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, subject headings, etc.), but also the text of ebooks and e-journals that we have or are subscribed to.
For example, you typed 'finance and management' and got 19,500 results. Most of them look like journals, but you were hoping to find a book that was published within the last year. On the left hand side, you can filter your results by format and publication year, etc.
Once filtering the format to book, and publication year to 2023 - 2024, the results were narrowed down to 68.
Below is an example record from the library catalogue results. The library owns a print copy. The print book's call number is A657 / 528986. 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. In that case, you have the option place a 'hold' request.
Here is another example, but this one is an ebook. To access it, click on the grey 'View eBook' button. If you are not using SOAS wifi, you will be asked to enter your SOAS credentials before being taken to the ebook platform.
The Finance and Management collection can mainly be found on Level E (ground floor). Call numbers, (that is, the library numbers on the book's spine) range in the A330s, A510s, and A650s. Oversized books are shelved at the end of the collection and their classification begins with the letters LA. There is also a small collection of reference works on Level E.
The 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. A510s cover Mathematics, and in A650s you'll find books on Management.
|
Class mark |
Level |
Book stack numbers |
|
A330-339 (Economics) |
E |
21-31 |
|
A510-519 (Mathematics) |
E |
39-40 |
|
A650-659 (Management) |
E |
40-41 |
Regional books
Finance and Management books focusing on a specific country or region are shelved in the respective regional collection (e.g. books on Indian Finance would be located in the South Asia section on Level A). They will have a different letter code to indicate this. Here are some examples of regional Finance and Management books:
Uganda: Post-conflict Reconstruction by Alcira Kreimer (2000)
Call number: VJ338.91 /815669 Africa Collection on Level D
Investing Japan: Foreign Capital, Monetary Standards and Economic Development, 1859 - 2011 by Simon James Bytheway (2014)
Call number: D330.9 /512330 Japan Collection on Level C
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.
In order to see what books are available at SOAS Library, check out the library catalogue.
To learn more about digital books, see the 'ebooks' tab above.
About Ebooks
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. There are some ebooks on EBSCOhost, Taylor & Francis, JSTOR, and others. 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. They can be read on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, e-reader or mobile phone, on campus or at home. When not using SOAS wifi, you'll need your SOAS ID and password to access them.
Non-SOAS library users may access ebooks using the designated PCs located on Level E. (Please note that due to licensing, some ebooks may be unavailable)
Note, some ebooks have restrictive access and usage terms. For example, some ebooks can only be read by one person at a time. The information will be displayed on the ebook's platform. (watch video)
In order to see what books are available at SOAS Library, check out the library catalogue.
In the article about Print Books above, we saw how the Finance collection is catagorised in the 330s (Economics), 510s (Maths) and 650s (Management), according to the Dewey Decimal System. However, there are some books that cross over to other subjects, so it may be worth browsing other shelves in the library. Here are some examples.:
Organisational Behaviour
- If it's specifically about the workplace and how to manage, then it will be classified as 658.3 (Human resources management)
- But if it's more generally speaking, it is categorised under 302.35 (Social interaction in complex groups)
Statistics
- We have some books in 519.5. For example Naked Statistics (Norton, 2014), Statistics (Wiley, 2017), How to Lie with Statistics (Penguin, 1973), Statistics for Business and Economics (Pearson, 2013), Statistics: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2008)
- We have some books on statistics under 001.42 (Research > statistical methods). For example, Beyond basic statistics (Wiley, 2015)
Business Ethics
- A book like Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy (McGraw Hill, 2023) is categorised under 658.408 (Management > social responsibility of executive management)
- Meanwhile, there is a category under Ethics (170) which is specifically for business ethics (174.4). Business Ethics (OUP, 2019) is an example book in that section.