Book Publishing and Cataloging
There are lots of books being published out there for the "academic" market. See data below, from this source.
W&L libraries and most other academic libraries in the U.S. arrange most of their materials on the shelves according to the Library of Congress (LC) Classification System. See this official outline of the LC system. And below is an example of a book with LC information on the back of the title page.
Identifying and Evaluating Books
Consider the Publisher of the Book
Some book publishers are more highly-regarded in academia than others. See this page.
Consider the Author of the Book
What else has he/she written?
Consider Which (Academic) Libraries Purchased the Book
The WorldCat database contains the holdings of hundreds of library catalogs -- books, DVD's, digital materials, etc. W&L researchers have access to two forms of the WorldCat database:
- This free version
- A more sophisticated form.
Find Books at Washington and Lee
The catalog listing of books available through W&L libraries is now embedded within the "Search Primo" option on the University Library homepage. You can search this database to discover printed books in W&L library collections, online books W&L has purchased, and other online books to which we have access.
- Most simple searches can be handled with the 'basic" search.
- More complex searches are possible via Advanced Search.
Searching for a Topic
The default search is to search for keywords -- words which appear anywhere in descriptions of books (titles, contents, designated subject terms, etc.). The "Advanced Search" option (linked above) enables you to specify words in titles or subject headings.
What About E-Books?
W&L provides access to online books from various distributors, some of which are:
Massive Digital Libraries (MDL)
Here are major projects to digitize and make available "all" books, along with a good overview article (2013).
- Sabin Americana
- Google Books (See also Ngram.)
- HathiTrust (contents by date) Includes U.S. Federal Government publications.
- Internet Archive
Remember: LOCKSS. Cautionary tale from movie Rollerball.
Eminent English-Language Dictionaries
This fascinating article from the Chronicle of Higher Education, "In the Digital Era, Our Dictionaries Read Us," addresses more modern issues.
And scholars and professionals in journalism and mass communications devote a lot of thought to dictionaries and the use of language. For example, search for the word dictionaries in W&L's Professional Journalism Resources guide.
- Merriam-Webster Unabridged This link opens in a new window
Likely the preeminent source for definitions of words in the contemporary American English language. Orginally based on the landmark Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, but in a constant state of revision and updating, with fascinating features on new meanings and popular searches. Includes lists of most popular words.
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
The OED is the accepted authority on the history of words in the English language. It is the most important guide to the meaning and history of over a half-million words, both past and present, tracing the meanings of these words through the use of over 2.5 million quotations, drawn from a wide range of sources. Quarterly updates include at least 1,000 new and revised entries. The W&L library also has printed copies of the 1st and 2nd editions.