Finding Books in Wildlife
There are two ways to finds books in libraries--browsing the physical or virtual "shelf" in a library or searching in a library catalog. In the sciences these books may be either "primary" publications--conference proceedings, technical reports, theses, and dissertations--or "secondary" publications--textbooks, treatises, handbooks and similar publications derived from the "primary" literature. This research guide offers suggestions for both browsing and searching.
Library of Congress Classification System
Using the Library of Congress Classification System books in the general collection and most special collections in the HSU Library are assigned a specific call number which physically arranges them on the shelf by subject. In addition ebooks are assigned these same call numbers. Most academic libraries in the United States use this classification system.
For a general overview of the entire classification system see Library of Congress Classification Outline (Library of Congress). Listed below are the major classification areas where wildlife books are likely to be found. You can browse the physical and virtual shelves for print and ebooks in the HSU Library using the call number search option in the HSU Library Catalog.
HSU Library Catalog
The HSU Library Catalog lists most works in the HSU Library with the exception of governemnt documents prior to 1998. It can be searched by author, title or subject. For guidance in searching by subject see the following research guides:
- Library of Congress Subject Headings -- for general tips on finding and selecting subject headings
- Scientific Subject Headings -- for biological and earth science subjects
Other Library Catalogs
"Union" catalogs and library catalogs connected with universities, govenment agencies and other institutions can be used to identify books held in libraries around the world. The Library's Interlibrary Loan Service can be used to borrow most books found in other libraries. See Other Library Catalogs for recommended catalogs, including the WorldCat union catalog.
Following are some specific library catalogs that include wildlife books:
- National Agricultural Library (U.S Department of Agriculture) Detailed catalog of book, serial, and government document literature acquired since 1862 by the major agricultural research library in the United States. Many serial publications are individually cataloged.
- IUCN (World Conservation Union) Library Catalogue (World Conservation Union) Includes publications from the World Conservation Union from 1948 to the present. Also inlcudes publications of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands , TRAFFIC - the joint wildlife trade monitoring programme of IUCN and WWF, UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre , and a small selection of titles from IUCN members or other publishers. Links to fulltext are provided if available.
- National Wildlife Research Center Library Catalog Indexes all books, reports, theses, dissertations, and conference proceedings owned by the NWRC, as well as individual conference papers, abstracts, and journal articles published by NWRC authors. Emphasis is on wildlife and its relationship to agriculture and public safety, especially wildlife damage to agriculture and protection of wildlife from the adverse effects of human activities.