Having joined TWI originally as a trainee in 1975, Linda Dumper left the organisation to gain her information science qualifications and increase her experience and rejoined TWI as Deputy Librarian in 1979. She subsequently became Librarian and eventually, in 1995, Manager, Information Services. She has responsibility for the delivery of library and database searching services to fit the requirements of all Members and TWI staff. Her special areas of expertise are copyright, market information and knowledge management.
A survey of Industrial Members carried out in 2007 revealed that technical enquiries and Information Services are the most highly rated aspects of TWI Membership. Regular users of Information Services indicated their high level of satisfaction with the service received. As Linda Dumper writes for those Members who have not yet made use of Information Services, and as a reminder for those who have, here is how we can help you.
We all need rapid, accurate information at our fingertips to do our job as effectively as possible.
TWI Information Services is constantly updating and improving its systems and methods of delivery to offer you the best and fastest personalised information system possible from its collection of over 100 years' worth of publications on welding and joining related technology.
The aim is to ensure that Members spend a minimum of time searching for information in order to maximise their working efficiency.
How can the service help you?
Members can use a variety of online systems produced or collected together by Information Services. Call during TWI office hours, or e-mail the team at any time, to get information for joining related projects. You can:
- check that the work you are about to do has not been done before
- check current knowledge for the subjects on which you are working
- check you are using the latest version of a standard
- check if TWI holds an old edition of a standard you need to refer to for a maintenance or repair task
- find the latest TWI information via the website
- check company details worldwide
- check who offers the service you need
- check who makes the equipment you want to install
- check details on consumables - either standard grades or company products
- identify items to borrow from the library
- request copies of items from the library stock
- get market information for your industry
How can you get the information you need?
Many resources are now available electronically, but for others you can contact Information Services to ensure you get all relevant information to answer your enquiry.
'I can't help feeling how lucky we are that we have access to your excellent services. As you will no doubt remember, I have used your library services for over 25 years and am exceedingly happy with the quality and reliability of your data. We always defer to the best services of its kind in this global industry' ...BOC Ltd
Electronic access
To access many of the information products on the website you must firstly ensure that you have registered on the TWI website. Once you have entered the TWI website at www.twi.co.uk click on the 'Services and Products' tab and then choose Information Services from the list on the left hand side. This will allow you to access all the electronic products available.
To get a regular update on information in your areas of interest you can:
- search Weldasearch ®, TWI's bibliographic database of over 200,000 abstracts covering the world's welding literature over the past 40 years. Go to: weldasearch.com
- choose the items from your Weldasearch results list that you wish to see. Add them to your shopping basket and e-mail the list from the website to TWI library to fulfil your requests
- Set up your own monthly alert from your personal profile of interests on Weldasearch, so that you will receive a tailored monthly e-mail containing details of any new items added to the database. Just go to weldasearch.com and click on 'alerting service' on the front search page. You can update your profile as you change the project you are working on, or the subjects that interest you.
- Check the latest news for your industry by going to Industry News on the TWI website every week. Here you will find the abstracts produced by Information Services for all major industry sectors involved in joining technology. Go to: nf_index.html
- Check the latest developments and updates on standards from the major industrial nations from the same link: nf_index.html
- Find out what is available for you to borrow from the library, and which journals are held in stock, by searching the TWI library catalogue at: www.twi.co.uk/libcat
- Search 120 full-text electronic books from the TWI subscription choice on the Knovel system via the TWI website. Go to: getFile link info_kovel.html or search the library catalogue using Knovel as a keyword.
Other information sources
If it is not possible to find what you need online, TWI's Information Services team can help you with further services and resources.
These include:
- Searching online databases other than Weldasearch, for example Metadex ®, Ei Compendex ®, Inspec, Rapra, Derwent World Patents ®, NTIS and many others
- Finding older material - some pre-1985 material is not yet available on the online catalogue, and electronic databases mostly go back only to the mid-1960s
- Document delivery - a rapid service to deliver papers to you wherever you are working
- Access to reports produced for your company in the past, which you may no longer have in your own library or archive
- Access to information on standards from many major standards bodies worldwide
- Access to information on companies and products
- Access to market information
- A subscription to Welding Abstracts, a monthly journal containing the abstracts added to Weldasearch in the previous month, currently available in paper form or as a pdf file
'I have used TWI Information Services regularly, for information on welding consumables and processes for many years, with great success. The new MI-21 database is already helping with my enquiries via the Information Services staff, and I look forward to being able to access the database directly soon' ...Air Liquide Welding Ltd
What's coming next?
As with any service, TWI Information Services is constantly looking to improve its delivery to staff and Members. New initiatives that are soon to be available include:
A consumables database (MI-21)
A database of consumables and metals is under construction by TWI Information Services, in collaboration with the World Metal Index (WMI), Granta Design and Namtec.
The collection of consumables information built up by TWI library over the last 50 years is being transferred from paper records onto a database, to enable Members to access this unique and invaluable resource from their desk.
Over 23,000 welding consumables datasheets have been created, both for standard and product grades, which will be made available free to Members of TWI later this year through a link on the TWI website.
The advantages of this database are the ability to:
- search for standard grades or company product names of consumables
- search for company products conforming to a particular standard grade
- establish to which standard a company product conforms
- see which approvals a company product holds
- click through to manufacturer or supplier details
- trace the history of a standard grade
- give wire/flux combinations
Members of TWI will also have the opportunity to subscribe to the World Metal Index (WMI) metals data on the MI-21 database. Some 15,000 most commonly used metals and alloys have been included in this database to date.
We will continue to add content as new information becomes available.
Records management and corporate memory
Work has been carried out during the past three years to improve and preserve corporate memory within TWI. Information Services is responsible for the organisation of the company records centre, and also for the production of an archive of TWI reports. This is to ensure that a complete central collection of all reports produced by TWI is available, both for internal use, and to help Members who may be unable to find copies themselves. At the same time these reports, already numbering approximately 17,500, are being indexed to speed retrieval. The ultimate aim is to digitise all reports to automate and speed delivery even further.
How can you start to use the service?
You can use the online services through the TWI website as described above. If you cannot find something that you need, please contact Information Services.
For access to all parts of the service, and if you have any questions on the use of any service or the results you are getting from your own searches, call us on the main TWI telephone number +44 (0)1223 899000 and ask to speak to the appropriate person or team or contact us as detailed below.
'The Boeing Company asked Sheila Thomas, TWI's Weldasearch expert, to conduct a literature search on a rather peculiar subject regarding 17-7 PH steel. In less than 24 hours, the search results were emailed toBoeing. Sheila Thomas's can-do, friendly attitude was much appreciated' ... The Boeing Company
TWI Library team
For enquiries, loans and copies of items in the library stock and from online searches contact library@twi.co.uk Staff include:
John Ayres, Technical Librarian: john.ayres@twi.co.uk
Joanne Cooper, Deputy Librarian: joanne.cooper@twi.co.uk
Lorna Laken, Senior Library Assistant: lorna.laken@twi.co.uk
Weldasearch team
For detailed searches and questions on setting up your search or alerts profile contact weldasearch@twi.co.uk
Sheila Thomas, Principal Information Scientist: sheila.thomas@twi.co.uk
Margaret Connell, Information Scientist: margaret.connell@twi.co.uk
Jackie Lloyd, Administrator: jackie.lloyd@twi.co.uk
MI-21 consumables database production
To obtain information on consumables and to find out more about the MI-21 database contact:
Maggie Larbey, Technical Librarian: maggie.larbey@twi.co.uk
Section manager
For general issues and for market and business information contact: information.services@twi.co.uk
Linda Dumper, Manager, Information Services: linda.dumper@twi.co.uk
