Serendipity plays a big role in research. When looking for books, start by searching the catalog. Once you find a book that looks promising, browse the nearby books. Our library uses the Library of Congress system, which houses books on the same topic near each other.
Some topics are more easily browsed than others. For example, books by and about a particular writer are shelved together, but books on interdisciplinary subjects, such as environmental science, may be in several places.
Sometimes people shy away from books because they are longer to read than a journal article. Many disciplines still publish current research in books, so you don't want to miss out on key resources by ignoring books. 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.
Once you have a good idea of the book's structure and argument through skimming, you can narrow in on the portions of the text most useful for your research.
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 We acknowledge that harmful and outdated language or terminology exists in catalog records for our materials, though, and we would welcome your help in identifying such instances.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.
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.
Of course, books related to sex, power, and politices can be found in various classification areas around the library. A few examples:
HQ 767 .5 = Social sciences > The family, marriage, women > Family size
Note: The Library of Congress classification system was "first developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to organize the book collections of the Library of Congress" (Library of Congress Classification) and continues to reflect the bias of that time and place. In addition, terminology within the system does not always keep pace with current usage. Librarians continue to work to rectify this.
Tip: For help finding books, visit the Finding Books in the Library guide.
To find books in our library, search the Library Catalog - you can also search directly via the search box on the library's homepage. Use our guide to finding books for more on how to use the online catalog and find books on the shelves.
When you find books that look useful, write down the Collection & the Call Number.
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 and other materials out at the Information Desk. This page has information about loan periods, renewals, etc.
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
