Finding Library Materials

Overview

To locate specific library materials you must use a catalog. A catalog is a database of all materials owned by a particular library. Through BISON you can locate any item that is available in our libraries, including books, journals, newspapers, and audio/ visual materials. This section of the Research Assistant shows the basics of using BISON, the UB Libraries Catalog through examples, and explains basic concept of searching by keyword, subject heading, author, and title. For more information, see the BISON Catalog Online Tutorial.

Call Numbers

All items in the catalog are assigned a unique group of letters and numbers called call numbers . Call numbers are used to classify materials and tell you their locations on the shelf. The UB Libraries use the Library of Congress Classification System when assigning call numbers to books and other materials in the libraries. For example:

For the book A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawkings, the call number is listed in the catalog as QB981 .H377 1998. The call number will appear on the book spine on the library's shelf as follows:

UGL	The library that the book is located in
QB	The subject class and subclass of the book (Q=Science and QB= Astronomy)
981	The classification number
.H3777	Indicates the author
1998	Date of publication