To find books or ebooks avalable at UVic Libraries, you can use Library Search or the Books and More Catalogue.
Find the Books Catalogue on the front page at UVic.ca/library, on the second tab.
Use "Title Keyword" or "Author Keyword" to find a known item (a specific book), or use "Keyword Anywhere" to discover books on a topic or theme.
On the results list, you can use the filtering menu on the left side to refine your results. You can use this to exclude unwanted stuff (like conference proceedings) or to include things (like DVDs):
Then you can look at your results. In the initial results list, you'll see the title/author, year of publication, call number and location. It will also tell you if the item is print, electronic, micfoform, or some other format:
Click on any title to see its book record. This gives you metadata (information) about the book, along with tools to find it, and the information you need to find it in the library. For a paper book, this is Call number and location. For an ebook, it'll give a URL.
The Subject Headings tell you how librarians describe that subject, and link to all other books with the same subject heading. This is very useful for finding more on your topic. These headings are drawn from a thesaurus created by the Library of Congress. It can be problematic, but it's what we use, and what most academic libraries worldwide use.
Click on "Locate" on the action menu (right side of "Location Items" in the book record) to get a map to show you where to go:
You can also 'Text me this call number', to receive a text with the title, call number and floor, to guide you to the book.
The STATUS of a book will tell you if it's available or not. In Library is ideal, come and get it! If it says check holdings, may be available, checked out, on order or anything else, you'll need to RECALL the book. This requests the book be returned (within 7 days) for you!
Recall: Requests that books be brought back for you
ReTrieve: Requests that books be brought to the main floor, for you to pick up
Re:Quest: Faculty can request a book be delivered to their office
Ask us