, qualitative and mixed) as part of their research or who wish to learn more about the potential of open data platforms and data archives.
Bodleian iSkills: Introducing MANTRA for Research Data Management (Next date TBA)
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MANTRA is an acclaimed online independent learning course which provides guidelines for good practice in research data management. This workshop will discuss research data management as an integral part of the research process; give an introduction to MANTRA; and then give an actual opportunity to begin the online course with the assistance of library staff.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates and researchers. This will be particularly useful for DPhil students and early career researchers who are starting a research project.
Bodleian iSkills: Working with sensitive research data in the Social Sciences and Humanities (Next date TBA)
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A workshop outlining some of the key principles to bear in mind when working with sensitive or restricted research; whether collected yourself or obtained from a third party source such as a data archive. Issues of confidentiality, informed consent, cybersecurity and data management will be covered. Examples of scenarios or concerns drawn from the research of participants are particularly welcome. The role of support services at Oxford will also be outlined and in particular the role of the Bodleian Data Librarian who will lead the session. Follow up consultations with the Data librarian or other subject consultants are also offered.
Who is this session for? All DPhil students and research staff in the Social Sciences.
Bodleian iSkills: Working with sensitive research data in the Sciences and Medical Sciences (Next date TBA)
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A workshop outlining some of the key principles to bear in mind when working with sensitive or restricted research; whether collected yourself or obtained from a third party source such as an NHS trust or Biobank data. Issues of confidentiality, informed consent, cybersecurity and data management will be covered. Examples of scenarios or concerns drawn from the research of participants are particularly welcome. The role of support services at Oxford will also be outlined and in particular the role of the Bodleian Data Librarian who will lead the session. Follow up consultations with the Data librarian or other subject consultants are also offered.
Who is this session for? All Dphils and research staff in the Sciences and Medical Sciences.
Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to Research Data Management (Next date TBA)
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Good research data management is a vital component of academic practice. Part of this is the principle that the data used to develop the arguments and outcomes of your research should be effectively stored and managed during a project, preserved for the future and - where possible - shared with other academics. This session introduces the University’s research data policy and outlines the practical impact this will have on your work. The services available at Oxford to assist you will be outlined. This session is not only essential during your current studies but will be invaluable if you plan to continue in research as a career.

Keeping up to date with the latest research

Bodleian iSkills: Getting information to come to you (Next session TBA)
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Keeping up to date with new research is important but time consuming! This session will show you how to set up automatic alerts so that you are notified about new articles and other publications and when key web sites are updated. Participants will have the opportunity to set up email alerts to receive notifications about new journal articles and other publications, conference papers and blog posts in their field of research.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates, researchers and academics.

Measuring impact

Bodleian iSkills: Research metrics and citation analysis tools (Next date TBA)
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During this introduction to citation tracking and bibliometrics we will examine a range of tools for finding journal metrics, article metrics and author metrics, in the context of moves towards responsible metrics in measuring the impact of publications and researchers. We will cover Journal Citation Reports, CiteScore Journal Metrics, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Essential Science Indicators, ORCID and more and explain how to use each tool and its strengths and weaknesses.
Who is this session for? Researchers, Academics, Research Support Staff and Research Postgraduates in Sciences and Social Sciences.
Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to research impact (Next session TBA)
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During this introduction to citation tracking and bibliometrics we will use a range of 'impact factor' tools to find top journals and conferences, count citations and measure the impact of publications and researchers. We will cover Journal Citation Reports, CiteScore Journal Metrics, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Essential Science Indicators, ORCID and more and explain how to use each tool and its strengths and weaknesses.
Who is this session for? Researchers, Academics, Research Support Staff and Research Postgraduates in Medical Sciences.

Open Access

Open Access: Authors, copyright and open access - making it work for you (Next session TBA)
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Researchers are often unsure about open access copyright permissions for their journal article, preprint or thesis. What open access rights do you retain when signing the publisher agreement for a journal article? Are you permitted to self-archive in your institutional repository? Which Creative Commons licence to select for your preprint? Your choices affect what you and others can do with your work. This introduction deciphers the jargon and explains the pitfalls so you can understand your options and make informed decisions.
Who is this session for? Current Oxford postgraduate research students, researchers and academics, research support staff and librarians.

Open Access Oxford: what's happening? (Held monthly - click here for upcoming dates)
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A briefing on open access publishing and Oxford's position: Green vs. Gold; funder mandates and publisher policies; Oxford Research Archive (ORA) and Symplectic; OA website/ helpline; what's new.
Who is this session for? Research support staff, administrators and librarians, researchers and academics.

Open Access: Your thesis, copyright and ORA (Next date TBA)
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Oxford DPhil students are required to deposit a copy of their thesis in ORA (Oxford University Research Archive). This session will focus on copyright and other issues that DPhil students need to take into account when preparing their thesis for upload to ORA.
Who is this session for? Doctoral research students

Copyright

Bodleian iSkills: Picture this! Using Creative Commons images in your teaching (Next date TBA)
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Using images in your teaching, whether on slides, handouts or videos, can really enhance the student's experience and making learning easier. However, most images are subject to copyright, and there can be a lot of complications using copyright material in your teaching. This session will focus on how to find and use images not subject to copyright restrictions such as those in the public domain or under creative commons licences. We will cover searching for images with Google image search, Bing image search and a selection of other useful image websites.
Who is this session for? Anyone using images in creating teaching materials, presentations or posters.

Open Access: Your thesis, copyright and ORA (Next date TBA)
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Oxford DPhil students are required to deposit a copy of their thesis in ORA (Oxford University Research Archive). This session will focus on copyright and other issues that DPhil students need to take into account when preparing their thesis for upload to ORA.
Who is this session for? Doctoral research students

Searching and finding scholarly materials (specific subjects)

Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to literature searching for DPhils and researchers in the Medical Sciences (Multiple sessions - click here for full list)
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A practical workshop to explore how to formulate search strategies to address research questions; choose appropriate databases and search engines; store and manage references; keep up to date with new research over the life cycle of your DPhil.
Who is this session for? All staff and students in the Medical Sciences Division

Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to systematic reviews & evidence syntheses - searching for studies (Multiple dates - click here for full list)
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In this workshop you will be introduced to the principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews and evidence syntheses.
Who is this session for? DPhils and Researchers in the Medical Sciences Division.

Bodleian iSkills: Information sources for African Studies (Next session TBA)
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This session will introduce key information sources for African Studies. You will be shown useful finding tools to locate relevant material via SOLO and Databases A-Z, as well as important portals and gateways to libraries and archives of online primary texts. There will be time for a brief hands-on.
Who is this session for? Students, researchers and anyone interested in the topic.

Bodleian iSkills: Information resources for Modern Global History (Next date TBA)
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In this 1.5hr session participants will be introduced to key archival, printed and electronic resources, such as finding aids, bibliographic resources and primary sources for post-1800 global history. The focus will be on non-European history (but exclude African history) and will draw predominantly on English language resources.
Who is this session for? Students, researchers and anyone interested in the topic

Bodleian iSkills: Online resources for Historians (Next date TBA)
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A general introduction to the vast range of electronic resources which are available for all historical periods of British and W European history: bibliographical databases, biographical / reference research aids, ebooks and ejournals, web portals, and collections of online primary source materials.
Who is this session for? Students, researchers and anyone interested in this topic.

Bodleian iSkills: Preparing for your literature review in the Social Sciences (Next date TBA)
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This workshop will be invaluable for researchers who are preparing to carry out a literature review. This workshop will allow researchers to use their own research questions to build a search strategy and apply it to a range of databases. Techniques for structuring a search will be explained, an overview of key online resources for the social sciences will be given, major search tools will be explored, and strategies for approaching large results sets and sourcing papers will be discussed. This practical workshop will involve paper exercises and online activities using attendees own research topics.
Who is this session for? All DPhil Students and Research Staff in the Social Sciences

Bodleian iSkills: Sources for Medievalists (Next date TBA)
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A general overview of a range of e-resources relevant for British and Western European medieval studies including bibliographical databases, biographical/reference tools, web portals and collections of online primary source materials of Anglo-Saxon sources, Greek/Latin texts, chronicles, charters, literary works and manuscript sources.
Who is this session for? Researchers, students, academics, staff e.g. Classicists, English students, Historians, Philosophers, Theologians etc.

Bodleian iSkills: Sources for US History (Next session TBA)
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Introduction to key information sources for the study of colonial America and US history. The session will provide an overview of the primary sources available in Oxford and online (such as early printed books, US newspapers and US government papers), as well as guidance on locating material for your research.
Who is this session for? Students, researchers and anyone interested in this topic.

Upcoming workshops in Michaelmas Term 2019

Our courses are FREE, but booking online is essential - please click on the links to book online

Week 8 (2-6 December)

Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to systematic reviews & evidence syntheses - searching for studies (Multiple dates - click here for full list)
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In this workshop you will be introduced to the principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews and evidence syntheses.
Who is this session for? DPhils and Researchers in the Medical Sciences Division.

Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to Mendeley (Multiple dates - click here for full list)
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Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This session will introduce you to Mendeley (www.mendeley.com), a free programme which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily.
Who is this session for? Postgraduate students, researchers, and university and OUH staff based on the Old Road Campus or in Medical Sciences Division departments elsewhere in Headington.

Open Access Oxford: what's happening? (Held monthly - click here for upcoming dates)
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A briefing on open access publishing and Oxford's position: Green vs. Gold; funder mandates and publisher policies; Oxford Research Archive (ORA) and Symplectic; OA website/ helpline; what's new.
Who is this session for? Research support staff, administrators and librarians, researchers and academics.

Week 10 (16-20 December)

Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to systematic reviews & evidence syntheses - searching for studies (Multiple dates - click here for full list)
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In this workshop you will be introduced to the principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews and evidence syntheses.
Who is this session for? DPhils and Researchers in the Medical Sciences Division.

Trinity Term Week 0 (13-17 January)

Open Access Oxford: what's happening? (Held monthly - click here for upcoming dates)
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A briefing on open access publishing and Oxford's position: Green vs. Gold; funder mandates and publisher policies; Oxford Research Archive (ORA) and Symplectic; OA website/ helpline; what's new.
Who is this session for? Research support staff, administrators and librarians, researchers and academics.

Handouts are uploaded to the Bodleian iSkills Handouts Page

About iSkills

Bodleian iSkills is a series of free information skills workshops designed to help postgraduates and researchers find and make effective use of scholarly publications and other materials. We cover :

Information discovery and searching for scholarly materials

Endnote, RefWorks, Zotero, Mendeley, ColWiz and Papers for managing references and formatting footnotes and bibliographies

Keeping up to date with new research

Measuring research impact

Understanding copyright and looking after your intellectual property

Open Access publishing and complying with funder mandates for open access

Managing your research data

Where can I view the timetable? View the timetable by selecting the Workshops by Date tab above.

Who may attend? All members of the University and Bodleian Library Readers. Some individual workshops are designed for particular groups (e.g. postgraduates). Check the individual sessions in the Workshops by Date tab above.

Cost - all iSkills sessions are free.

Booking a place - Booking is essential. Use the online booking links for each session in the Workshops by Date tab above. When you make your booking, you will be prompted to sign in with your Oxford single sign on (SSO) username. All current members of Oxford University should have an SSO, but Bodleian Libraries readers who are not current members of Oxford University will not have an SSO. If you do not have a SSO but would like to attend a course please contact User Education and we will book a place on your behalf.

Handouts - are available from the handouts page after each session.

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Contact us

Find out about iSkills (what it is, who may attend, timetables & booking)

Contact us:

Email: usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: (01865) (2)72841

Join our mailing list:
email wiser-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk

Visit our blog: Bodleian iSkills Blog

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