How Do I Locate Books and Journals in the Libraries?

This short tutorial explains how to locate books and journals in the University of Rhode Island Libraries.
Part of the InfoRhode Tutorials Series: • InfoRhode Tutorials
How do I locate books and journals in the libraries?
Sometimes the information you need for your research isn’t online - it’s physically at the library.
Here’s information about a book from the catalog.
To locate books, journals, and other materials in the Libraries, you will need two main pieces of information: the location and the call number.
Keep in mind that the Libraries Search covers multiple locations - it helps students and researchers across the state find information in their libraries as well.
As a result, you’ll see items that say they’re at the Carothers Library in Kingston, the library in Providence, and the Pell Marine Science Library in Narragansett.
It’s also helpful to write down the author and title of the book in case you need to look it up again later.
Use the location and call number to guide you to the part of the library with the item you’re trying to find. The first part of the call number works in alphabetical order - A comes before B. If you have two letters, HA comes before HB. The numbers go in numerical order, so 1 comes before 2, 99 before 100, and so on.
Be sure to bring the author, title, and call number with you so you can find the book you’re looking for. Once you get to the right section of the library by following those numbers...you should be able to find your materials.
View the chart on the right. Library of Congress call numbers are arranged alphabetically and numerically. Read call numbers from left to right and from top to bottom. Click anywhere to try putting books in call number order.
If you can’t find what you need, however, please stop by a service desk for assistance.