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Humanities Guide to Research

Recognizing Academic Books

Scholarly books are a great resource - watch this video to learn how to recognize one. (2:29)

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Call Numbers

Our books are arranged according to the Library of Congress Classification system. When looking for books in Humanities it is a good idea to narrow in on the Class most relevant to your topic.

These classes include:

How to read a call number. A call number is a book's address. Call numbers are read line by line. Approach a call number by applying the rule of the first line, then narrowing your search with each additional line. The rules for each line are provided below. Example: HN 18.3 .R85 2014. 1) Read alphabetically ex. H, HB, HN, HQ; 2) Read numerically ex. 18, 18, 21, 18.3, 19; 3) Read alphabetically and as a decimal, ex. .RB41, .R85, .R9; 4) Read Chronologically, ex. 2013, 2014, 2015.

A call number is like an address for a book and this video describes how you read it so that you can find out where the book lives on the shelf. (2:46)

Transcript (PDF) | Transcript (.docx)

Searching the Library Catalogue

The Library Catalogue contains materials such as books and e-books that are part of our collection. It can be searched one of two ways: by using our Catalogue Search or our Advanced Search features.

Catalogue Search

screenshot of the library homepage with the catalogue toggle selected

Before beginning your search make sure to select Catalogue in the toggle bar. Keep your search broad by typing in keywords, subjects author or title.

Advanced Search

screenshot of advanced search box highlighting keywords and subject searches

You are better able to tailor your search when using our Advanced Search feature. Combine keyword, subject, author and title searches to return relevant results.

This video shows you how to search by book title using the library catalogue. (0:49)

Transcript (PDF) | Transcript (.docx)

This video explains how to enter keywords into the catalogue to find books on a particular topic. (1:11)

Transcript (PDF) | Transcript (.docx)

Locating Books in the Stacks

This video describes how to use a call number to locate a book on a shelf in the library. (1:05)

Transcript (PDF) | Transcript (.docx)

Your call number guide to serendipitous book discovery. Library of Congress Classification (LCC) Main Classes A: General Works B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion C: Auxiliary Sciences of History D: World History E: History of the Americas F: History of the Americas G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation H: Social Sciences J: Political Sciences K: Law L: Education M: Music N: Fine Arts P: Language and Literature Q: Science R: Medicine S: Agriculture T: Technology U: Military Science V: Naval Science Z: Bibliography, Library, Info, Resources NOTE: I,O,W, X, and Y are not part of the LCC

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