Books & eBooks: Home

• When searching by title, omit the beginning terms from a title if they include: A, An, The.
• When searching by author, type last name (space) first name.
• Omit all punctuation and capitalization.
• After performing a search, click on Search/Home to return to the main catalog home page.

Books

Common

• Stacks: 2nd floor, circulating (available for checkout)
• Reference: 1st floor, library use only
• New Books: 1st floor, circulating
• Reserve: 1st floor Circulation Desk, 2 hour - 2 week checkout
• Being Cataloged: In the system but still being processed, temporarily not available
• Cultural Equity: 2nd floor, circulating
• Children’s: 2nd floor, circulating

Uncommon

• ​Archives: ask library staff
• Atlas: 1st floor stands
• Bindery: 2nd floor, library use only
• Special Collections: 1st floor, circulation desk, 2 hour - 2 week checkout

eBooks

Access online

View categories and subcategories of what each letter A-Z of a books call number represents on the library shelves. 

Reference books are a great place to start research. The reference collection is on the first floor of the LLRC building near the reference desk. Reference items are for library use only and may not leave the building.

Examples include:

• Anthology
  • Collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
• Atlas
• Dictionary (standard, specialized, biographical, geographical, children's, bilingual, multi-language)
  • Definitions of words, correct spelling, and pronunciation  
• Encyclopedia
  • Summary of knowledge
• Guides
  • Citation(s), style, grammar, and lexicons
• Thesaurus
  • Synonyms and sometimes antonyms of a words. Beneficial for avoiding repetition in writing and speaking

Notice the reference book below: Black's Law Dictionary and how the location Reference is given in front of the call number. 

Reference KF156 .B53 1990

Ways to locate eBooks:

1. OneSearch

• Type your search term and click search
• Locate the Refine your Results menu on the left side of your screen
• Under Available at LAHC - click Online
• Under Resource Type - click Books
• View the narrowed results and click the title to access the detailed record and eBook

2. Databases

Library of Congress call numbers are arranged alphabetically and numerically. Read call numbers from left to right and from top to bottom.

Letters in the first line of the call number are alphabetical:

Numbers in the second line of the call number are in numerical order:

Letters in the third line are alphabetical:

Numbers in the third line of the call number are in decimal order. It is important to remember that there is an “invisible” decimal point between the letter and the number:

There may be a fourth line of letters and numbers. These will also be in alphabetical and decimal number order.

The last line of a call number may be a year. This indicates the publication date.

Contents of this box are taken from: How to Read a Call Number - Getting Started: Information Research Tips - Research Guides at UCLA Library