Q. How can I find a book?

How to check if JMU Libraries has a book

• Use Library Search to search for a book by title, author, or keywords. 
• On the search results page, you can use the left column to Tweak Your Results.
• You can click on the Resource Type option to choose Books or Book Chapters. 
• You can click on Availability to limit results to Available Online for ebooks or Physical Item for print books.

How to access a book

• For an ebook, click the Available Online link to connect to the full text. If you are off-campus, you will need to login with your eID, password, and Duo.
• For a print book,
  • Check the status to see if it is available and get the Location and Call Number information.
  • Use Get It to request a book for pickup from one of our library locations. If you are not logged in, you will need to sign in with your eID and password to submit your request.
  • You can use the Location and Call Number information to retrieve a book yourself when we are open. The Location will look like Rose Stacks and the Call Number will look like (NC760.A67 2019).

How to find a print book in the building - including how to read call numbers

To find a physical book in the building when we are open, search by Location and Call Number

• See our Call Number and Location Guide
• Ask for help online or at a library service desk.
• Check the building-specific call number guides posted throughout library spaces

Here are some instructions for more specific help:

JMU uses the Library of Congress filing system, or the LC system for short. This system organizes all items by their subject.

To find a book on the shelf:

1. Look at the LC number. The first letter or letters will tell you where to go. These items are stored alphabetically on the shelf.
   1. For example, if you are looking RA it would be after all of the R books, but before the RB books.
2. After these letters there is a number. This indicates where in that section you should look.
   1. These are whole numbers, meaning that RA1 is next to RA2, but RA1000 is next to RA999 and RA1001. Read the whole number at once to figure out where it is.
3. After this, there are typically more letters and numbers to narrow your search further.
   1. Follow the letter just like you did before, but the numbers after this letter work differently. They are treated as decimal place numbers.
      1. For example, if you are looking at this call number (RA1.L561) it would be stored right next to RA1.L56, or RA1.L562. The first number is the most important, and it then narrows down to more specific as the number continues.