Books
When writing and presenting information for your assignments you need to use academic sources to provide evidence for, and back up, what you are writing about. Books can be a great academic source to use and a good starting point for research! For some assignments you might use books as your main information source whereas for other assignments, and depending on the topic, you might have to use a mixture of information sources such as journals, newspapers and websites.
Advantages of Academic Books
Disadvantages of Academic Books
Your school or college library should be your first port of call for finding print books on your topic. You can also check with your local public library but be aware that in most cases you will need to be a member of the library to borrow books and also to access their online resources. Most libraries have an online catalogue which you can search to find out what items are in stock.
If you are visiting any of the university libraries, as part of an arranged visit with your school, you can use our discovery platform, Library Search to search for printed books. You can access Library Search in the Library on stand-alone PCs or online via the Library's website. When you search on Library Search you might find books, eBooks, journals, articles and media sources in your results list but you can use the filters to just display books.
If you are looking for a specific book, it is best to search by Author (just the surname) and just a few words from the book title. Or you can use a few topic keywords, e.g. sport and nutrition, if you want to find out what we have in stock for your topic.
Have a look at the Finding Books Using Library Search video to find out more.
Library Search will tell you where the book is on the shelf (called the shelfmark number), the number of copies we have and the date any items currently on loan will be due back in the Library. It will also inform you of what campus the book is located at.
Have a look at the video below to find out how to find a book on the shelves.
If you are an FE student studying at our Buxton and Leek College you will be able to borrow up to 15 print books at a time.
What are eBooks?
eBooks are basically digital versions of print books that can be accessed and read online. You can often download the whole book, or parts of the book, for a limited time. A really useful feature of eBooks is that you can easily search them for specific content or topics.
Where to access eBooks?
Due to subscription and licensing restrictions, eBooks at university libraries can only be used by students studying at that institution. However, your school or college library may have access to eBooks for your subject or course so check there first. Local public libraries usually have an eLibrary service which will include eBooks but also eMagazines, eNewspapers and eAudiobooks. Be aware, that in most cases you will need to be a member of the library to access their online resources. If you live within the Derby or Derbyshire areas, you can use the links below to find out more information.
Derby Libraries eLibrary Service
Derbyshire Libraries eLibrary Service
There are also a number of free eBook collections which are available via Open Access. Have a look at the Open Access section in the left-hand menu for further details.
If you are an FE student studying at our Buxton and Leek College you will have access to thousands of eBooks, available via our Library Search discovery platform. You can find out more on your subject guide.