After a successful trial, the Library have acquired subscription-based access to the database Overton.
Overton is the world’s largest collection of policy documents, parliamentary transcripts, government guidance and think tank research.
You can restrict your searches to policy from specific regions, countries or source types. Other filters allow you to view policy that cites research from a particular university, think tank, or academic.
Overton also helps users measure their influence on government policy, both locally and internationally. If you fund, publish or produce research, Overton can show you where it has been cited in policy worldwide.
Overton offer extensive help guides and videos to guide you in making the most of the database. Here are some of the key links and videos to get you started:
Our trial access is valid until 18th November 2024. As the purpose of a trial is provide short term institutional access to establish whether the resource is of interest for future sustained access, unfortunately we are not able to extend or repeat trials. Please bear in mind that any links to material within the trial collections will no longer work after the trial ends, so access is temporary.
We’re keen to hear any feedback on the specific collections, either by posting your thoughts on this blog post below, or by getting in touch with your Liaison Librarian at libliaison@newcastle.ac.uk.
The Library is currently running a short trial to MediaPlus, a digital media resource offered by Alexander Street Press (ProQuest).
MediaPlusconsists of more than 100,000 videos, images, and sound recordings. The resource is ideal for students and researchers interested in 20th century British social, political and cultural history from a range of disciplines (particularly History, Media, and Politics).
You can also browse by Title, Subject, and Sub-collection from the MediaPlus homepage, where you can then further refine results by date, publisher, or subject.
Content is drawn from a number of sources (Sub-collections):
Associated Press Archive (6,010 items)
Channel 4 News (6,508)
Gaumont British News (2,476)
Gaumont Graphic Newsreel (8,087)
Getty Moving images (8,163)
Getty Still images (11,732)
ITN (6,300)
ITV news (27,519)
Imperial War Museum – images (4,165)
Photographic Youth Music Culture Archive – PYMCA (6,421)
Reuters News (3,248)
Royal Geographical Society (6,448)
Royal Mail Film Classics (66)
The North Highland College – Johnston Collection (10,037)
The trial access to the resource is available until 15th November 2024. As the purpose of a trial is provide short term institutional access to establish whether the resource is of interest for future sustained access, unfortunately we are not able to extend or repeat trials.
Please note that MediaPlus content cannot be downloaded, and any embedded content or permalinks will not work after the trial ends.
We are keen to hear any feedback on this resource – please contact us by commenting below or by emailing your Liaison Librarian (libliaison@newcastle.ac.uk).
OUP Law Trove has become part of Newcastle Law School life. For any new students joining us this year, what is it? Well, it’s a collection of e-books you will need to support your learning in the core modules of your degree programme.
This Oxford University Press e-book resource contains most of the essential, recommended and background reading titles you will find listed in your Newcastle Law School module in Canvas. You can also find these on the Law Library shelves via Library Search, and having these books available online too can be really convenient to you as a student.
So, we advise you to try OUP Law Trove to see how easy it is to access on a Campus PC, your laptop, a library laptop (did you know you can borrow one from any of our libraries?), mobile phone or other device, and how versatile it can be.
Logging in You can access OUP Law Trove directly via Library Search (log in with your Campus ID & password), via your Reading Lists in your Canvas modules, and directly too. You can also go to OUP Law Trove directly and use the ‘Sign in via your Institution’ option in the left-hand login box on the homepage, and search for Newcastle University.
Further guidance on logging in is provided by OUP in this video (1:05 mins):
Searching From the OUP Law Trove home page you can immediately select to view those titles included in our subscription.
You can search OUP Law Trove by subject by using the browse option from the home page, or search by term for any author, title or keyword.
NB The results retrieved from either search will include all chapters and books related to your subject or search term, in alphabetical order.
Using the options in the left hand menu, you can narrow your choices by searching for a term within your results, by selecting the format of the results you want to see, or the availability (it makes sense to select those that are unlocked or free if you have not selected to view those titles included in our subscription) and updating your search.
Further guidance on accessing and navigating books within Law Trove is provided by OUP in these videos (2:28 mins and 2:41 mins):
Personalisation You can create a Personal Profile to experience the full functionality of OUP Law Trove, including bookmarking and annotating (without writing on your books!). Click the ‘Sign In or Create’ button on the top menu bar and follow the instructions to set up your profile.
Once active you can access your saved content, searches and annotations quickly and easily.
Further information on the benefits of creating and using the Personal Profiles feature is provided by OUP in this video (1:54 mins):
Reading Lists and Handouts You may find your module teaching staff are using the DOI: for a specific book or chapter from your Reading List or module handout. What’s a DOI? A Digital Object Identifier. It’s a ‘permalink’ (permanent link) to the specific materials you need to read and looks like a weblink (which it is, essentially). If it doesn’t directly link to OUP Law Trove then add https://dx.doi.org/ to create the full DOI link. You will still be asked to login using your Newcastle University Campus ID & password to gain access to the materials.
Tips Search OUP Law Trove directly for your resources if you can. Library Search and your module Reading Lists are linking to most of the books, and some of the chapters available, but not all. You may find more resources by performing a keyword search; the results could show a useful chapter in another book that you would never have thought to search in.
You have access to some great employability and study skills information in OUP Law Trove too. Whether you are wondering what academic writing actually is, how to write a case note, how to prepare for a moot or dealing with an exam, there are materials in Trove to assist you alongside the Academic Skills Kit made available to you by the University, the University Library and the Academic Skills Team.
Finally, scroll to the bottom of the contents page of a book to see if there are additional resources available:
Further information on the online resources, including multiple choice questions (MCQs), is provided by OUP in this video (1:47 mins):
We think you will find OUP Law Trove very useful in supporting your studies at Newcastle Law School. If you have any feedback or questions, please leave a comment or contact libraryhelp@ncl.ac.uk.
The Social History Archive provides access to primary source material, from unique newspapers to census returns, crime reports and migration records. This platform is operated by FindMyPast and includes newspapers from the British Newspaper Archive.
The platform has a number of search and browse functions. You can “Search all Records” or create an advanced search from the homepage (called the dashboard), however the “Search” drop-down menu provides options to search by record type, including newspapers and publications. If you need any assistance using the platform then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
The trial runs until Tuesday 5th March 2024. We are keen to hear any feedback on this resource – please contact us by commenting below or by emailing your Liaison Librarian (libliaison@newcastle.ac.uk).
The Library is trialling Screen Studies from Monday 9th October until Friday 8th December.
Screen Studies is a dynamic digital platform designed to support moving-image studies. It offers a broad range of content including books, screenplays, overview articles and learning resources from Bloomsbury, Faber & Faber, the British Film Institute, Focal Press and Auteur (LUP). Screen Studies covers cinema, its history and the surrounding context from 1850 to the present day.
Naxos Music Library is the most comprehensive collection of classical music available online. Currently, it offers over 2,831,415 tracks of fine recorded music.
Naxos Music Library Jazz is a comprehensive collection of Jazz music available online. Over 28,952 albums (272,292 tracks) are available and new albums are added weekly.
Naxos Works Database is your trusted resource for information about vocal, chamber and orchestral works. Use the database to find details about composers and their works, instrumentations, durations, publishers and work introductions.
Naxos Video Library is a performing arts video library with over 4362 operas, ballets, documentaries, concerts, masterclasses, competition and musical tour videos as well as footage taken from recording sessions.
OUP Law Trove has become part of Newcastle Law School life. For any new students joining us this year, what is it? Well, it’s a collection of e-books you will need to support your learning in the core modules of your degree programme.
This Oxford University Press e-book resource contains most of the essential, recommended and background reading titles you will find listed in your Newcastle Law School module handbooks. You can also find these on the Law Library shelves, and having these books available online too can be really convenient to you as a student.
If you’re asking yourself if you need to buy your course texts for 2023/24 then we can’t answer that question for you. The answer really depends on you. Ask yourself: can you work with e-books? Do you prefer to have your own copy of a book so you can fold pages, write notes in the margins or use a highlighter to annotate the text (*librarians across the world gasp in horror!*). Can the University Library provide a copy of the book you need to use? (We’ll answer that for you! We can’t provide a copy of every single book to every single student even if we wanted to.) We do advise you to try OUP Law Trove to see how easy it is to access, and how versatile it can be (including annotating the text!). It may just save you spending money on books where you don’t need to.
OUP Law Trove is mobile responsive, catering for those students with mobile devices. You can also use a Campus PC, or borrow a laptop from one of the libraries to access this resource.
Logging in You can access OUP Law Trove directly via Library Search (log in with your Campus ID & password), via your Reading Lists in your Canvas modules, and directly too. You can also go to OUP Law Trove and use the ‘Sign in via your Institution’ option in the left-hand login box on the homepage, and search for Newcastle University.
Further guidance on logging in is provided by OUP in this video (1:05 mins):
Searching From the OUP Law Trove home page you can immediately select to view those titles included in our subscription.
You can search OUP Law Trove by subject by using the browse option from the home page, or search by term for any author, title or keyword.
NB The results retrieved from either search will include all chapters and books related to your subject or search term, in alphabetical order.
Using the options in the left hand menu, you can narrow your choices by searching for a term within your results, by selecting the format of the results you want to see, or the availability (it makes sense to select those that are unlocked or free if you have not selected to view those titles included in our subscription) and updating your search.
Further guidance on accessing and navigating books within Law Trove is provided by OUP in these videos (2:28 mins and 2:41 mins):
Personalisation You can create a Personal Profile to experience the full functionality of OUP Law Trove, including bookmarking and annotating (without writing on your books!). Click the ‘Sign In or Create’ button on the top menu bar and follow the instructions to set up your profile.
Once active you can access your saved content, searches and annotations quickly and easily.
Further information on the benefits of creating and using the Personal Profiles feature is provided by OUP in this video (1:54 mins):
Reading Lists and Handouts You may find your module teaching staff are using the DOI: for a specific book or chapter from your Reading List or module handout. What’s a DOI? A Digital Object Identifier. It’s a ‘permalink’ (permanent link) to the specific materials you need to read and looks like a weblink (which it is, essentially). If it doesn’t directly link to OUP Law Trove then add https://dx.doi.org/ to create the full DOI link. You will still be asked to login using your Newcastle University Campus ID & password to gain access to the materials.
Tips Search OUP Law Trove directly for your resources if you can. Library Search and your module Reading Lists are linking to most of the books, and some of the chapters available, but not all. You may find more resources by performing a keyword search; the results could show a useful chapter in another book that you would never have thought to search in.
You have access to some great employability and study skills information in OUP Law Trove too. Whether you are wondering what academic writing actually is, how to write a case note, how to prepare for a moot or dealing with an exam, there are materials in Trove to assist you alongside the Academic Skills Kit made available to you by the University, the University Library and the Academic Skills Team.
Finally, scroll to the bottom of the contents page of a book to see if there are additional resources available:
Further information on the online resources, including multiple choice questions (MCQs), is provided by OUP in this video (1:47 mins):
We think you will find OUP Law Trove very useful in supporting your studies at Newcastle Law School. If you have any feedback or questions, please leave a comment or contact libraryhelp@ncl.ac.uk.
After a trial of several AM (Adam Matthews) Collections modules earlier in 2023, the Library has acquired two new resources – Empire Online, and Church Missionary Society Periodicals 1 & 2.
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Church Missionary Society Periodicals digitises publications from the CMS, South American Missionary Society and Church of England Zenana Missionary Society, encompassing issues from 1816-2009. Thousands of pages with detailed metadata enable new research opportunities in the fields of missiology and world Christianity, as well as a unique perspective on global history and cultural encounter.
The documents include reports on missionary work, serialised journals and letters, birth, marriage, and death announcements, fiscal reports and reflections on worship, making them an extremely rich source.
Empire Online is an interactive collection of primary source documents sourced from leading archives around the world. Material in the collection spans five centuries, charting the story of the rise and fall of empires; from the explorations of Columbus, Captain Cook, and others, right through to de-colonisation in the second half of the twentieth century and debates over American Imperialism.
The wealth of documents spans five centuries and includes manuscripts, rare printed materials, letterbooks, periodicals, diaries, photographs and more.
Material in Empire Online has been sourced from a wide range of reputable institutions, with a particularly strong core of documents and images from the British Library. However, the focus is not only on the British Empire; there are a number of documents and secondary resources which relate the story of the Empire from the French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German points of view, as well as that of indigenous peoples from Africa, India and North America.
For both databases, you could start by heading to the Introduction tab for an overview on the collection, a handy tour of the website and its key features, and information on copyright:
Empire Online Introduction
The Documents tab allows you to browse through the full range of documents available in the collections, and includes handy filters to narrow your results Document Type (Empire Online only), Library (Empire Online only), Title (CMS Periodicals only), and Issue Date (CMS Periodicals only).
Church Missionary Society Periodicals Documents
Additionally, the Advanced Search is available and allows researchers to build more complex searches:
Empire Online Advanced Search
Empire Online offers an option to view the sources in a chronological format, and the CMS Periodicals offers an option to view the sources on a map format:
CMS Periodicals MapsEmpire Online Chronology
Both databases offer extensive support, search tips and advice under the Help tab.
Please get in touch if you need any more support using the databases, but we hope that they will be of interest to your research!
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.
