There are some very important features of books that distinguish them from other sources of information:
Comprehensiveness: academic books typically cover their subject matter both broadly and in considerable detail. They afford the reader an overview of the topic, details of its many facets, and often a history of the subject.
Reliability: books are usually subjected to a lengthy review process that includes lots of fact checking and revisions.
Uniqueness: much of the information published in books is only available in books.
"Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are engines of change.... They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print." -- Barbara Tuchman, Historian
The Library of Congress (LC) differs from the Dewey system which you may have used in your public or middle and high school libraries. Most institutions of higher education and nearly all research libraries in the United States use the LC system. The system is an alpha-numeric system that makes researching much easier as books are located in a section of the Library according to their main subject heading. For instance you will find books by and about Shakespeare, as well as literary criticism on his works all in close proximity to each other. This saves the researcher the time hunting for each category in a separate section of the library.
The Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the world's largest library has made the following list of main classes and subclasses available on their website.
Here is an example of a Library of Congress call number for the book The World Is Blue: how our fate and the ocean's are one by Sylvia A. Earle:
| GC 21 .E28 2010 |
The call number has several parts to it:
| GC | represents a specific subject area - in this case it is Oceanography |
| 21 | defines this book as exploring general subjects under Oceanography |
| .E28 | Cutter number, which is a code for the author's last name |
| 2010 | date of publication |
This call number system results in materials on related subjects being shelved in the same area. For example, if a patron goes to the book shelves to locate the call number GC 21 E.28 2010, other books on oceans would be found in the vicinity.
The ECC Library has a more than 100,000 print books and 200,000 e-books in its collection covering a wide range of subjects.
Use the Library Online Catalog to search for books and e-books available from the El Camino Library. Search for a book by Title, Author, Subject or Keyword. Using the Advanced Search feature gives you more options for refining your search.
Step 1: Select your search option and enter your search terms
Step 2: Refine your search results by selecting the Resource Type labeled "Books." Limit it to eBooks only by selecting "Available Online."
Step 3: Locate an available book on the library shelf or access an e-book online
