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How do I Find Books?

How do I find books at Vassar?

Search Vassar 's online catalog for books, government documents, journals, videos and other material at Vassar.
Search by author, title, subject, or keyword.
Try keyword first if you don't know what subject to search for. Check subject headings at the bottom of the record to find other books on the same subject.
Identify the book's
- call number (shelf position)
- location (which room is it in?)
- status (is it on the shelf or checked out?)
Use the Guide to Locations to find call numbers and rooms. Print guides are at Reference or Circulation.
Vassar uses several call number systems. The ones you will see most frequently are LC Classification and Supt. of Docs. Classification (used for U.S. government docs)

What do the locations mean?

Main: Thompson Library
Annex: off-site storage. For information on getting books from the Annex, see Requesting Books from the Annex.
Archive/SpecColl (Grille): Archives and Special Collections
Art: Art Library (Van Ingen)
Music: Music Library (Skinner Hall)
Browsing Collection: main hall near Circulation Desk. Books of current interest.
US Doc: Government Documents Collection in Stack I. For more information, see Documents Collections.
Media Cloisters: Media Cloisters, 2nd floor
Microfiche, Microtext Room, Microfilm: Microfilm and microfiche collections kept in the Microtext Room on the ground floor. See Microtext.
Main Reserve: Books and other items on reserve for classes. See Reserves. Art and Music also have reserve collections.

How do I find books in other libraries?

When the books you want are not in Vassar's collections, you may be able to get them through Interlibrary Loan. Set up an ILL account by going to ILLiad Request Form. Use ConnectNY or WorldCat to identify books and order them through those services.

ConnectNY: consortium of New York State libraries. Use to get books not at Vassar or books which are checked out. Books ordered this way arrive in 2-4 days.
WorldCat: worldwide database of books, videos, recordings, journals, web resources etc. Request books by clicking ILL symbol. Books ordered this way make take several weeks to arrive.