About VSI
The Very Short Introductions are written by experts in the field and provide concise and engaging introductions to a wide range of subject area.
For students, these are a great source when approaching a new topic. They could be particularly useful when considering option choices, starting new modules or researching new ideas for dissertation work.
Lecturers who are compiling module readings, might want to select these as introductory texts for students, They give a broad overview of topics in a subject area but also highlight themes and controversies that could be explored in more detail through seminars and other module work.
These books span topics across all the disciplines at the University, encompassing the Arts and Humanities, Law, Medicine and Health, Science and Mathematics and the Social Sciences.
The collection is updated on a monthly basis, so it is worth checking in regularly for new content. You can view details of the monthly updates online or keep up to date via the VSI Facebook group
Logging in to VSI
Just use you usual University username and password for access. You’ll discover the VSI via the University’s A-Z list of databases. But here is a quick link so you can jump in and start searching
Using VSI
The search interface is very user friendly. You can browse through the books in particular subject areas or search for a topic of interest, e.g. climate change or pandemic to discover material available throughout the subject collection.
If you end up as a regular VSI user you can set up a free personal VSI account and keep track of saved searches, chapters and books and also add your own annotations to materials.
An introductory video tour is available to guide you around.
Or you can click the image below and view/download a PDF version of the tour
If you have any questions relating to VSI, just contact your Liaison Librarian who will be happy to help.