Books & eBooks
The Library’s collection includes both academic eBooks and other fiction and non-fiction eBooks available through the Libby platform. All academic eBooks will appear in your search results in the Library Catalogue. Those available through Libby are also in our Catalogue but can also be searched separately through the Libby platform, which you also need in order to access these titles.
Most biographical material is classified within the Biography shelfmark and located on Floors 3 and 4 of the Central Stack.
Exceptions to this are:
- Popes: biographical works on Popes, including autobiographical works, can be found in H. Papacy in alphabetical order of author.
- Monarchs and consorts: biographical works on English monarchs and consorts can be found in H. England, Kings &c., in alphabetical order by name, and within this by reign or in the general H. England sequence by name. Other monarchs and consorts can be found in the general History sequence, usually within their own subject heading, e.g. works on Napoleon I will be found in H. Napoleon I and works on Josephine will be found in H. Josephine, Empress of the French.
- Art and Literature: if a work covering an individual or group contains a significant amount of work by the subject/s then this may be classified with the subject’s work in Art or Literature, rather than Biography.
- The Four Great Exceptions: All works by or about Dante; Goethe, Voltaire & Shakespeare, including biographical work can be found in Literature.
- Dante - biographical work on Dante can be found in author order under L. Italian Lit., Dante.
- Goethe - biographical work on Goethe can be found in author order under L. German Lit., Goethe.
- Voltaire - biographical work on Voltaire can be found in author order under L. French Lit., Voltaire.
- Shakespeare - biographical work on Shakespeare can be found in author order under L. English Lit., Shakespeare.
If you are looking for material about a specific person or family, it may be useful to consider different forms of name, titles and for married women if they were known by this or their maiden name.