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Tutorials & Training

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ATU Library is committed to working with academics to provide the best range of information resources to support you in your teaching and your students in their learning.

We're Here to Help!

The Library supports academic teaching staff by offering a broad range of services and resources that contribute to high-quality teaching and learning. This includes access to scholarly materials, support for curriculum development through customised reading lists, and instructional guidance—all aligned with the university’s educational goals.

Please contact a staff member at your campus library for assistance if you need help.If you are off campus you can contact us via Live Chat, Teams or email.

Checkout LibGuides, our online subject and information guides or our growing number of online tutorials.

Recommending Items for Purchase

The Library encourages staff to suggest new individual items for purchase, subject to certain conditions. Before making a request, please check the 'Search + Find' to confirm that the item is not already part of the Library’s collection. Priority will be given to teaching and research materials requested by staff.

To order stock to be added to our collections please fill out the book purchase request form  available once you are logged into your library account.

Click on your name in the top right-hand corner, then click on ‘your account’, scroll down and on the left, you will see a tab for ‘Purchase Suggestions’, when you click it you will see your purchase suggestion history, click on + New purchase suggestion under.

Due to budget restrictions, there are limits on what can be ordered for a module. Typically, two copies of a book are ordered for a module and one copy of a book is ordered for research materials. This can be adjusted and to determine how many copies will be purchased for the Library, the Collection Development and Description Librarian will also look at:

  • the size of the module,
  • the type of book that is being requested,
  • the cost of the book,
  • and at the usage figures on similar books.

If you have a preference for either print or electronic formats, please specify this when placing the request. If the option is available and the price difference is reasonable, the Library will tend to prefer the eBook. eBooks are generally available to the Library under single-user (1 concurrent user) and multi-user (3 concurrent users) licences.

In order to fully support students and academic staff, the Library needs to receive all the reading lists in ATU and set up access to the resources on those lists before the start of each semester.

Open Educational Resources

The high cost of academic books and other educational resources can be a barrier. Consider using Open educational resources (OER) are educational materials and resources offered freely and openly for anyone and available under a license that allows users to use, remix, improve and redistribute. Open access books and textbooks are freely accessible and can be incorporated as part of your teaching to support student learning.  Like any information resource, the quality of material can vary so it is important to evaluate the content before you use it or recommend it to your students.

Checkout our Open Educational Resources: Subject Indexes.

If you would like to suggest an OER to be included please email the library.

Reading Lists

You can order a books, eBooks, and other resources for your students for teaching purposes using the online purchase suggestion form . Please note you need to click on ’If you have a Shibboleth account, please click here to log in’  and enter your ATU email address and network password to submit a suggestion.

Due to budget constraints there are limits on what can be ordered. Typically, one copy of an item is ordered for a module, depending on the type of item being requested, and the cost of the item. This can be adjusted and to determine how many copies can be purchased for see our Collection Development Policy.

You will be contacted when your orders have been entered onto our Library Management System and the requested item(s) should arrive on the shelves in a few weeks. We will contact you if an item is unavailable. If you have any queries about your order, you can email Library@atu.ie.

ILL / Document Supply

The Inter-Library Loan / Document Supply Service provides academic staff with access to information resources not held in our Libraries.  While we endeavour to provide for the most up-to-date information resources, it is not possible to stock everything. If you don’t have access to the items you need, we will be happy to help you locate them. If the item(s) you need are not available in the Library, please let us know through our suggestion page.

See our LibGuide for more information.

Linking to Library Resources from the VLE

Staff can use Moodle as an effective & efficient way to direct students to specific library resources, including eBooks and online journal articles. Owing to licensing restrictions our online databases and journal suppliers do not allow pdf downloads of articles to be uploaded to Moodle, consequently all library resources appearing in Moodle must be links to the eBooks, journals articles etc. and not the pdfs or scanned versions.

If you are linking your students to library online resources from within Moodle, it is important to ensure that those resources will be accessible at a later date and off-campus.

When linking to online articles or e-books it is important to use a ‘stable’, ‘persistent’ or ‘permalink’ URL – that is, a link that will remain constant. Most online resources including EBSCO, include session information in the URL that will expire after a period of time so these cannot be used to create stable links (thus, you cannot simply use the web address (URL) you get when you retrieve the article).

To create a link that can be used in Moodle, and works on- and off-campus, ensure the ‘stable’, ‘persistent’ or ‘permalink’ URL is used (see eBooks linking example). This will ensure that your students are prompted to login to ATU and so be recognised as authorised ATU users.

Library Tours, Inductions & Training

Support your students' academic success by booking a library session tailored to their needs. Our Library Tours, Inductions, and Training sessions introduce students to key services, resources, and research skills that are essential for their studies. Whether it's a general orientation or subject-specific support, we work with you to ensure each session complements your teaching and supports student engagement..

Get in touch to schedule a session today.

Examples of available Tours & Training

Who it’s for: First-year undergraduates or new student groups
Length: 30-45 minutes
Delivery options: In-person, online (live or recorded)
What’s included:

  • Accessing the Library Catalogue and digital resources
  • Setting up library accounts
  • Getting help and support
  • Academic support services overview

Customisation: Inductions can be tailored to your programme and embedded into teaching schedules.

Who it’s for: New students or those unfamiliar with the library
Length: 25-30 minutes
What’s included:

  • Introduction to key spaces (study areas, borrowing, printing)
  • Overview of services and support
  • Quick tips for navigating the library

Booking: Available during induction or by request throughout the academic year.

Who it’s for: Students at all levels (Undergraduates, Postgrads, researchers)
Length: 45-60mins
Topics include:

  • Introduction to information sources
  • Using the online library
  • Understanding Copyright and plagiarism
  • Citing and referencing
  • Using Database & eResources
  • APCs and getting published 
  • Advanced research and search strategies
  • Using referencing tools (e.g., EndNote, Zotero)
  • Navigating subject-specific databases

Delivery: Offered in-class, online. One-off sessions or ongoing series available.

Research Profiles

Empower your academic journey with a Research Profile to showcase your research achievements, connect with peers, and enhance your academic visibility. By creating or updating your profile, you can highlight publications, projects, and collaborations, making it easier to engage with research networks and funders.

Discover more. 


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