Library Induction: Finding your readings

• A reading list is provided for most units and it features books and journal articles recommended by your lecturers to help  support your studies. Sometimes the lists are called 'Library Lists'. You can find each list within the Moodle page for the relevant unit. Search Moodle for the unit title/code.
   
• The list may define some readings as essential, core or key - it's important to try to prioritise these. However, to demonstrate a broader and deeper understanding of a topic, it's advisable to also read at least some of the other readings listed. Some lists include links to any online readings, but if not, search for these using the Library Catalogue (accessible both on and off-campus).

You need to know the shelf location for the item that you want. Our understanding Library shelf numbers guide will help you. 

Transcripts of the videos are available to read. 

Transcripts of the videos are available to read.

You can borrow up to 30 books at a time. The vast majority of journals are available to read online via the Library Catalogue, but print journals are for reference-use in the Library and can't be borrowed.

• Guide to borrowing, returning, renewing and reserving books

If you'd like a copy of a journal article or book chapter from our print collection, please request this using our Bath Copies service. A scanned copy is then sent to your University of Bath email account but we can't scan books that are out on loan. 

• You're likely to get higher marks if you don't just rely on your lecturer's reading lists. To search independently for further books, journal articles, conference papers and other items, you can search the Library Catalogue. However, it's best to also search at least one or two library databases as these index wide ranges of quality literature (and they're accessible anywhere in the world).
   
• To access the library databases, refer to resources for your subject. To search them effectively, refer to how to do a literature search. If you use Google Scholar, it's advisable to also search library databases as these enable more precise searching.

When researching a topic, you may find out about items that are not held in our Library collection.

You may be able to obtain these from another library by using our Inter-Library Loans service.