Visiting the Main Library: When nothing but the paper will do

The Main Library is on North Campus.

The Main Library has materials in the Social Sciences and Humanities.

During Fall and Spring semesters, library hours are Monday-Thursday 7:30am-12am, Friday 7:30am-9pm, Saturday 10am-7pm, and Sunday 1pm-12am. Hours change for holidays and intersessions.

A lounge with a snack bar and ATM are to your left as you go through these doors. Food is restricted to the lounge, but drinks in water bottles, travel mugs, and other spill-proof containers are allowed in most places in the library.

As you go down the main hall, you will see...

On your right, Leisure Books and an EITS computer lab.

On your left are Access Services (the desk where you check out books) and Course Reserves.

At the end of the main hall is the Reference Room. Start your research there. Finding A Book

Ask a question--keep this woman employed! A few minutes of help from a librarian can save you hours of frustration. Librarians are at the reference desk most of the hours the library is open.

Our electronic resources can be found on the UGA Libraries homepage: Most of our resources can be reached off campus with the GALILEO password.

GIL, the UGA Libraries catalog, shows you the location and status of materials in the Main and Science Libraries. When you’re looking for books written by an author, type in the last name first.

Choose your author from the list of authors.

Scroll through the list of works...

…until you find the title you’re looking for. You can see the location, call number, and status on this page, but you can click on the book title...

…to see the entire book record. (This is information you’ll need for your bibliography.)

If your title begins with the, a, or an (in any language), leave that initial article off your title search. You can also search for a book by title.

Use the Keyword Search to combine keywords, like an author’s name and a word from a book title.

GIL also contains electronic reserves, so you can see some of your course materials online.

Write down everything you need before you go to the stacks! --complete call number --floor number

Take the stairs or the elevators to your floor.

A map of each floor is located next to the elevators.

Labels help you find your call numbers on the shelves.

Each book is labeled with a call number. The call number determines a book’s exact position on the shelves.

Each floor has Sorting Shelves, where you might find a book on its way back to the shelves. If you can’t find your book by its call number, be sure to look here.

When you’ve found your books, take them back down to the first floor.

Take your book to Access Services (the desk formerly known as Circulation).

You will need your UGACard to check out books.

Friendly Access Services staff will check the book out to you. You can also renew books, pay fines, or change your address at the Access Services desk.

The book will be stamped with the date it is due.

Finding an Article (On Paper)

Choose GALILEO from the Libraries Home Page.

Hundreds of databases are available in GALILEO. Subject tabs help you find databases that are appropriate to your topic.

To find literary criticism, MLA bibliography is the best database to use. If you don’t know which database to use, ask a librarian.

Scroll through the list to find your database.

Type your search terms into the search box.

Look for an interesting article in the results list.

An index like MLA Bibliography tells you the issue and pages where you can find an article in a journal.

YOU NEED ALL OF THIS INFORMATION! Write it down!

A database will tell you which journal has published an article, but it won’t tell you if the Libraries subscribe to that journal. Scroll down the page to link to GIL.

Scroll down... …until you see the UGA link.

The link will open the record of your journal in the Libraries catalog.

Scroll down until you see the floor and call number of the journal.

You can also search for a journal by title in GIL. Be sure you’re searching for the title of your journal, not the title of your article! GIL tells you if the Libraries own a journal, not what’s in the journal.

The journal title and date, page, and volume where your article appears The call number of the journal Floor number Write down everything you need before you go to the stacks!

Go to the floor where your journal is kept.

Look for the call number of the journal.

Look for the volume and year of your article. A journal has only one call number for all its volumes.

There are photocopiers on every floor of the Main Library. Use your UGACard to pay for copies.

Very current journals (published in this calendar year) may be kept in Current Periodicals, in the basement.

Unbound issues of journals are kept on the shelves... …in alphabetical order by title.

In the basement you will also find......Copy Services...

…and microfilm and microfilm readers and printers.

Key points to remember: --use GIL, the UGA Libraries catalog, to find call numbers of books and journals --use a database on GALILEO to search for articles in journals --write down all the information you need: volumes and pages call numbers floor numbers --ASK A LIBRARIAN FOR HELP!