Links below search book collections. 
LVC Books searches books--ebooks and print--that LVC owns.
WorldCat is a link to a catalog that will search 77,000 library collections from around the world. If you do use WorldCat, you may also need to utilize a service called ILL/Interlibrary Loan/Tipasa to request a copy of the book. Also, make sure to limit your WorldCat search to books.
Image Source: Derek Harper. CC-BY-SA-2.0. Wikimedia Commons.
You've found a book in the Catalog. Now what? Write down the call number, you'll need it to locate that book on the shelf. Using the first one or two letters in the call number, use the information below to figure out what floor the book is located on. Next....
| A - PR | Located on the upper level |
| PS - Z | Located on the lower level |
| OVERSIZE | Located on the north and east sides of the upper level |
Find more information about call numbers under the Call Numbers? tab.
Bishop Library uses the Library of Congress (LC) call number system to organize its collection.
A detailed breakdown of sociology call numbers is available from the Library of Congress.
Interlibrary Loan, ILL, or Tipasa, is a service that will provide you with books that LVC does not own.
Most of the library's databases will provide a Looking for Full Text? link on results that don't provide PDF full-text. If that Looking for Full-Text? link fails, you'll see a button for Request this Item through LVC Tipasa.
You can also place an ILL request from the library's homepage. Via interlibrary loan, we'll borrow the book from another library for you and will notify you via email when your book arrives.
How long does it take?
Books will take a bit longer (they have to come through the mail)--allow two weeks.
Ebooks, also called electro
nic books, digital books, full-text books, or online books, can be accessed 24/7 from any location.
Ebooks allow one to search the full-text of the books, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.
Image Source: Benh Lieu Song. Blue Mosque, in Istanbul, Turkey. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Google Books searches the full-text of millions of books. Most of the full previews, however, will be published prior to 1921. Sometimes you can find useful information in the partial views, however. And if the book does look useful to you, you can always interlibrary loan for a copy.