A primer on the physical library and how you find things in it
Each library is different, of course. But libraries do offer
similar services and organize materials in similar ways.
This section will cover what you can expect to find when you step
into a library. Library Web pages are often set up to mimic the
departments you'll find in a library building, so this information
will also help you navigate a virtual library.
Print Unit
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Directory
A Library Tour
Meet Tim! See the map of the library where he's researching
What is a Library?
The difference between library types — public, academic and special
This unit takes you on a tour through a 'typical' academic library building,
while also addressing common problems students have.
TIM'S TOUR BEGINS: Tim has a research paper
to do about the Vietnam War for his history class, but he's never been to his
school's library. Let's go to the library with Tim and see how he fares.
Before he leaves home, Tim calls his library's reference desk to get directions
to the building, parking information, and hours. He thinks he's doing well until
he gets to the library and accidentally goes through the exit security gates
instead of the entrance. He feels really stupid. This is not starting out well.
This is the library Tim is using.
This layout is fairly typical of how an academic library is organized, but every
library is different. Check your library's directory to see where things are located.
The difference between library types — public, academic and special
What is the difference between an academic and a public library?
An academic library's purpose is to support the teaching and research of the
college or university. Most academic libraries are much larger than public
libraries. Generally, non-academic material is not found in an academic library.
Popular best-sellers, self-help books, repair manuals, and the like are found
in public libraries. Since public libraries rarely have scholarly books or
research journals, your research should be done at an academic library.
Differences exist between academic libraries. Larger academic
institutions may have subject-specific libraries, like a science library,
a law library, and a medical library. Make sure you know that the building
you're heading to is where your resources are held.
Does a library ever throw things away? Rarely. But sometimes little-used
items are stored in a storage area within the library or off-site so other,
more heavily-used books, can be placed in the stacks.
On-site items will be indicated in the catalog as "Storage."
Off-site items will be indicated in the catalog as either Repository or
Remote Storage. They can be ordered by making a request at the Circulation Desk.
TIM'S TOUR: Tim walks down the hallway and sees a desk marked
"Circulation/Reserves." Right! He remembers that his
sociology professor told the class to go to the reserves desk and
read an article she had put there for them.
Reserves
Faculty members put materials they want the whole class to read at the reserve
desk. Materials on reserve have shorter check-out periods than regular books
so that everyone gets a chance to read them.
TIM'S TOUR: The reserves staff member seems friendly, so Tim asks if they
have any books on the Vietnam War that he can check out. The reserves person
tells him he can get help with that at the reference desk and shows him where it is.
WANT MORE on course reserves?
> Unit 6 > GIL
Reference Desk
The reference desk is where you go for help with all stages of your research,
especially when you are just starting out. Reference librarians can help you
focus your topic and find information using library databases, the Internet,
and reference sources.
Besides going to the reference desk in a library, you can get reference
help by phone, e-mail, or sometimes even online chat.
"Ask a Librarian"
Look for the "Ask
A Librarian" link on GALILEO, which will take you to an online
request form. When you send your question, the GALILEO people will automatically
forward it to the reference department at your home library. If that library can't
answer your question, they'll forward it to a library that can. You should get an
answer within three days; if you need a quicker response then call the reference
desk. "Ask a Librarian" services won't do your research for you, but
they will answer brief factual questions and point you to resources to help you
get started.
Your library may also have a Distance Learning Librarian who specializes in
helping distance education students with library research.
TIM'S TOUR: When Tim asks the reference librarian his question, the librarian
encourages him to focus his topic on a particular aspect of the Vietnam War.
Tim doesn't know enough about it to decide, so the librarian gives him a
reference book called The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. The book gives
him some background on the war and has essays on some great topics. Tim
decides to do his paper on news coverage of the war.
Reference Room
The reference room is where libraries have their computers with access to
the online catalog, periodical databases, and the Internet.
The reference book collection usually includes:
dictionaries
encyclopedias
almanacs
statistical compilations
bibliographies
indexes
style guides
Items from the Reference collections cannot be checked out. That way they're
always available for everyone to use.
TIM'S TOUR: The encyclopedia has a bibliography that lists books on Tim's
topic. The reference librarian helps him locate the books in the library
catalog and he heads upstairs to the stacks to find them.
The Library of Congress Classification System (LC)
The Library of Congress Classification System (LC)
How to read call numbers in an academic library
Libraries use classification systems to organize the books on the shelves.
A classification system uses letters and/or numbers (call numbers) to arrange
the books so that books on the same topic are together. This arrangement
results in "serendipitous browsing:" you find one book in the
catalog, go to the shelf, and, an even better book is sitting right
next to it.
From the Online Catalog to the Shelf
Libraries in the United States generally use either the Library of
Congress Classification System (LC) or the Dewey Decimal Classification
System to organize their books. Most academic libraries use LC, and
most public libraries and K-12 school libraries use Dewey.
Anatomy of a Library of Congress Call Number
Book title: Uncensored War: The Media and Vietnam Author: Daniel C. Hallin Call Number: DS559.46 .H35 1986
The first two lines describe the subject of the book.
DS559.45 = Vietnamese Conflict
The third line often represents the author's last name.
H = Hallin
The last line represents the date of publication.
Tips for Finding Books on the Shelf
Read call numbers line by line.
LB
Read the first line in alphabetical order:
A, B, BF, C, D... L, LA, LB, LC, M, ML...
2395
Read the second line as a whole number:
1, 2, 3, 45, 100, 101, 1000, 2000, 2430...
.C65
The third line is a combination of a letter and numbers.
Read the letter alphabetically. Read the number as a decimal, eg:
.C65 = .65 .C724 = .724
Some call numbers have more than one combination letter-number line.
1991
The last line is the year the book was published. Read in chronological order:
1985, 1991, 1992...
Here is a shelf of books with the call number order explained.
In your library, you'll find newspapers from around the world,
popular and academic magazines, and journals of all description.
TIM'S TOUR: After finding his books, Tim goes back to the reference
desk where the librarian helps him use an index to find articles on
his topic. Some of the newer articles are available online or in the
Current Periodicals section, but the older ones are bound or on
microfilm/microfiche.
Periodicals may be kept in one section or several different sections
depending on the size of the collection. Most libraries have a Current
Periodicals area where they keep the newest issues of some of the
periodicals they have (how far back depends on the library —
it can be anywhere from the past week to the past year).
The online catalog will give a location for the older periodicals.
Once taken out of Current Periodicals, magazines and journals are
bound into books or put on microfilm or microfiche. Older newspapers,
because of their large size and cheap paper, are microfilmed. A library
staff person will help you use the microfilm/microfiche readers and make
photocopies from them.
Since periodicals usually can't be checked out, you'll find copy
machines in the library. Ask your library about getting a debit
copy card so that you don't have to carry around a fortune in change.
While most periodicals are bound into paper volumes, some are instead
transferred to microfilm or microfiche. Why? Periodicals that come
out very frequently take up an enormous amount of space. Many
libraries don't have room to keep them in paper format. Newspapers
are made of poor quality paper and crumble when they get old.
Microfiche
Microfiche are small cards with negative pictures of the pages of a
periodical or book. A reader is used to "blow up" the
pictures so you can read them.
Microfilm
Microfilm are made up of reels of negative pictures of the pages of
a periodical or book. A reader is used to "blow up" the
pictures so you can read them.
TIM'S TOUR: Tim knows it would really make his paper stand out if he includes some newspaper coverage of Vietnam during the war. The reference librarian told him that the library keeps newspapers like the New York Times and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution from that time period on microfilm. Tim goes to the microfilm area and finds the microfilm in the drawer. Success! until he spends ten minutes wrestling with the microfilm reader/printer. Tim gets some help from the person at the Microforms desk. How come the staff make it look so simple?
Everybody knows that microfilm and microfiche aren't as easy to use
as a paper or electronic source. Libraries use these formats to
preserve paper and as a way to make the best use of space. Look
at the cabinets below: they can fit several newspapers, each going
back a hundred years or more.
GIL is an extension of GALILEO, Georgia’s virtual library. Through GIL,
students can search the online catalogs of University System of Georgia libraries,
the Atlanta History Center, and the Georgia Department of Archives and History using
the same interface available for searching materials at their library.
Students can then check out materials through GIL Express by completing a
request form, linked on each GIL Express page, for each needed piece of information.
It takes approximately three days from the time of request to receipt of an item through
GIL Express.
Besides remote check out of materials, described above, students may check out
materials on site at University System of Georgia institutions. On site check requires a pictured id.
If your library doesn't own something you need or if the material is not available electronically, the Interlibrary
Loan Department will try to get it for you from another library.
Thousands of public, academic, and special libraries participate
in the interlibrary loan system, and can borrow materials from
wherever they are located, even from another country.
TIM'S TOUR: One article that Tim really wants is from a journal
that his library doesn't own. The reference librarian sends him
to the interlibrary loan office to request it. The interlibrary
loan staff member tells him they'll get a copy of the article for
him within two weeks. He's glad he started his research early.
If it's a book you need, interlibrary loan will borrow the book.
If it's an article, they will get a photocopy of the article. Ask
at your library about cost.
Interlibrary loan is a wonderful service that gives you access to
almost any library in the world — but you'll need to give them
time to get the materials for you, so plan ahead!
The U.S. government has a depository library program that sends its
documents to participating libraries. Large libraries receive all
the federal documents published through the depository program; most
libraries collect a subset of what is available.
TIM'S TOUR: In the stairway, Tim runs into his classmate Lucille.
She's doing her paper on Agent Orange and has been reading congressional
hearings, scientific reports, and military documents in the government
documents section.
Government documents are published on behalf of government agencies,
Congress, the president, or the judiciary. A government document can
be anything from a Census report to a catalog from an exhibit at the
National Gallery of Art. Any topic that any government body has
influence on or interest in will likely be represented in Government
Documents!
Government documents are available in paper, on microfiche, and on the Web.
Since federal documents are shelved by a special call number system called
the Superintendent of Documents System (SuDocs), libraries usually keep
government documents in a separate section of the building. Some
libraries also have documents published by the state government, the
United Nations, or even other countries.
You can use indexes like the GPO catalog in GALILEO to locate government
documents, or your library may include their documents in the online
catalog. Check to see if your library has a separate reference desk
for government documents; if not, ask at the main reference desk for help.
Videotapes, CDs, old audio recordings and more....
Some libraries have Media Centers where they keep videotapes, DVDs,
CDs, tapes, and record albums. Whether you can check these materials
out depends on the library. Most media centers will have listening or
viewing stations so you can use the materials there.
TIM'S TOUR: The reference librarian tells Tim he might want to
visit the library's Media Center and see if they have any old TV
news broadcasts about Vietnam. Tim finds the Media Center, but
he's not quite sure what to do. He decides to ask at the help desk.
The staff there help him identify some videos of TV news broadcasts
on Vietnam from the 1960s and 1970s, and set him up in his own viewing
booth.
Special Collections departments are where libraries keep rare
books and manuscripts. Rare books are first editions, signed
books, or books that are of special interest locally.
TIM'S TOUR: Once he's done in Media, Tim makes his way down the stairs where he meets another classmate, Alex. Alex has been in the library's special collections room reading letters that soldiers wrote home from Vietnam.
Manuscript collections include handwritten and typed papers
such as drafts of novels or speeches, personal and professional
letters, diaries, meeting minutes, oral histories, photograph
collections, and other documents. Maps may also be kept in a
special collections section.
Special collections materials usually can't be checked out since they are so valuable. Some libraries even make you wear white gloves to handle the items.
Libraries offer classes and workshops on improving your research skills
and accessing library services. Learn how to use the library's resources
to find the information you need, evaluate what you find, and use the
Internet effectively.
Look on your library's Web page or ask your librarian for a schedule of classes.
Last stop — check out what you need and start reading!
Circulation staff check out books, renew books, and places "holds"
or "saves" on books that are checked out to other people.
Circulation and Reserves are often in the same department. With
GIL, the University System of Georgia's online catalog, you can
also renew your books online.
TIM'S TOUR: Tim has found all his materials and he can hardly
wait to go home. He takes his books to the circulation desk to
check them out. Now comes the hard part: reading what he's
found and then writing the paper!
These exercises have been provided to help students learn about library services and researching. They may be used by an instructor as an assignment.
Exercise: What Your Library Has
Go on a trip to your library — learn all about it
Learning Objective: Identify the major departments, services, and information storage formats in a library in order to more effectively retrieve information.
Although you can do much of your research via computer from home, there are times when you will need to go to a library. The exercise may be done at any academic library, using a research topic of your choice.
It is perfectly fine — in fact, it will save you time and you will learn more — if you ask the library staff for help.
INSTRUCTIONS: Print out this page and fill in the blanks.
Library name _____________________________________________
Circulation Desk
Is there a limit on how many books you can check out at one time?
_____Y _____N (if no, what is the limit? ______ )
The Reference Room
Ask the reference librarian for help in finding an encyclopedia article that has background information on your topic.
Title of encyclopedia _______________________________________
Finding a book
Use the online catalog to locate a book on your topic. Go find the book in the stacks. Now browse through the books shelved near your book, and find one more book that might be useful for your topic. Make photocopies of the title pages of both books, and attach them to this sheet.
Periodicals
Does your library have the Journal of Abnormal Psychology?
If yes, what is the earliest year owned? _________________
Are the earlier years: ____ bound? ____ on microfilm/fiche?
Does your library own the New York Times from the day you were
born?
If yes, make a photocopy of the front page and attach it to this sheet.
If no, find another newspaper article from the day you were born on microfilm, make a copy of it, and attach it to this sheet.
Interlibrary Loan
Is there a charge to borrow books through Interlibrary Loan?
_____Y _____N
How much does it cost to get copies of articles through Interlibrary Loan?
____________
Government Documents
How do you search for U.S. government documents in your library?
_____ They are included in the online catalog
_____ Use a separate index/catalog just for government documents
_____ My library is not a depository library for U.S. government documents
Media
Does your library have a media collection?
If yes, can you check out the videos? _____Y _____N
Special Collections
Does your library have a separate room for rare books and manuscripts?
