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University of Texas University of Texas Libraries

Taiwan Studies Guide

Finding Books

Find Books Beyond UTL

Looking for a book?

Search for a Book

From the UT Libraries' homepage, type the book title you are searching for in the search box. Then, select "Books and Media" from the dropdown arrow to narrow your results.

A photo of the main search box on the UT Libraries website homepage. The prompt reads "What can we help you find?" with a search box underneath. To the right of the search box there is a drop down menu to narrow your search. To the right of the drop down menu there is a "Search" button that will display results once pressed.

 

Understanding your Results 

After searching, you need to look for four details:

The image shows an example of a search result listing. On the left, there is a small photo of the cover of the book. Listed to the right of the book there are descriptors that tell a patron the type of resource it is, "book," (with the addition of a red circle graphic with a "1") the title of the book "Of mice and men / John Steinbeck ; with an introduction by Susan Shillinglaw," the author of the book and their birth/death dates, "Steinbeck, John, 1902-1968," the year it was published, "1994," and the publisher of the book, "Penguin twentieth-century classics." Under these descriptors, there is a red circle graphic with the number 2. To the right of the graphic, it reads "Available as Perry-Castañeda Library PCL Stacks (PS 3537 T3234 O2 1994)" Above the library name there is a red circle graphic with a "3" inside. Next to the call number there is a red circle graphic with a "4" inside.

1. Ensure you see "Book" (rather than "Video").

2. If you see the word "Available" in green text, the book can be checked out. Print books will have the library name and a call number, while ebooks will say "Available Online." If a book is checked out, it will say "Not Available - Loan" in gray text. 

3. For print books, you have a couple of options for retrieving:

              a. You can request a book through the "Pick It Up" service. The book is sent to the hold shelf at the library location of your choice. (You can choose this option for books that are marked as "Not Available" too! It could take several days for the current borrower to return it.) Wait for an email telling you your books are ready before you come get them!

This image demonstrates where to click to access the "Pick It Up" resource. The text reads "Get It," and "Request: Pick It Up" with a red box around the "Pick It Up" button and a red arrow pointing toward it.

      b. You can get the book off the shelf yourself. Proceed to 4 if this is your preferred method. 

4. Use the call number (the book's address in the library) and the floor map (PCL call number map) to find where the book is located. If you need help understanding how to read call numbers, see the side bar or visit the check out desk to ask a friendly library staff member. 

 

Checking out Books

Visit the check out desk once you have the books you need or once you get an email that your items are ready for pick up. You need your UT ID to successfully check out books. Happy reading!

Instructions for Requesting Loans (Books)

If you request a book loan, we will try to borrow it from another library or purchase an ebook for the collection. If you only need a chapter or specific pages from a book, you can use the Article/Book Chapter form that you will see on the top menu once you are logged in to ILS. Here you can choose Article/Book Chapter, or AV.

First, check that UT libraries does not own the item. You can check the catalog and search for the title. If UT libraries owns the item, you can order it through the Pick it Up service offered when you are logged in in the record.

Click here to go to your loan request form

You will see the following request form.

Loan request form

Loan request form

Fill in as much information as possible. Be sure to pay attention to the advanced options as well. Including the ISBN or OCLC number will speed up your request. 

*NOTE*: Be sure to only include the numbers in the ISBN, not the letters "ISBN", as the letters interfere with the system's ability to read the numbers. For example, in the ISBN field, you could put "9780737724448" but do not put "ISBN: 9780737724448". 

Once you have filled out your information, click submit and your request will be sent.

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