Media: Books and E-books
Image Credit: BCU Assets
Books are an excellent way to broaden your knowledge or start researching a subject. There are multiple ways to find and get relevant books:
- Online resource lists prepared by your lecturers and librarians.
- The Library Search box on every page of the library website to search for books and e-books by title, author or keyword.
- Browse the shelves by shelfmark for inspiration or browse our digital collections.
The library also has resources and services in case you can't find a book.
Resource Lists
Resource Lists provides access to reading lists for your modules. You can search for lists using the module code, name, or your lecturer's name.
Individual items on the lists will take you directly to Library Search or to the full text for e-books and e-journals.
If you can't find your reading list, talk to your module leader or contact us at Library Chat.
Accessing Resource Lists (video)
If you can't find a book
Learn new search techniques
The Birmingham City University Library Search is available on every page of the library website.
Learn how to refine your search results, check an item's availability, discover related resources and build advanced search queries.
You can also book a tutorial with your subject specialist librarian, Chloe Smith, who can help you develop an effective search strategy.
When an item is not in stock
There are many options available to you when a book is not in stock:
- Reserve a book that is already loaned.
- If you found a book held by another library, you can request an inter-library loan.
- And finally, you may also suggest a book for purchase.
Browsing
Looking for other books on the real or virtual shelves is another way to discover interesting titles. Look for the shelfmarks corresponding to related topics. Online you can browse and search the e-book collections BCU has subscribed.
You can also browse our curated digital collections on national and global initiatives, as well as collections by BCU authors and collections for researchers.