Catalog Tips Archive - Student Support University at Buffalo Libraries

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Find a good book to read over fall break

Are you looking for a good book to read over fall break? The UB Libraries purchase a select assortment of leisure reading titles. Although we don’t have a leisure reading collection to physically browse, we do have a number of ways to go about finding a good book to read. Check out the questions and answers below to get started:

IS THERE A WAY TO BROWSE NEW FICTION TITLES AVAILABLE IN THE UB LIBRARIES?
There is not a physical collection to browse, but you can search the library catalog to see what recent fiction titles have been added. To do so, check out: Popular Fiction in the UB Libraries.

I HAVE A PARTICULAR AUTHOR OR TITLE IN MIND, HOW DO I SEARCH FOR THIS?
You can search the library catalog to see if books by a particular author are available in our collections. To do so, go to http://catalog.lib.buffalo.edu/, type in the name of the author, select the CATALOG –BY AUTHOR drop-down menu and then click SEARCH.

If you know the title of the book you wish to read, go to http://catalog.lib.buffalo.edu/, type in the title of the book, select the CATALOG –BY TITLE drop-down menu and then click SEARCH.

I HAVE A FAVORITE GENRE, CAN YOU SUGGEST A TITLE THAT I MIGHT ENJOY?
Our page on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/ublibraries/) provides suggestions for popular fiction and non-fiction leisure reading titles. You’ll find suggestions for science fiction, mystery, historical fiction, and more.

Happy reading!

iPad + UB Libraries = Streaming Video

[The following post was written by UB librarian Lori Widzinski.]

The UB Libraries have recently added several new titles to an already extensive collection of online videos that can be streamed through your iPad or mobile device while you are on campus. There are more than 350 video titles available to all UB students including the classic BBC productions of 37 Shakespeare plays and a fascinating 8-part series on the Human Body.

How can you find a specific title or topic? The easiest way is to use a keyword search in the Libraries’ Catalog. Enter your subject term together with the words ‘and streaming video’. For example:

nutrition and streaming video

After you have selected a title from the search results, a link appears at the bottom of the screen to initiate streaming.

You can search all formats of multimedia programs through the Libraries’ Catalog and can check-out materials from any of the on-campus libraries that house multimedia collections: Silverman Multimedia Center in Capen Hall, Koren Audio Visual Center in the Law Library, Music Library in Baird Hall and the Multimedia Resources Center in the Health Sciences Library, Abbott Hall.

The UB Libraries are committed to increasing the number of online resources available to make teaching, studying and research more accessible. We’re always interested in your feedback and questions, so feel free to contact us anytime.

Popular Fiction in the UB Libraries

[The following post was written by University at Buffalo librarian Don Hartman.]

The UB Libraries purchase a fair amount of popular fiction (chiefly New York Times bestsellers and award winning novels) but locating popular fiction can be challenging. Unlike public libraries, which shelve their fictional works either alphabetically by author’s last name or in categories by genre (e.g. mysteries, romance, historical, Sci-Fi, horror. etc.), academic libraries tend to shelve their fictional works in call number order. Lockwood Library (the UB library with the largest holding of fiction) shelves its fiction in call number order—which means most fictional works are roughly grouped by author, but with works of criticism/nonfiction interspersed—a far from perfect arrangement for those interested in fiction titles only.

The Libraries’ catalog provides a method for folks interested in browsing the Libraries’ holdings of novels and short stories:

Steps:

Connect to the Advanced mode of the library catalog.
Under “Format” click on Fiction, then click on the “Advanced Search” button to run your search.
For recent popular fiction, go to the right-hand side of the screen and change the “Sort By” button selection to “Date Descending”.
On the left-side portion of the screen, there are filters for further limiting your search by subjects, languages, genres, etc.

Finding Books using Library of Congress Call Numbers

[The following post was written by Lindsay Marlow, a graduate student within the Department of Library & Information Studies.]

Many students identify a book title and its library location using the library catalog, but then struggle to find the physical book within the library stacks. This task will become easier when you follow the guidelines below.

Most academic libraries use the Library of Congress Classification System (LC). LC call numbers describe the content of a book and its location on the shelf. LC call numbers are organized by topic, so all books on a given subject will be in the same area.

Call numbers can be found in the library catalog:

And also on the spine of books:

When reading call numbers, the first two lines consist of letters and numbers that represent the subject of the book. The third line describes the author and the final line is the publication date. The easiest way to read call numbers is through a line-by-line approach. In the library stacks, use the white signs at the end of book rows to locate the correct shelf. Once you are there, read the first line using alphabetical order:

When you have found the correct letter combination you can move on to the second line that is read in numerical order:

Now you can move on to the third line that begins with a decimal followed by letters and numbers. Read the letters in alphabetical order, then read the digits after the letter like a decimal number. There could be additional letters and digits, read these in the same way. The last line, which we identified earlier as the publication year, is read in numerical order:

Here is a diagram showing the order of books on the shelf:

When you get to the stacks you will want to read the call numbers in the manner presented in this image:

If you have any problems locating books feel free to stop by the reference desk or chat with a librarian on the library website. For more information on how to contact a librarian, please visit the Ask a Librarian web page.