General Collection
The General Collection is the main collection of the library with over 300,000 volumes. Books may be borrowed by students for 30 days by taking them to the Access Services Desk. The General Collection begins with the Library of Congress classification"A" through "N" on the Third Floor. The Fourth Floor contains the General Collection from Library of Congress classification "P" through "Z" (see our floor plans).
Books from the General Collection may also be checked out by residents outside the university community.
Reference Collection
Reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, compendia of statistics, collections of quotations, indexes, etc.) are identified in PILOT with the phrase, "Reference Collection -- DOES NOT CIRCULATE" preceding the call number, e.g. “Reference Collection -- DOES NOT CIRCULATE -- D114 .D5 1982” for Dictionary of the Middle Ages.
The Reference Collection is located on the Second Floor to the right of the Reference Desk (see our floor plans).
Reference books located elsewhere, e.g. shelved at the Reference Desk, have their locations given on red markers placed in call number order on the main reference shelves.
Reference books normally do not circulate and readers are advised to photocopy pages of short sections of books they wish to read outside the library. Special loans are available for some reference books and may be negotiated at the Reference Desk.
Atlases and Maps
Because of their size and shape, many geographical atlases and all maps are not shelved in the Reference Collection (see our floor plans).
ATLASES - Oversized geographical atlases are on wall shelves in the corridor near the beginning of Reference Stack 1. The other geographical atlases are found in the "G's" in the main Reference Collection.
MAPS - The cataloged maps are in a map case across from the atlas shelves to the left of the beginning of the Reference Collection.
Indexes and Abstracts
Indexes and Abstracts are used to identify articles published in periodicals and newspapers. Our most heavily used indexes are the online databases (see note below for the Periodicals Collection) accessible via the Internet. The library also continues to subscribe to several indexes in paper copy.
Periodicals Collection
Periodicals (e.g journals, magazines) are often excellent sources for term paper topics because their information can be more current than that of books. A master list of our local holdings is available from serials solutions. Unlike books, however, the subject matter of periodical articles is not found in our catalog; instead, you must use other sources, e.g. periodical indexes and bibliographies which, in searchable electronic form, are called databases. Full text of many periodicals is found in databases such as those provided by EBSCOHost, Lexis-Nexis, Project MUSE, and ProQuest.
Holdings
The library receives over 1700 current periodicals and has retrospective holdings for thousands more.
Andruss Library local periodicals holdings are identified in print in our Periodicals Holdings List and via the Internet in our Pilot Catalog by using a Journal Title search, in the Susquehanna Library Cooperative Union Periodicals Catalog, and in Serials Solutions, which also identifies periodicals found in our full-text online databases.
Format and Location
The periodicals subscribed to by this library are typically received first in single paper cover issues kept for one year in shelves opposite the Access Services Desk. Titles of an ephemeral nature are kept only a few years, but most periodicals are made more durable for long time usage by either binding or buying microfilm copies.
Bound periodicals from 1989 to the past year are stored on the First Floor, past the current periodicals.
Periodicals older than 1989 are shelved on the Fourth Floor, to the left as you leave the elevator (see our floor plans).
Most of our microtext copy is in 35mm reels stored alphabetically by title in cabinets behind and to the right of the Access Services Desk. For assistance in finding, reading, or copying articles in microtext, contact the Access Services Desk staff.
Government Documents
The Andruss Library serves as a depository for both federal and Pennsylvania documents.Government documents are published in a variety of formats, e.g. books, periodicals, pamphlets by government departments or agencies. The U.S. Government Printing Office is the world's largest publisher and issues materials on most topics.
DOCUMENTS ASSISTANCE: Please ask for assistance from the Government Documents Librarian in Room 235, or at the Reference Desk. All print and CD-ROM documents may be checked out at the circulation desk. Maps and mircofiche documents do not circulate.
Microform Documents
Many of our federal documents are in microforms. Back issues of many of our document periodicals, e.g. Congressional Record , are on microfilm filed by title in cabinets to the right of the Circulation Desk. This library has many congressional reports, hearings and committee prints on microfilm and microfiche and indexes to them. The most comprehensive of these is Congressional Information Service (CIS) Ref KF 49 .C62. Indexes to similar documents are shelved nearby.
American Statistics Index (ASI ), published by the same company as the before mentioned title, indexes virtually all of the statistical reports of the federal government published from 1974-1998 in microfiche series #1508. Its indexes are classified as Ref Z 7554 .U5 A46.
An item indicated in our catalog as
- U.S. Government Documents Microfiche Collection - NON-CIRC
- Call Number: GA 1.13:AIMD-95-73
Government Documents microfiche are filed in the last of the microfiche cabinets.
Paper Copy Documents
Documents in paper copy are shelved in the Government Documents Collection on the Second Floor (see our floor plans). The federal documents are shelved according to the Superintendent of Documents Classification scheme which uses letters to represent departments or agencies, e.g. CR [Commission on Civil Rights]1.2: Sch 6/17.
Documents in CD-ROM and other electronic formats are stored in Room 237 near the documents stacks.
Pennsylvania documents are classified in an adaptation of this scheme but preceded by "PA," e.g. PA Doc PYG 353.
Often-Used Documents
Federal Register AE 2.106
Congressional Record X/A
Climatological Data: Pennsylvania C55.214/36
Pennsylvania Bulletin PA Doc PGA 134.17/4
Governor's Executive Budget PA Doc PGV 1.3/9
Pennsylvania Geological Survey PA Doc PYG 345/4.3
Documents normally do not circulate and readers are advised to photocopy pages of short sections they wish to read outside the library. Special loans are available for most documents and may be negotiated at the Reference Desk.
Juvenile and Young Adult Collection
The Juvenile & Young Adult Collection has its origins as the library for the teacher training school formerly housed in the Ben Franklin building, and has continued using the Dewey Decimal classification common to most school libraries; it contains books of interest to a range of readers from beginners through high school.The collection is housed on the Second Floor, to the right as you leave the elevator (see our floor plans). Books are shelved by category: non-fiction, fiction, and oversize.
Books from the Juvenile & Young Adult Collection may be checked out at the Circulation Desk for thirty days. There is also a policy for residents outside the university community.
Curriculum Collection
The Curriculum Collection supports the faculty and students of the School of Education and addresses the specific needs of future teachers. The collection is comprised of educational methodology books, K-12th grade textbooks, big books, curriculum guides, audio-visual curriculum materials, and educational software. All of these materials are identified via the online catalog, PILOT. The location of these materials is designated "Curriculum Collection" on the catalog, and call numbers are preceded by "Cur" on the spines of the books. Most materials in this collection circulate for seven (7) days.
Books in this collection are shelved in compact shelving units across from the Juvenile & Young Adult Collection on the second floor (see our floor plans).; educational videos and software are shelved behind the Circulation Desk on the first floor.
Reserves
Reserve materials are kept behind the Circulation Desk (see our floor plans) near the main entrance and must be requested by title and reserve number (usually the call number if it is a cataloged book). Reserve materials are usually in high demand and thus may be used only for brief periods. Depending upon the professor's instructions, reserve material circulates for varying periods: 2 hours, 1 day, 3 days, or 7 days.Instructions for Finding Course Reserve Materials
1. From the library's main website (http://library.bloomu.edu), click Online Catalog (PILOT).
2. Select the blue tab entitled Course Reserve.
3. At the Course Research search page, select your professor's name (department number and course number optional). Click Search.
4. This will generate a list of the materials that the professor has on Reserve for that class.
5. Listed under each item is that item's location and call number. For folders, you will need to know the course number (e.g., 46- 200 for Principles of Cultural Anthropology). For books, a call number (e.g., CB 401. F7) or an "X" number (X 1693) will be needed in order for a staff person to locate the materials for you.
Oversize Books
Oversize books are shelved separately so that we may place the optimum number of books on each shelf, and are designated as such in our catalog. Oversize books are over 29 centimeters in height or 25 cm. in width. The oversize General Collection books are shelved following normal size books on the Third and Fourth Floors (see our floor plans).Children's oversize books are shelved at the end of the Juvenile & Young Adult Collection.
Career Guidance Collection
The Andruss Library's small Career Guidance Collection is intended to complement that available at the University's Career Development Center. It contains materials of vocational interest which generally fall into one of three categories.- Occupational guides describe what an individual does, qualifications for the occupation, and remuneration expected.
- Employment directories list the type of personnel being hired by companies, and what training, benefits, etc. are provided.
- Guides for writing resumes and interviewing.
The collection is shelved on the second floor just before the beginning of the Juvenile & Young Adult Collection (see our floor plans). Materials circulate at the discretion of the librarian at the Reference Desk.
Scores
This library contains several hundred musical scores. They are stored in various locations depending on their size. Those whose call number begins with the word "score" are stored in a two drawer file cabinet located beyond the microforms at the northeast corner of the First Floor.In Pilot, our online catalog, limit by location and choose "Scores." Scores may be checked out at the Circulation Desk for a four week loan.
Sound Recordings
The library's sound recordings are comprised of over 5,000 33 1/3 LPs and over 750 compact discs. Most of the recordings contain classical music, but we also have jazz, easy listening, rock, drama, and a variety of others. They are located behind the Circulation Desk (see our floor plans).Recordings are cataloged by composer (major works), artist, and type of music in our online catalog. A search by artist or type of music may be limited in Pilot, our online catalog, to location. Choose "Compact Disc Collection," or "Phonodisc Collection."
Phono records and compact discs may be checked out at the Circulation Desk for a one week loan. Please avoid scratching recordings or subjecting them to extreme heat.
Video Recordings
The Library has over 1000 VHS videotapes (few commercial motion pictures). They are located behind the Circulation Desk (see our floor plans), along with the phonograph records and CDs. They are searchable by title, title keyword, and video number in the Library's Pilot online catalog; full cataloging information will be entered into the catalog as staff time permits. The old author, title, card file originally prepared by Audio Visual Services is located at the Circulation Desk.
Available for 1 week circulation to all patrons with a valid BU ID. Videos are treated like phonograph records and CDs, with fines accruing hourly rather than daily.Items charged out are subject to recall if needed for classroom instruction. Professors may place videos for course use on Reserve as they do books to ensure their availability when needed for viewing during class time.