General Collection (3rd & 4th floors)

The General Collection is the main circulating collection of the library with over 300,000 volumes. Books are checked out at the Circulation/Access Services Desk on the first floor. The General Collection uses the Library of Congress classification system:

• Call numbers beginning with "A" through "N" are on the Third Floor
• Call numbers beginning with "P" through "Z" are on the Fourth Floor

(View all floor plans here)

Oversize Books

Oversize books (those over 29 centimeters in height or 25 cm. in width) are shelved separately to maximize shelving and are designated as such in our catalog, for example, Get It: Harvey A. Andruss Call Number: General Collection OVERSIZE, 4th Floor, etc.. Oversize General Collection books are shelved after the normal size books on the Fourth Floor (see our floor plans).

Borrowing

Books from the General Collection may be borrowed for 6 weeks by BU students and by patrons with Pennsylvania Resident Borrower's cards. To obtain a PA Resident Borrower's Card, ask for an application at the first floor Access Services desk.

Ebooks

In addition to print (hard copy) books, the Library also provides access to several large ebook collections, accessible here.

Juvenile / Young Adult Collection (2nd floor)

The Juvenile / Young Adult Collection contains fiction and non-fiction books written for a wide range of readers, from beginners through high school, appealing to both children and young adults. The collection includes all of the Caldecott and Newbery Award winning titles, as well as many other award-winners. 

Originally the library for the teacher training school (formerly housed in the Ben Franklin building), the collection continues to use the Dewey Decimal classification common to most school and public libraries. Books are shelved in either non-fiction or fiction sections as they are in school and public libraries. Oversize books are shelved at the end of the Juvenile / Young Adult Collection.

Borrowing

• Books in the Juvenile / Young Adult Collection are shelved on the second floor and may be checked out at the Circulation Desk for 6 weeks.

Curriculum Collection (2nd floor)

The Curriculum Collection supports the faculty and students of the College of Education and addresses the specific needs of future teachers. The collection is comprised of educational methodology books, K-12th grade textbooks, big books, curriculum guides, audio-visual curriculum materials, and educational software. All of these materials can be searched in the online catalog, BU Books & More. The location of these materials is designated as Harvey A. Andruss Call Number: Curriculum Collection, etc., and call numbers on the spines of the books begin with "Cur" . These books are classified using Library of Congress Classification System. Oversize curriculum books are shelved at the end of the Curriculum Collection.

Borrowing

• Books in this collection are shelved on the second floor, next to the Juvenile & Young Adult Collection (see floor plans), and they may be checked out for 6 weeks.
• Educational videos and software are shelved behind the Circulation Desk on the first floor. They circulate for fourteen (14) days.

Microform (Newspaper) Collections (1st floor)

What is this? Andruss Library has a large collection of microforms, including microfilm, microfiche, or microprint (see below for definitions), located on the 1st floor. Most of these collections consist of monograph sets or closed serial sets with older, back issues of periodicals and newspapers (not online). To identify specific microforms, search the Microform Sets Database or the Newspaper Holdings Database separately. 

How do I use microforms? Students, faculty, staff, and members of the local community are welcome to come into the Library and use the microform collections. Newer microfilm scanners allow you to save pages to a USB drive or to email to yourself at no charge. Printing from the older Reader/Printer machines is also available for $.10/page. Ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk.

Find specific microforms/microfilm using these two separate databases, both of which contain onlly records, not full-text:

• Microform Sets Database - identify titles and accession numbers of microform sets (also searchable below)
• Newspaper Holdings Database - identify titles, dates, and locations for print or microform newspapers (also searchable below)
  NOTE: This database contains records of newspapers in paper copy or microform (microfilm or microfiche), not online full-text. For online full-text newspapers use the library's A-Z Databases: Newspaper page.

More about Andruss Library newspapers. The Library subscribes to over 30 current print newspapers, shelved near the Circulation Desk on the 1st floor, and many older print newspaper back issues are available in microfilm, also on the 1st floor. The Library also provides access to hundreds more newspapers electronically through its A-Z Databases: Newspaper page. The following chart explains what is available:

More about Microforms. Microforms are an older technology, using reduced photographic images of pages used to archive materials. Microfilm and microfiche were the two most popular archival media of the 20th century. Microform readers or reader/printers must be used to magnify the text to read/print, and these are also located on the 1st floor.

Microform Sets Database
Search By Keyword

Display All Records

Newspaper Holdings Database
Search By Keyword

Display All Records

Movies / Media Collections (1st floor)

Periodical Collections (2nd & 4th floors)

Periodicals are items published periodically, or serially, like journals, newspapers, and magazines. In general, journals/newspapers/ magazines are an excellent source for more current information than books. The library provides electronic access to over 75,000 electronic journals/newspapers/magazines and subscribes to approximately 300 print journals/newspapers/magazines.

Use >>Publication Finder<< to view a list of all journals/newspapers/magazines available at BU

*IF THE JOURNAL IS IN PRINT (hard copy) --> then Publication Finder displays a BloomU Print Journals link to the library catalog (BU Books & More), which links to  information about the Library's print holdings (the volumes/issues available and the Collection in which it's shelved). 

Print periodicals cannot be checked out. You may scan, photocopy, or print desired articles. Ask at the Circulation Desk for assistance.

*IF THE JOURNAL IS ELECTRONIC (full-text online) --> then Publication Finder displays link(s) to the full-text online journal(s) and/or database(s) with dates available, which connect to the journal.

TIPS: If searching for articles in journals, use library databases, NOT Publication Finder or BU Books & More (library catalog). Publication Finder is just a list of journals, and the catalog will only tell you if the Library subscribes to a journal, not what's in it. If questions, ask a librarian.

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Popular Reading Collection (1st floor)

The library maintains a small collection of "fun" reading books, including Young Adult, mystery, fantasy, romance, thriller, and light nonfiction books.  These books are located on two double-sided, free-standing shelves near the Circulation Desk on the first floor.  Books are arranged by the author's last name.

Borrowing

Popular Reading books can be checked out at the Circulation Desk for 6 weeks. 

Ebooks

The Library also provides access to several large ebook collections, accessible here. The following two collections have more recent books:

Reference Collection (2nd floor)

The Library has both electronic and print reference books, like encyclopedias, dictionaries, compendia of statistics, collections of quotations, indexes, etc. The reference collections are a great place to find facts and start your research.

• Electronic reference books - many are listed on the Encyclopedias, etc. web page and in BU Books & More, the Library catalog. When searching the catalog, limit search to Full Text Online and Books and click on View It to link to the book.
   
• Print reference books - search BU Books & More to find. Limit by Available in Library, and under Location select Reference Collection, noting the call number. The Reference Location is on the 2nd floor. Some special types of reference books include:
  • Atlases and Maps - Because of size and shape, many geographical atlases and all maps are not shelved in the Reference Collection but near it (see floor plans). These include:
    • ATLASES - Oversized geographical atlases are on wall shelves in the corridor near the beginning of the Reference Collection on the Second Floor. The other geographical atlases are found in the "G's" in the main Reference Collection.
    • MAPS - The cataloged maps are in a map case across from the atlas shelves on the Second Floor.  
  • Indexes and Abstracts - Indexes and Abstracts are used to identify articles published in journals/magazines/ newspapers. Our most heavily used indexes are the online databases. The Library also has several indexes in paper copy, located in the Reference Collection (2nd floor) or near the Microfilm Collection (1st floor)

Using Reference Books
Print reference books normally are not checked out. Readers may photocopy or scan pages of short sections of books they wish to read outside the library. Special loans are available for some reference books. Ask at the Circulation Desk for assistance.

Course Reserve (1st floor)

Course Reserve (sometimes called Reserves or Reserve Readings) are materials kept in the Library that professors may require students to read, view, or use for class. Reserves are kept behind the Circulation Desk (see our floor plans) and must be requested by their title and reserve number/call number (if a library book). Reserve materials are usually in high demand and thus may be used only for brief periods of time. Depending upon the professor's instructions, reserve material circulates for varying periods: 2 hours in the Library, 1 day, 3 days, or 7 days.

Use the >>Course Reserve search in BU Books & More << to view a list of materials placed reserve by your professor

Instructions for finding and using course reserve materials

1. Click on the link above to search course reserves in BU Books & More, the Library catalog
2. On this page, select the field for either Course Name, Instructor, or Academic Department and enter the relevant information. Click SEARCH.
3. Under each item, the item's location (Main Circulation Desk) and the call number will be listed. The call number will be either an "X" number (e.g., X 1693) or a call number if the item is one of the library's books.
4. Note the number and ask for the reading by the number at the Circulation Desk, presenting your BU ID card to check it out.
5. Be sure to return the item promptly when due as others may be waiting for it, and overdue fines are $1.00 / hour for reserves. You may photocopy or scan the pages you need. Ask at the Circulation Desk if questions.