Use the search box below to run a quick search for books, or use the advanced search page to limit your material type to books prior to searching.
Use the search box on this page or go to the library catalog in Primo and input your search terms.
On the search results page, go to the filters in the column on the right. Under the "Material type" section, click "Books."
Now go to the "Show only" section in the same filter column on the right. Click the check box to the left of "Available in the Library." Then click the "Apply Filters" button at the bottom of the screen.
See a title that looks interesting? The information you need to find it in-person is right there in the list of results. The entry itself often has other information to help you determine if it's useful, so click on the title if you want to know more about it first.
Before coming to the library, check our hours and make sure you have your UMass Pass to check out the book!
Jacob Lawrence, The Library, 1960, tempera on fiberboard, 24 x 29 7/8" (60.9 x 75.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C., https://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14376.
Our library uses Library of Congress Classification to organize our books by call number. If you know a little bit about what the call numbers stand for, you can browse the stacks more efficiently.
Here are some relevant call numbers for Art Education students and what they represent, particularly noting the ranges related to teaching within the arts and crafts.
3rd Floor:
See the Library of Congress Classification Outline for Class N - Fine Arts for a more thorough explanation of the Art call numbers.
5th Floor:
See the Library of Congress Classification Outline for Class L - Education for a more thorough explanation of the Education call numbers.
See the Library of Congress Classification Outline for Class T - Technology for a more thorough explanation of the Technology call numbers (look to TR and TT specifically).
Here's a quick guide on how to read call numbers in our library (and most other academic libraries).
The first line is read in alphabetical order.
ex. PN would be before the PQ's but after the PM's.
Read the second line in numerical order.
ex. PN 6747 would be after PN 6746 and before PN 6747.1 or PN 6748.
The third line is tricky. Read the letter in alphabetical order then the number as a decimal.
ex. PN 6747 .S245 would come before PN 6747 .S5, because .5 in decimal is really .500!
Sometimes the fourth line will have another combination of letter and numbers, and you read it exactly like the other line.
ex. PN 6747 .S245 P4713 would come before PN 6747 .S245 P8, because .8 in decimal is really .800!
When you see a line near the bottom that looks like a year, it is a year! This goes in numerical order.
ex. If there was a book just like this except the date was 2003, it would go before the 2007 edition.
You could think of a call number like a detailed address in reverse: planet, country, state, city, street, street number. Each line helps you narrow down the book's exact location!
Use the search box on this page or go to the library catalog in Primo and input your search terms.
On the search results page, go to the filters in the column on the right. Under the "Material type" section, click "Books."
Now go to the "Show only" section in the same filter column on the right. Click the check box to the left of "Full Text Online" and "Open Access." Then click the "Apply Filters" button at the bottom of the screen.
See a title that looks interesting? Click "Available Online" under the book's information to see how to get to it. The entry itself often has other information to help you determine if it's useful.
