Print books and electronic books (e-books) are great for providing broad overviews of the topic you have selected. As undergraduates you can check out print books for 28 days (you can renew books if needed). E-books are great because you can access them right on your laptop or mobile device. When you are done accessing them, you close out of the e-book and you are done. Some e-books allow you to save/print a certain number of pages of the book.
You can search for print and e-books on the WashU Libraries home page by searching the Classic Catalog.
The video below provides an example of how to search the Classic Catalog.
You can use the search box below to search the Classic Catalog for items available in the WashU Libraries.
Your instructor gave you the title and author of a book that they think would provide you with some information about your topic. How do you determine if the WashU Libraries has the book?
For example, you are working on how environmental ethics is portrayed in film. Your instructor has provided you with information that the book Environmental Ethics and Film by Pat Brereton would provide some great background information on your topic. You want to see if the WashU Libraries has the book. To do this, on the Libraries home page, you can put in the title of the book in the search box next to Classic Catalog. When you select Search, the first item that comes up is the book you are looking for.
The book is located in Olin Library on Level A. The call number of the book is PN1995.9.E78 B84 2016 and it currently states it is not checked out.
I could go to Level A in Olin Library, get the book, and then bring it to the Help Desk on Level 1 to check the book out.
Perhaps you were given the title of the book that you want to use for your research, but the WashU Libraries does not have the book. You can request the book from other libraries and have the book sent here.
You can order the print book through Interlibrary Loan. It normally takes between 1-2 weeks for the item to arrive.
For more information please see the Interlibrary Loan page on the WashU Libraries website.
