Oxford University Press Very Short Introductions

In the library we love these short guides from OUP who provide a variety of great concise books on lots of different topics.

We’ve recently updated this collection so it includes to most recent publications from OUP published in 2022 and 2023.

This series offers concise introductions to a diverse range of subjects—from artificial intelligence to folk music to medical ethics—in 35,000 words or less.

Each one of these big little books provides intelligent and serious introductions written by experts who combine facts, analysis, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make even the most challenging topics highly readable.

On our catalogue, Library Search you can search by keywords like in the screenshot below so “very short introduction” and browse through or add in Oxford to add in results for that publisher. Re-sort your results to “newest” if you’d like to browse through the latest ones added to our collection.

Or visit the OUP Very Short Introductions website directly and then filter using the subject categories. OUP have arranged the titles under headings such as Medicine and Health, Arts and Humanities, Law, Social Sciences

if you are accessing off campus then once you’re on the OUP site please click “sign in” (on the left hand menu and select Newcastle University from the list to enter your Campus ID and password.)

Oxford University Press also have a podcast you can subscribe to about titles and topics in this collection.

Art and Architecture Archive

We are delighted we now have access to Art and Architecture Archive (parts 1 and now 2 after a sucessful trial) from Proquest.

This is a full-text archive of consumer and trade magazines comprising of key research materials in subjects relating to art, architecture, architectural history, art history, cultural history, fine art, industrial design, photography, social history and visual arts.

Coverage is from the late-nineteenth century to the twenty-first. The issues are scanned as full colour images with each article indexed so you can quickly find the topic you are looking for.

We think these are an invaluable source, as a historical record of the art and architecture industries. Through reviews, advertisements, exhibition listings, and awards, you can investigate the careers of major artists and architects, as well as the history of the commercialization and marketing of art/architecture.

You can search across both collections looking for individuals, topics, movements, industry news items, interviews with major artists, or features about technological developments, as well as photographs / illustrations, architectural plans, statistics, and reviews.

You can search or browse the archive in various ways (use Advanced Search to see all search options), and retrieve many types of content.

You also might want to browse by publication so check out Building Design, Architects’ journal or The Architectural Review. Click on publications on the Proqest website and you’ll see an A-Z list.

Screenshot of front cover of Building Design
Screenshoot of front cover of The Architectural Review

Books added to the Library by students in SAPL (Semester One 2022/23)

Photo by Alex on Unsplash

Our Recommend a Book service for students allows you to tell us about the books you need for your studies. If we don’t have the books you need, simply complete the web form and we’ll see if we can buy them. For books we already have in stock, if they are out on loan please make a reservation/hold request using Library Search.

Further information about Recommend a book.

In Semester One, academic year 2022/2023 we successfully processed 19 requests from 15 students (3 PGR,  6 PGT and 6 UGT) in SAPL totalling just over £580.00

China contemporary : architectuur, kunst, beeldcultuur = architecture, art, visual culture.

Coffeeland: A History

Design and Science

Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World

Ending the Anthropocene – Essays on Activism in the Age of Collapse (Reflect, 12)

Let’s Go! Poekhali! Textbook 1.1

LO–TEK Design by Radical Indigenism

Louise Bourgeois’ Spider: The Architecture of Art-Writing

Material Misuse: Kennedy and Violich Architecture: No. 4 (Architecture Landscape Urbanism S.)

Mixed Reality In Architecture, Design, And Construction

Nomad Century: how to survive the climate upheaval

Posthuman Knowledge

Richard Serra Props, Films, Early Works

Sitopia: How Food Can Save the World

The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir

The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe

Transpositions: On Nomadic Ethics

Unbounded Practices: women,landscape architecture and early twentieth century

Yarn from Wild Nettles: A Practical Guide

Books added to the Library by students in GPS (Semester One 2022/23)

Our Recommend a Book service for students allows you to tell us about the books you need for your studies. If we don’t have the books you need, simply complete the web form and we’ll see if we can buy them. For books we already have in stock, if they are out on loan please make a reservation/hold request using Library Search.

Further information about Recommend a book.

In Semester One, academic year 2022/2023 we successfully 7 processed requests from 7 students (2 PGR, 4 PGT and 1 UGT) in GPS totalling just over £181.

Chip War The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology

Feminist Theory Reader

On Burnley Road: Class, Race and Politics in a Northern English Town

Policy Analysis and Public Choice: Selected Papers by William A. Niskanen

The Lazarus Heist: From Hollywood to High Finance: Inside North Korea’s Global Cyber War

The Rainforests of Britain and Ireland: A Traveller’s Guide

Viticulture: An introduction to commercial grape growing for wine production / 2nd

Books added to the Library by students in NUBS (Semester One 2022/23)

Our Recommend a Book service for students allows you to tell us about the books you need for your studies. If we don’t have the books you need, simply complete the web form and we’ll see if we can buy them. For books we already have in stock, if they are out on loan please make a reservation/hold request using Library Search.

Further information about Recommend a book.

In Semester One, academic year 2022/2023 we successfully processed 6 requests from 5 students (1 PGR, 1 PGT and  3 UGT) in NUBS totalling just over £324.00.

China and the ilo fundamental principles and rights at work

Creative Philanthropy: Toward a New Philanthropy for the Twenty-First Century

Foundations for Social Change: Critical Perspectives on Philanthropy and Popular Movements

Socios , Curso de español orientado al mundo del trabajo. Libro del alumno 1. Difusion

The Political Economy of Large Natural Disasters with Special Reference to Developing Countries

The Truck System, Including a History of the British Truck Acts, 1465-1960

Books added to the Library by students in ECLS (Semester One 2022/23)

Our Recommend a Book service for students allows you to tell us about the books you need for your studies. If we don’t have the books you need, simply complete the web form and we’ll see if we can buy them. For books we already have in stock, if they are out on loan please make a reservation/hold request using Library Search.

Further information about Recommend a book.

In Semester One, academic year 2022/2023 we successfully processed 9 requests from 7  students (5  PGR, 2  PGT and  0 UGT) in ECLS totalling £325.00.

Despair and the Return of Hope: Echoes of Mourning in Psychotherapy

Global Englishes: A Resource Book for Students (Routledge English Language Introductions)

Reading Unbound: Why Kids Need to Read What They Want – and Why We Should Let Them

Teacher Noticing: Bridging and Broadening Perspectives, Contexts, and Frameworks (IN PRINT)

The Art of Statistical Thinking: Detect Misinformation, Understand the World Deeper, and Make Better Decisions

The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics

The Owl Factor: Reframing your Teaching Philosophy

Thematic analysis : a practical guide

Youth Justice A Critical Introduction

Books added to the Library by students in NUBS (Semester Three 2021/22)

Our Recommend a Book service for students allows you to tell us about the books you need for your studies. If we don’t have the books you need, simply complete the web form and we’ll see if we can buy them. For books we already have in stock, if they are out on loan please make a reservation/hold request using Library Search.

Further information about Recommend a book.

In Semester Three, academic year 2021/2022 we successfully processed 4 requests from 4 students (3  PGR,  1 PGT and 0 UGT) in NUBS totalling just over £500

Can it happen again? Essays on instability and Finance

Handbook of Research on Artificial Intelligence in Human Resource Management

Temporal Regimes Materiality, Politics, Technology

The Chinese Communist Party in Action

Books added to the Library by students in ECLS (Semester Three 2021/22)

Our Recommend a Book service for students allows you to tell us about the books you need for your studies. If we don’t have the books you need, simply complete the web form and we’ll see if we can buy them. For books we already have in stock, if they are out on loan please make a reservation/hold request using Library Search.

Further information about Recommend a book.

In Semester Three, academic year 2021/2022 we successfully processed 23 requests from 12 students (9 PGR,  3 PGT and 0 UGT) in ECLS totalling just over £2000.

Advances in Design for Cross-Cultural Activities Part I

Combining Methods in Educational and Social Research

Corpus Linguistics for English for Academic Purposes

Educational Research An Unorthodox Introduction

Eye-tracking in Interaction

Getting published in academic journals: navigating the publication process

Handbook of Cultural Intelligence Theory, Measurement, and Applications

Handbook of Integrative Developmental Science: Essays in Honor of Kurt W. Fischer

Inquiry as stance: Practitioner research for the next generation.

JD Salinger’s the Catcher in the Rye

Language and Learning in the Digital Age

Language in Use: A Reader

Qualitative Content Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide

Quantitative methods in educational research: The role of numbers made easy

Reframing Sociocultural Research on Literacy

Research in psychology: Methods and design / 6th

Social Semiotics: Key Figures, New Directions

The Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Exploration

Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide

Understanding and Challenging the SEND Code of Practice

Using Art Therapy with Diverse Populations: Crossing Cultures and Abilities

Validity Theoretical Development and Integrated Arguments

What We See and What We Say Using Images in Research, Therapy, Empowerment, and Social Change

New resource now available: Mass Observation 2000s

We’re pleased to announce that we have now added the latest 2000s module to the very popular Mass Observation Online resource. We already had access to the 1980s and 1990s modules.

About Mass Observation

Mass Observation is a pioneering project which documents the social history of Britain by recruiting volunteers (‘observers’) to write about their lives, experiences and opinions. Still growing, it is one of the most important sources available for qualitative social data in the UK. This latest instalment is a great resource for anyone researching aspects of the early 21st century. It complements our existing access to the original Mass Observation project archive, which covers 1937-1967.

2000s collection

This module has a strong emphasis on technological advancements and the changing means of communication that came with the new Millennium. Highlights include the Millennium Diaries, the events of September 11th and environmental concerns, as well as detailing the everyday lives, thoughts, and opinions of respondents.

Searching and browsing

Screenshot of filtering options
Filtering options

You can browse or search Mass Observation in various ways.

Browse by directive: browse the different directives (surveys), which are arranged chronologically and by topic.

Browse all documents: browse all the individual documents, and then further filter your search as required.

You can also use the Advanced search box at the top of the screen to search for specific topics.

Help

Screenshot of research tools
Research tools

We’d recommend you start by reading through the Introduction (top menu) which explains more about the project and the different document types. If you’re looking for ideas about how to make use of it, take a look at the Research Tools, which includes essays, videos, exhibitions and chronological timelines.

Note that as over half the materials in these collections (mainly the pre-2000s modules) are handwritten, the database enables Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) to help you search. We would recommend you read about how HTR works, to help you get the best out of the database, in the Introduction section.

New resource now available: LGBT Magazine Archive

We’re pleased to announce that we now have permanent access to the LGBT Magazine Archive following a well-received trial earlier this year.

This resource contains the full digitised archives of 26 LGBT publications, mainly from the UK and USA, including Gay Times, The Pink Paper, and The Advocate. Coverage dates from 1957 to 2015 (depending on the specific publication). Many of the titles have previously been difficult for researchers to access.

It is a great resource for researching LGBT history and culture, including legal contexts, health, lifestyle, politics, social attitudes, activism, gay rights, and arts/literature.

Screenshot of advanced search options
Advanced search options

You can browse or search the archive in various ways: choose Advanced Search for options such as searching by location or document type (e.g. advert, letter, cartoon etc.)