SHURA - Sheffield Hallam University Research Archinve

Imagine a world without access restrictions, where you could freely obtain any article in any journal regardless of whether the library could afford to subscribe to it (and without breaking the law).

This is the vision of the open access movement - and in addition to the obvious benefits for readers, open access has the potential to raise the profile of academic research, which has traditionally only been visible to those fortunate enough to be members of well-resourced institutions.

A number of initiatives are underway to increase the availability of scholarly research, including SHURA - Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive

SHURA is Sheffield Hallam University’s open access research repository, designed to share our research with the world. Papers in SHURA can be discovered via search engines such as Google Scholar, making them easier to find - and as a result we’re already seeing our papers being downloaded by users worldwide. With the new RAE expected to increase the focus on citations and impact factors, this is an important way of disseminating your research to the widest possible readership.

For more information about SHURA, or to find out how you can add your own research papers, please see the staff intranet pages (SHU staff only) or the SHURA blog.

Electronic delivery of Inter-library loans (Document Supply)

In the past any paper journal articles that were not available from the SHU library were ordered for readers from the British Library and the copy retained by the reader.

This has now been superceded by a service called Secure Electronic Delivery (or SED).
• You will now receive a link to a pdf of the document requested instead of a photocopy.
• An email will inform you that the article is ready to download.
• You have 14 days to open and print the document which can be downloaded once.
• After 14 days, the link will be locked and cannot be accessed.
• If you open the document and close it without printing, you will not be able to gain further access! If this happens, please get in touch with the Library Document Supply Service who can arrange for another link to be sent out.
• The first time you use SED you will be asked to install the Digital Editions reader. This will take several minutes, but hang on!
• Legally, only one print copy is allowed. No further copies can be made from this and the text must not be cut and pasted or altered in any way.
• Readers with a visual impairment or dyslexia will need to request a special type of unencrypted pdf. Only this type of pdf will be compatible with the Assistive Technology software. Your local Document Supply Services team will be happy to arrange this.

Further information available from: dss.adsetts@shu.ac.uk
Tel 0114 225 2112