The Library has trial access to Bloomsbury Cultural History until June 30th 2020 (access just extended for another month!) This content is being made freely available during the current Covid-19 pandemic.
This digital reference tool focuses on cultural history, from antiquity to modernity, and the content comprises images, ebooks and interactive features such as timelines.
You can explore the resource in various ways: e.g. by topic, period or place.
As always, your feedback will be very welcome: you can either email it, or leave a comment on this blogpost.
We have temporary free access to the entire Drama Online collection.
The Library has subscribed to this resource for several years, with access to over 2,200 plays and books from the Core Collection and Nick Hern Books, but we now have temporary access to the entire content, including audiovisual materials such as the National Theatre Live and BBC films collections.
You can search/browse the content in various ways on the Drama Online site.
For example, using the options at the top of the screen, you can browse by title, author, genre and time period, or if you click Find Plays on the home page, you can add in other search filters, such as number of roles or scenes. Select Context and Criticism for access to a wide range of e-books about drama.
As always, your feedback on this trial will be very welcome. Please email it, or post it as a comment on this blog post.
Note, if you are off campus, click on the link to Drama Online, then click LogIn, choose the Shibboleth login option, find Newcastle University from the list, and log in with your campus ID and password.
The Library has trial access to Bloomsbury Popular Music until June 30th 2020 (access just extended for another month!) This wide-ranging resource comprises:
All volumes of the landmark reference work, Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World.
All 130 short books in the 33 1/3 series, focusing on significant LPs from a wide range of genres and eras.
A selection of other scholarly ebooks on popular music published by Bloomsbury, including biographies and historical overviews.
Interactive features, including a pop music timeline and map.
Biographies of hundreds of artists.
You can search or browse it in various ways, such as by artist, genre or location. Watch the short trailer for an overview. As always, your feedback will be very welcome: you can either email it, or leave a comment on this blogpost.
To access the resource, click on Log In at the top right hand of the screen, then select the Shibboleth Login Page > Newcastle University, and log in as usual.
Do you have an assignment or research question and don’t know where to start? Search no further, your subject-specific LibGuide is only a few clicks away.
Follow the link above and then choose the Faculty and relevant School. Once you are there you will see the key resources that are provided for you:
Navigate to the ‘Journals and Databases’ tab. This will display the databases where you can search for the journal articles that you need. Don’t know how to use this avalanche of links? We have instructions:
From the Databases tab, click on the next tab along, in the centre of the screen that reads ‘Journals and Database Help’.
One-to-one help
Is the information too vast and you feel like you’ve hit a wall? You can ask your liaison librarian team for help. From the same navigation menu on the left side of the screen, click on ‘Subject Help and News’. There, you can find the team’s contact details and further down the page, you can request to book a one-to-one consultation with a member of the team.
Academic skills
Do you feel that your academic skills need to be polished a little? Don’t hesitate to look at our Academic Skills page from the Subject Support page:
You can also get one-to-one help from the Writing Development Centre if you are struggling with study skills or academic writing.
Library Help
Do you have any specific questions? Please contact us via Library Help where we monitor your live chats and emails or have a look through our FAQs: https://libhelp.ncl.ac.uk/.
In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the humanities publisher, Brepols, has made some of its content freely available until June 30th 2020 (NB trial just extended for a month!), namely:
e-books up to 2017
e-journals up to 2011
You can view the content on the Brepols site, with no need for log in. Brepols covers a wide range of humanities subjects, with particular strengths in classics, ancient history, medieval history, philosophy and literature.
If you have any feedback about this content, please post it as a comment on this blog, or email us.
The Passport database is a key resource for international market research data. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic they have added new relevant content for researchers.
NEW Economic Scenario Model: Explore various coronavirus scenarios that vary by degree of severity to understand the corresponding effects on indicators such as real GDP, disposable income, consumer industries and travel.
Price and Availability Tracker: Analyse data from our pricing intelligence tool, Via, to identify the number of stock keeping units (SKUs), the % of out of stock items and median price index on product categories most impacted by COVID-19.
Analysis and Multimedia: Review expert analysis and listen to our perspective on the pandemic’s impact across industries, economies and consumers.
This time of year is normally one of the busiest for the Libraries on campus. Instead, the Libraries are currently physically closed and both revision and exams are taking place at homes across the country (and possibly further afield!). While this ‘new normal’ might seem overwhelming at first, in many ways, it’s business as usual. Read on to find out how we can all work together to ensure you have the best possible revision and exam experience.
Your subject-specific
guide also contains links to useful journals, databases and eBook
collections that are tailored for your course. You may also find it helpful to
browse through a list of newly-acquired
online resources that the Library have purchased to better enable your
studies from home.
There are a number of MCQ (multiple choice question) books available
to read online to complement your revision. They cover subjects including:
paediatrics, neurology and physiology.
Library Help remains available 24/7 to assist with your queries – please send them in via email or live chat. We are also regularly updating Library FAQs to bring you the most up-to-date information. (Hint: if you filter the FAQs to show ‘remote services temporary FAQ’, you’ll only be shown the newest Library FAQs.)
Following the announcement of lockdown, ASK have made some
new resources to assist with online examinations. These are broken down into
helpful categories: how
to revise for an online exam, what
to do before an online exam and exam
technique. While you will get details from your School about the specific
changes to your exam(s), these pages have really helpful advice on preparing
for and succeeding in online assessment.
Choose an area in your home to work in that’s best suited to your needs. This might be a bedroom, kitchen or office space. You may want to consider making some adjustments to your existing desk (or kitchen table!) to avoid causing an injury. If possible, choose to work in an area that has plenty of natural light and is well-ventilated.
Build yourself a realistic revision planner, with plenty of breaks factored in. You won’t be able to revise everything in one day so breaking down topics into manageable chunks is essential. Regular exercise, a balanced diet and a good night’s sleep are also key to revision success.
Remember to take regular study breaks to stay hydrated, get
fresh air and clear your mind. You’re unlikely to revise effectively without
regular breaks and time away from your work. There are a number of activities and resources
on the Library’s website for things you can do while taking a break. These
include seated desk yoga, colouring in sheets and mindfulness exercises.
The Library has temporary free access to the Film Studies ebook collection from Manchester University Press until June 30th 2020. This provides access to 156 film studies titles from their collection, covering all aspects of film studies, and featuring directors and themes from many different countries.
The titles aren’t listed individually on Library Search, but you can access them all from the Manchester Hive site.
At the top of the page, click ‘Sign in via institution’, then search for ‘Newcastle University’ (not University of Newcastle!) and you’ll be taken to the University’s log in page.
Use the refine options on the left hand side to focus your search (for example, by subject, or to see books rather than chapters).
As always, your feedback on this trial will be very welcome. Please email it, or post it as a comment on this blog post.
The Max Planck Encyclopedias of Public International Law (MPIL) is now available to Newcastle University staff and students, particularly to those with an interest in international law. This is the definitive reference work on this subject area with over 1,700 peer-reviewed articles, authored by over 900 leading scholars and practitioners, to support your research.
MPIL gives access to the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) and the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro) via Library Search or our Law Subject Guide using your Campus ID and password.
Once accessed, you can use the main menu to browse, select a subject area or locate an author who writes in your chosen field in the MPEPIL and MPEiPro. An overall search function, with basic and advanced searching, is also available.
Oxford University Press will give you a quick guided tour of the resource [7:22 mins]:
If you have an interest in PIL, international environmental law, peace, Treaties, human rights, refugees, use of force, space law, international criminal law or the law of the sea then this resource will be useful to you.
Your search results are in full-text format with cross-referencing within MPEPIL and MPEiPro, including links to external websites or case law. Results can be printed in PDF format, saved, emailed and shared. You can also sign up for current awareness alerts in relation to specific articles.
You can also expand your research with the Oxford Law Citator, linking to related content in relation to your topic of interest. This is useful to use in conjunction with the Personal Profile function where you can register as an individual user and save any results you find.
If you have any feedback on this resource, please leave a comment on this post or email our Law Liaison Librarian.
Update! Following trial access during the initial stages of Covid-19, we now have a subscription to this resource for 2020/21.
This Oxford University Press resource contains most of the essential, recommended and background reading titles you would normally find listed in your module handbooks and on the Law Library shelves. In this difficult time during the Covid-19 lockdown, we have temporary access to OUP Law Trove to ensure our staff and students can study from home.
You can access OUP Law Trove directly via Library Search (log in with your Campus ID and password).
You can search by author, title, keyword, or narrow your search to those titles available to us alone by selecting Show titles in my subscription (left-hand menu). As of July 2020, there are 210 books.
You can further narrow your results by refining by subject using the options available in the left-hand menu.
If you prefer, you can take a tour of the resource before diving in.
If you have any feedback on this resource, please leave a comment or contact libraryhelp@ncl.ac.uk.
