At SOAS library, we have a collection of 1.3 million books. How do you find the book you need for your research? The best way to is use the library's online catalogue. In the the search box below, try typing a book title or topic. This search engine not only searches through bibliographical records (title, author(s), publication date, publisher, edition, ISBN), but also the text of ebooks and e-journals that we have or are subscribed to.
Below is an example record on the SOAS Library Catalogue. The library owns a print copy and ebook The print book's call number is A641.3 /749238. To find it, you would look on Level E of the library, but the catalogue also lets you know that it is currently being borrowed by someone else. The ebook can be accessed by clicking the grey 'View Ebook' button.
The Economics collection can mainly be found on Level E (ground floor) between stacks 21 - 31. Call numbers (that is, the library numbers on the book's spine) range between A330 - A339. Oversized books are shelved at the end of the collection at L A330 - L A339. There is also a small collection of reference works on Level E. These A330s books are on Economics in general, such as theories, or cover regions other than Asia, Africa and Middle East. It also includes Economic books which focus on more than one country, and are therefore difficult to allocate to a regional collection.
Works focusing on a specific country or region are shelved in the respective regional collection (e.g. books on Japanese economic policy will be located in the Japan section of the library, on Level C). They will have a different letter code to indicate this.
For general economics books and most regional collections, the number after the letter code is based on the Dewey Decimal System. Books are assigned numbers according to their topic, and they are placed on the shelves in that order. Here are some example of numbers, just to give you an idea of how the classification of subjects works.
By looking at the call number of SOAS library books, can you roughly guess what the books are about?
Note that the number after the '/ ' is called the acquisition number and has nothing to do with the book's subject. We have lots of books on the same subject, so the acquisition number allows us to know exactly where a particular book is on the shelves.
Ebooks are digital versions of written works. Broadly speaking they come in two forms: they are either 'born digital' or are digital reproductions of printed books. (Ebooks are accessed on devices, so they don't have call numbers)
Many ebooks have enhanced functionality, such as connectivity with reference management software, the ability to annotate and accessibility features. The main ebook providers are ProQuest Ebook Central and VLebooks. For guidance on how to make most of the features, see this guide by Goldsmiths.
SOAS students and staff can use ebooks that the library has purchased. Search for them on our library catalogue: https://soas.on.worldcat.org/discovery They can be read on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, e-reader or mobile phone; you just need your SOAS ID and password to access them.
External library members can access ebooks using the designated PCs located on Level E. (Please note that due to licensing, some ebooks may be unavailable)
Please be aware that some ebooks have restrictive access and usage terms, for example they can only be read by one person at a time.