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Social Sciences & Social Work: Books

Finding Books

Library books are available in two formats: traditional printed books or electronic books (also known as e-books).

Library Search holds all the details of the books available at Queen's so when you know which book you need, search for the author or editor surname name and a few words from the title. 

To find books about a topic, you can enter 2 or 3 keywords, click Search and then on the left side of the results page, select the Resource Type, Books. You'll notice that when viewing a full book record, there are subject headings. Click on any that apply to draw together a list of all the books that the Library has about that subject. 

Ebooks

E-books can be accessed both on campus and from home.  Please click here for advice on accessing and troubleshooting e-books.

Print books

Please see the section below called Locating library books. It outlines how to interpret the Library of Congress classification system used at Queen's.

Finding Library books

Using books effectively

Library books are available in two formats: traditional printed books or electronic books (also known as e-books). Irrespective of format, all books have a number of standard features. Understanding these features will help you find content relevant to your studies. Often you will not be expected to read a single book cover to cover but rather navigate several books and extract relevant information.

  • On the front cover or the title page of a book, you will find its title, information about author(s) or editor(s) and possibly edition and publisher details. These details are important to know when you want to refer to the book in your academic work.
  • Within the first few pages of the book, you will discover the contents page. This outlines the structure of the book, providing a chapter breakdown and page numbers to help you find relevant sections.
  • bibliography usually appears at the back of the book, or at the end of a book chapter. It is a list of all sources used by the author(s) in the writing of the book or the chapter. It provides evidence of primary and secondary sources used.
  • Publisher information is usually found in the initial pages of the book. It is here that you will identify who the publisher is, and the place and date of publication. This information may appear with a copyright symbol.
  • At the back of the book there may be an index. This assists you in finding the specific pages which contain information relating to your chosen topic.

Interpreting a reference

Locating and borrowing print books

Each library book has a label on the spine called a shelfmark which is a combination of letters and numbers. It can be broken down into sections to make it easier to find the book you are looking for. For example:

Browsing the book shelves will help you locate other titles which you may find helpful.

Using other library catalogues

Sometimes the Library at Queens may not have a particular book which you need, or not enough books on your topic of interest.

You can use Library Hub Discover (the combined catalogues of more than 170 major UK and Irish libraries) or WorldCat to find books on your topic of interest which are not available at Queen's.

If you identify a useful book, you may be able to request a temporary loan of the book from another library via the Inter-Library Loans service. Alternatively, if you would like to request that the book be purchased for the Library collection please Norma Menabney.

Recommend a book

Reading list books

The library makes every effort to hold the key texts that are on reading lists for your modules.

If there are books on your module reading list which you cannot find in the Library Search, please let the Library know by filling in our book form or emailing your Subject Librarian.

 
Books not on reading lists 
The library also considers purchasing suggestions for books which are not on module reading lists. If you'd like to recommend a book for the library collection, please email your Subject Librarian.
 

Need Help?

Email: n.menabney@qub.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)28 9097 6233

Problems accessing e-Resources