It’s good to take a break and do something completely different.  It resets your concentration, stops you getting stressed and makes for an effective working pattern.  One popular technique first established in the 1980s is the “Pomodoro Technique” (named after …

Studying 25 to 5 – the importance of being distracted to effective study Read more »

Digital Theatre Plus is a useful resource for teachers and students of Performing Arts or English Literature.  It can also be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys dramatic or musical performance. It is mostly a video-based teaching resource for schools and …

Digital Theatre Plus Read more »

It was certainly one of those WOW moments: when he found something wonderful he wasn’t really expecting.  “I was in Portsmouth Central Library”, principal lecturer Dr. George Burrows tells me, “trying to find something historic about music and Portsmouth I …

Rediscovering the “Pompey Messiah” Read more »

After publishing a case study article in a peer-reviewed journal, one librarian shares the lessons he learned about successful academic writing.  Happily the advice works for everything from undergraduate assignments to academic journal articles, so there is something of potential …

Tips for academic writing Read more »

Academic research is not one of them.  Librarians often bemoan what Google does badly (like finding all the useful papers for assignments) but here are 21 things Google now does that are really rather useful in everyday life. http://twentytwowords.com/google-tricks-and-shortcuts-that-will-make-your-daily-life-much-easier/?utm_source=socialmob&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=article-or-quiz-name&utm_content=1534

Birkhauser: Buildings Types Online We have started a free trial of a new database which will run until 18th November and is specifically for architecture students. Birkhauser provides a comprehensive online resource for the teaching and practice of architectural design …

Birkhauser: Building types Online Read more »

French Art Deco, Jared Goss, London: Thames and Hudson, 2014. I was invited by Greta to select a book of my choice (from Creative & Cultural Industries) and as I’m about to pick a topic for my Dissertation I thought …

Creative Arts Book of the Week: Special Guest Reviewer: Cat Askew Read more »

I’ve just got back from exploring the Ken Norrish Architecture Collection at the Portsmouth History Centre in the Central Library. An eclectic mix of books, which the book plates inside explain were donated by his wife Georgette Norrish, “To inspire architects.” …

Ken Norrish Architecture Collection Read more »