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Start My Research: Books

Search the Library Catalog

Book Search Tips

  • Keep your search terms more general than you would with an article database
  • If you find a great book on your topic, browse the shelves near this book for similar books
  • When you identify a book that the Library does not have, use interlibrary loan to get it
  • Many current books are ebooks; don't forget to click on those links

Call Numbers

Call numbers are a method to keep books in order. We use the Library of Congress (LC) Classification, an alphanumeric system which groups books by subject categories. Call numbers are usually on the lower part of the spine of the book. The first two lines of a call number describe the subject of the book, the third line often represents the author’s last name, and the last line represents the date of publication.

Read a Call number line by line

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