Resources for EOP Bridge

Find books in OneSearch

The tutorial below will guide you in searching for books in OneSearch.

Look for several things to determine if a book is scholarly:

• Publisher: who is the publisher? University presses (e.g. Stanford University Press, University of Pittsburgh Press, University of Washington press) publish scholarly, academic books.
• Author: what are the author's credentials? Typically written by a scholar/researcher with academic credentials listed. 
• Content: scholarly books always have information cited in the text, in footnotes, and have a bibliography or references. Scholarly books also often contain a combination of primary and secondary sources.
• Style: Language is formal and technical; usually contains discipline-specific jargon.

How Call Numbers Work

• Figure 1: Books are shelved alphabetically by the first letter or letters.
• Figure 2: Books are then arranged numerically by the number following the letter(s).
• Figure 3: Finally, books are shelved alphabetically by the next letter and decimally by the following number.

What does the call number mean?

The Library of Congress Classification arranges materials by subjects. The first sections of the call number represent the subject of the book. The letter-and-decimal section of the call number often represents the author's last name. And, as you recall, the last section of a call number is often the date of publication. example:

• Figure 1:
  • Book's title: What You Need to Know About Developing Study Skills, Taking Notes & Tests, Using Dictionaries & Libraries.  
  • Author: Coman, Marcia J.
  • Call number: LB2395 .C65 1991
• Figure 2: The first two lines describe the subject of the book, LB 2395 = Methods of Study, in Higher Education.
• Figure 3: This line often represents author's last name. .C65 = Coman

Because books are classified by subject, you can often find several helpful books on the same shelf, or nearby. For example, within the same call number LB2395, there are other guides for college study.

• Figure 1: A Student's Guide to Efficient Study, by Luella Cole.
• Figure 2: Keys to College Success, by Minnette Lenier.
• Figure 3: A Successful Student's Handbook, by Rita Phipps.

The tutorial below will guide you in finding books on the shelf at the University Library.