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REL 1313: Ethics: Finding Books

How do you find a book in the Library?

This page contains instructions on how to find a book using the Catalog.  There are also some subtabs on Finding Reference books and finding eBooks that you can access by moving your mouse pointer over the Finding Books tab above, and when you do that, you will be able to see the subtabs below the Finding Books tab.

1. Finding Books Using the Library Catalog

Image of library shelves full of books.

This is a view of some of the books on the third floor of the Library

To find books, you need to use the Library catalog. The Library Catalog can be used to locate books by title, author, and subject.  It contains records for books in the West Library, electronic books (eBooks), and multimedia resources (DVD, CD, other audio recordings)

Where is the Library Catalog?

On the main library page, select Books & More, then enter a search term in the search box. Screen capture of the Books and More tab on the West Library website.

 

 

2. Searching the catalog for books

Searching the Library Catalog

Once you have clicked on the Books & more tab, you can type in your topic in the search box, as is shown below.

Then you click on the Search Button to the right of the search box.

3. Search Results Page

The search results page then displays, as is shown below.

The book that I will choose will be number 15, Ethics: discovering right and wrong.  Go to the next box to find out what to do next.

4. Parts of a catalog Record for a book

5. Locating the book in the library

Once you have found a book on the results list that you wish to find, you need to do the following.

  1. If the book is in the library, it will show up in the list like the example above.
  2. The example above contains the Call Number, which is the number that you need to have to find this book.
  3. The example above also tells you the location of the book.   It is on the 3rd Floor

How Books are arranged on the shelves

The books on the 3rd floor are arranged in a specific manner.  Our Library uses the Library of Congress Classification system, which assigns a letter or letters to specific subjects, as you can see in the example below.

Where the Ethics Books are in the Library of Congress Classification

Here is where books on ethics fall in this classification system:

 

  • BJ: Ethics
  • BJ71-1185:   History and General Works, (including individual ethical philosophers)
  • BJ1188-1295:  Religious Ethics
  • BJ1298-1335: Evolutionary and Genetic Ethics
  • BJ1365-1385:  Positivist Ethics
  • BJ1388:     Socialist Ethics
  • BJ1390-1390.5   Communist Ethics
  • BJ1392       Totalitarian Ethics
  • BJ1395       Feminist Ethics
  • BJ1518-1697  Individual Ethics. Character.  Virtue  (Including practical and applied ethics, conduct of life, vices, success, ethics for children)
  • BJ1725  Ethics of Social Groups, Classes, etc. Professional Ethics