To find books in our library, search the Library Catalog - you can also search directly via the search box on the library's homepage. We also have a separate guide that describes how to search the catalog and how to find books on the shelf.
When you find books that look useful, write down the Collection & the Call Number.
General Collection, call numbers A - PQ are on the Third Floor
General Collection, call numbers PR - Z are on the Second (Main) Floor
Oversize are on the Third Floor, Beck Hall side
Reference are on the Second (Main) Floor, Beck Hall side
Browsing are on the Second (Main) Floor near the entrance
Young Adult & Children's Books are on the First Floor
AV materials (DVDs, etc) are on the First Floor
Once you are in the right area, signs on the sides of the shelves will direct you further. The system is a little tricky to figure out at first, so don't hesitate to ask for directions at the Information Desk (main floor of the library).
Browse the shelves when you find a useful book. Books are shelved according to topic, so chances are you'll find other relevant books nearby.
You can check books out at the Information Desk. This page has information about loan periods, renewals, etc.
You can (and should) also search for books in other libraries. To do this, use the advanced search in the library catalog. Scroll down to select "Libraries WorldWide."
Sometimes people shy away from books because they are longer to read than a journal article. While this might be true, there are some tricks you can use to understand a book's structure and argument, so you DON'T have to read the whole thing.
Books are shelved in general subject categories using the Library of Congress classification system. You may want to supplement your use of the catalog with browsing shelf areas for your topic.
Since African Studies is interdisciplinary, your best bet will be to search the catalog for books and when you find ones that look relevant to your topic, browse the shelves nearby to find related items. These areas may be particularly useful for browsing.
The Gustavus Library is committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all our patrons. We acknowledge that harmful and outdated language or terminology exists in catalog records for our materials, though, and we would welcome your help in identifying such instances.
If you encounter any language that you consider to be harmful or offensive to yourself or others, please use this form to report it and suggest alternative language. We will contact the Library of Congress to request that changes be made whenever we come across items under their purview and will supplement our own descriptions with more respectful terms as necessary. We also direct you to our entire Harmful Language Statement for more information.
