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University of Texas University of Texas Libraries

American Studies

Books and Book Reviews

Finding Books on U.S. History and Culture

Do you have a call number, but don't know where to find it in the library? 

Browsing

Print books at UT Libraries are arranged by Library of Congress call numbers. Although history is covered in many other disciplines (e.g. women's history may also be located in women's studies call numbers while medical history may be in medicine call numbers), the major sections for U.S. History are listed below. 

After you identify the call number, use this chart to find the book's location in the PCL stacks. 

Table of U.S. History Call Numbers

E11-E143
America
E75-E99
Native Americans
E101-E135
Early European Expeditions and Encounters
E151-E889
United States
E186-E199
Colonial History
E201-E298
Revolution
E456-E665
Civil War
E740-E837
20th Century
E838-E889
Late 20th Century
E895-E904
21st Century

Find a Book in the PCL

From the UT Libraries' homepagetype the book title or keyword you are searching for in the search box. You'll find results across many different library resources.

homepage search box

When your results load, select "Library Catalog" from the dropdown arrow to narrow your results to include books and media

Understanding your Results 

After searching and opening the catalog record for the book, you need to look for four details:
 

1. Is the book in the Perry-Castañeda Library? Is the book AVAILABLE? If not, there will be a due date.

2. Look at the call number (ex. E 184 A75 O94 2016) and click on LOCATE to find it through the Call Number to Book Location chart

3. EXAMPLE: E 184 falls in the DT 181.1-E 442 range, and is located on the 3rd floor in section 3S.

4. How to find the section: Consult the floor plan on the interactive kiosk, located by the elevators on each floor. 

5. Find the section on the floor plan map, and notice the section markers at the end of every shelf. Next to each shelf marker is yet another range to see if your call number fits in. 

6. Call numbers 'increase' from left to right. Keep scanning the section until you find your treasure!

 

4. Are you ready to check out? 

Checking out Books

All you need is your UT ID!

I really want this book, but it is checked out. Is there anything I can do?

Yes! If you would like to get a hold of a book that has been checked out, you can request the book. The library will then change the due date so that the current borrower has to return it earlier. To request a book, go to the library catalog, click the Pick it Up button, log in with your UT EID, and then request the book. You can learn more about this feature here.

 

Pick It Up?

Pick It Up is a free service that allows you to request a book to be retrieved from the shelf and delivered to the UT library of your choice. It can take an 1-2 days for your book to be retrieved, and you'll receive an email when it's ready for pick up at the library's front desk. You can learn more about it here.

 

Need a more advanced search?

If you need more options to search, you can click on the Books & Media option on the Libraries home page and choose Advanced Search.

 

LIB USE ONLY? 

LIB USE ONLY means library use only. When a book has this label under its current status, you can only access and read the book at its library location. 

 

I checked out a book, and I am not ready to return it. What can I do?

You can renew it! You can renew your book at any library location or online, through My Account.  To access your account, click on My Accounts, located on the upper right-hand corner of the screen on the library home page.

 

I can't find the book that I need. What can I do?

If the UT Libraries doesn't have a book you need, you can request it through InterLibrary Loan. The service is free and unlimited. Click on the link below to create an account and request a loan.

How to Read Call Numbers and Find That Book!

Getting Books Not Available at UT

Interlibrary Loan:

  • Interlibrary Loan (ILL) can be used to request physical items like print books, microfilm, AV material, and conference proceedings. Direct questions to: ilsreq@lib.utexas.edu.

Get a Scan

  • Scans of book chapters, journal and newspaper articles are available to UT-Austin users with a 3-5 day turnaround time.

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