Finding Books

Please utilize our library catalog to find books. Or better yet, please stop in and browse the shelves yourself!

Reference vs. Circulating

So what is the difference between a reference book and a circulating book?

Reference

Reference books are generally housed in a section separate from the circulating collection.  They are usually books that offer general background material such as encyclopedias and dictionaries.  Other types of reference books could even be atlases and medical source books.

These books are distinguished by the “R” in the call number on the spine of the book and must stay in the library.

Circulating

Circulating books are anything else in the library that doesn’t qualify to be a reference book.  These books are free to checkout and can be recognized by the fact that they don’t have an “R” in the call number.

Textbooks

There are separate shelves located in the library that house the curriculum textbooks for each program.  These are just like circulating books in the library and must be returned.  Please do not take these books out of the library without checking them out properly first.