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Information for new students: Finding print resources

Key information and links for new students

Both books and journals are the main sources of academic information. You will need to use both of these types of publication in your studies. Although many books and journal articles are available online, not all are. The information below explains how to find and access printed items (books and journals) from the Library.

Finding books

Your reading lists are available online via the Blackboard course for your module. Your lists will:

  • list all recommended print and online resources
  • show you if printed copies are available to borrow
  • include links to articles, chapters, websites and videos
  • give access to scanned extracts of key readings

Watch this short video to find out more about using your online reading list.

If you are unable to view this video on YouTube it is also available on YuJa - view the online reading list intro video on YuJa (University username and password required)

Searching Enterprise, the Library catalogue

Search the Library catalogue Enterprise to find print and e-books held by the Library. It will show you where the books are located and whether there are any copies available to borrow.

Search the Enterprise catalogue now by typing your search into the box below:


Search tips

Looking for a specific book?

  • Search for the first author's surname and one or two words from the title.
  • There's no need to type in the whole reference - you're more likely to make a mistake and it might not match exactly what's on the catalogue.

For example, search for the highlighted words to find this book:

Lanham-New, S.A., Macdonald, I.A. & Roche, H.M. (eds) (2011) Nutrition and metabolism. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

Looking for books on a topic?

  • Just type in one or two words that describe your topic.
  • If you don't find anything, try simplifying your search by removing some words or using more general words.

For example, search for the highlighted words in this essay title:

What effect has climate change had on food security in Africa?


Watch our short videos on searching the catalogue, finding a book and borrowing it

If you are unable to view these videos on YouTube, they are also available on YuJa via the links below (University username and password required.

Finding books in the Library

shelf of books

You should locate and borrow books from the Library yourself. To find a book on the shelf you'll need the floor it's located on and the Call Number. The Call Number gives you the specific location of the book - the numbers indicate the subject of the book and the letters show you which specific place on the shelves to look for it.

  1. Note the floor location and the Call Number (or take a pic of the catalogue screen)
  2. Find your way to the correct floor and check the floor plan. Most books are in the blue 'Books' section - just make your way to the section containing your number. But if your Call Number has 'Large' at the start, you need to go to the pink 'Large Books' section containing your number instead.
  3. Use the signs on the end of the shelves to find your way to the correct section.
  4. When you are in the correct section look at the labels on the books until you find your number.
  5. Once you've found the correct number, use the letters at the end of the Call Number to find the specific book - they are arranged alphabetically by these letters.

If you can't find your book, please ask a member of staff. We're here to help!

If you are unable to view this video on YouTube it is also available on YuJa - view the finding a book video on YuJa (University username and password required)

Finding journals

What are journals?

Journals are a type of academic magazine, which contain short articles or papers written by experts. Reading them provides you with access to quality up-to-date research in your subject area. 

How do I find printed journals?

Most journals are now accessible online, meaning you can search for articles on a specific subject by using certain online tools/databases. This is the easiest way to find journal articles and there's more information on this in the 'Finding online resources' tab of this guide. A few journals may only be found in printed format, and these may be located by searching the Library catalogue, Enterprise.

Searching Enterprise will show you which journals the Library has printed and online access to. 

Search the Enterprise catalogue now by typing the name of a journal into the box below:

Search tips

If you have a reference for a journal article, search Enterprise as follows:

  1. Type in the title of the journal your article was published in, not the title of the article
  2. Click on 'Search'

If your search also retrieves books you can exclude these by selecting "Journal" from the Format limits on the left of the screen.

For example, to find the journal this article is in, search for the highlighted words:

Colbert, J. L. (1989) Effect of experience on auditors' judgements. Journal of Accounting Literature8, 137-149.

For further information about finding and accessing journals and journal articles, see the following guides:

Borrowing and returning books

Most books in the Library can be borrowed. You may collect them from the shelves yourself and take them to a Self-service Point to borrow. You'll need your Campus Card to borrow books.

Loan allowances

All students may borrow up to 25 items at any one time for up to 6 weeks, subject to recall.

Returning books

All items should be returned via the Book sorter, beneath the central staircase on the Ground Floor of the Library, or via the external Book Drop located to the right of the Library entrance. 

Want more detail?

See the link below:

What's where?

CompassBooks are located on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Floors of the Library:

2nd Floor - computing, economics, education, law, politics, philosophy, psychology, social sciences

3rd Floor - art, linguistics & language, science and technology

4th Floor - history, literature, maps

Explore the links below for more detail:

Special Collections of archives, rare books and more

Detail from a Huntley & Palmers biscuit tinDown at the London Road campus is the Special Collections Service. Their collections include rare books, manuscripts, records, letters, photographs, maps and drawings - they can be a great resource for your studies and dissertation.