Introduction to College Research: Finding Books

This tutorial will teach you the basics of effectively searching for books, both in print and eBooks, and give an overview of the features of the library catalog.

Once you have search results, click on one of the books.  A screen for that book will pop up

For each book you will see the citation information, description, collection, call number, and status. 

Always check the status first to make sure it says "Available" before you get too excited about a book. 

Then check which collection it can be found in.  If it says "General Collection" it is in the white-labeled bookcases, and if it says "Reference Collection" it is in the green-labeled bookcases. If it says "Delano  Library", it's at the Delano Campus. 

Lastly, always write down the entire call number!  See the box below about how to use that to find the book on the shelf. 

Call Number= the address of the book on its spine

The signs on the end of the bookcases only refer to first two lines of a call #.

Pay attention to "collection" on the book entry in the catalog:  

REFERENCE= Green-labeled bookcases

GENERAL= White-labeled bookcases

Once in correct aisle, read call number, matching one line at a time, until find the right book.  Browse the shelves around it for possibly more books on your topic.