Our catalog lists books (including eBooks), CDs, DVDs, journal titles (but not individual articles within journals), government documents, and microforms. If you are not sure how to search for materials in the catalog, see the Search Strategies below or contact us.
Need to know how to find it on the shelf? Try this: Track Down Your Book .
Didn’t find anything useful? Try the OhioLINK catalog. And don’t forget the SearchOhio link on the OhioLINK catalog as a way to expand your search. Remember that OneSource searches everything the library has access to.
Need to find still more? Try WorldCat and/or Google Books.
Search strategies for finding materials in our Catalog
Keyword Searching
This search looks for matching documents that contain one or more words specified by the you anywhere in the catalog. It is good for finding the largest possible return. However it can also result in materials that have nothing to do with your subject.
Subject Searching
In the library catalog, select "Subject" in the drop down box to the left of the search field, then type in the box: Baseball (or, more specialized terms, such as: planetary motion; armadillo diseases; etc.).
The "*" is a truncation symbol that will retrieve various forms of each word, for example, use regulat* to find results like regulation, regulatory, regulators. The "and" will require that both terms appear, but not necessarily in the same phrase.
Title or Author Searches
In the library catalog, choose "Title" to locate a specific work or, choose "Author" to find books written by a particular author.
Material Type (book, eBook, etc.)
Select a material type from the dropdown to limit to a Book (physical item), eBook (digital item), musical recording, map, and more.
Collection:
Select the Collection limiter to reduce your results to a particular part of the library, such as the film collection, juvenile collection, or government documents. Since the Government Documents collection is so large, it can sometimes overwhelm your results. Use the "All Collections Except Gov Docs" limiter to remove them from your search.
Find Books in the Juvenile Collection (2nd floor)
How it is Arranged?
The Juvenile Collection (also known as the Kids Books or the Children’s Collection) is actually four collections in one. What they have in common is:
The four collections are called:
Juvenile, which is the location given in the brief catalog record below:
| LOCATION | CALL # | STATUS |
| JUVENILE | 597.89 Jen | AVAILABLE |
The Juvenile collection contains non-fiction books, such a books about animals, biographies, as well as counting books and alphabet books. It is arranged by Dewey Decimal call numbers.
Juvenile Fiction, which is the location given in the brief catalog record below:
| LOCATION | CALL # | STATUS |
| JUVENILE FICTION | JF Se81b 2011 | AVAILABLE |
Juvenile Fiction contains beginning to read, middle grade, and young adult fiction. It is arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name.
Picture books (call number begins with PB) contains picture books and are arranged alphabetically by the author's last name.
Board books (call number begins with BB) are books with thick, cardboard pages, typically for younger children. They are arranged alphabetically by the author's last name and stored in bins below the picture books.
How Do I Find Juvenile Books in the Online Catalog?
There are three tricks to finding fiction books (and sometimes non-fiction books) using the catalog. Let’s suppose you are looking for books on frogs. Here are two ways to find juvenile books on frogs:
From the Keyword search screen, click “Limit your search (optional)” and then select Hiram from the location list. The other search screens (title, author, subject) have the location limiter already visible.
Or, once you have a search result, you can limit to Hiram by selecting Hiram from the location dropdown.
Your search of the online catalog of Books, CDs, and DVDs in the Hiram College Library has led you to the following. How do you find it on the shelf? How do you know if it is an eBook or a print book?
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| LOCATION | CALL # | STATUS | ||||||||
| HIRAM Main Collection | 320.1 Toc-K 2010 | AVAILABLE | ||||||||
Dewey Decimal Classification
The main Dewey Decimal classes are:
000 Generalities
100 Philosophy and psychology
200 Religion
300 Social Sciences
400 Language
500 Natural sciences and mathematics
600 Technology (Applied sciences)
700 The arts (fine and decorative)
800 Literature and rhetoric
900 Geography and history
Each class is further subdivided at the hundred divisions and the thousand sections. Numbers are placed after a decimal point to further identify material more specifically by subject.
The following table below will help with the most frequent locations.
On every entry in the Hiram College Library catalog you will find a section below the Title that looks like this:
LOCATION entry tells you where the item is located physically in the building.
Table of Locations
| Location | Call Number | Arranged by | Floor |
| Main Collection | 0 through 799.99999999 | Dewey Call Number | 2nd floor |
| Main Collection | 800 through 999.999999 | Dewey Call Number | 3rd floor |
| Fiction | Call numbers start with "F" | Alphabetically by Author | 4th floor (Clock Tower) |
| Music Scores | All call numbers | Dewey Call Number | 2nd floor |
| CD Collection | Call numbers start with musical genre | Genre then composer or artist | Lower Level Chamberlain Room |
| Film Collection | 0 through 999.9999999 | Dewey Call Number | Lower Level Chamberlain Room |
| Film Collection | Call numbers start with "Feature Film" | Alphabetically by Title | Lower Level Chamberlain Room |
| Juvenile Nonfiction | 0 through 999.9999999 | Dewey Call Number | 2nd floor |
| Juvenile Fiction | Call numbers start with "JF" | Alphabetically by Author | 2nd floor |
| Picture Books | Call numbers start with "PB" | Alphabetically by Author | 2nd floor |
| Board Books | Call numbers start with "BB" | Alphabetically by Author | 2nd floor |
| Oversize | Call numbers start with a "Q" | Dewey Call Number | 2nd floor |
| Folio | Call numbers start with "Folio" | Dewey Call Number | 2nd floor |
| Government Documents | Call numbers start with an abbreviation of the agency that produced the document | SuDocs system | 3rd floor |
The following table below will help with the most frequent locations.
On every entry in the Hiram College Library catalog you will find a section below the Title that looks like this:
STATUS entry tells you if it is on the shelf or not and if not, why.
Table of Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
| Available | Should be on Shelf. If you cannot find the item, please ask us! |
| Due (followed by a date) | Checked out and is due back on date given. You may borrow a copy through OhioLINK, if a copy is available. |
| Due (followed by a date) Off Campus | Checked out to an OhioLINK borrower and due on the date given. You may borrow a copy through OhioLINK, if a copy is available. |
| New Book Shelf | May be found on the New Book Shelf on the main floor and may be checked out. |
| Missing |
Book cannot be found. You may borrow a copy through OhioLINK, if a copy is available. |
| In Repair | Book is damaged and waiting to be repaired. You may borrow a copy through OhioLINK, if a copy is available. |
| Lib Use Only | Should be on the shelf. May not be checked out, but may be used in the library. |
| Use Online | An Internet resource that you may use online. Check the full record for the link to the item or click "View Online." |
| In Process | The book has been ordered. It may not have arrived yet, or it may be waiting for its labels and stickers before it goes on the shelf. If you have an urgent need for a title "In Process," contact library@hiram.edu with the book's full title and author. |
What if the book is checked out?
What if the book has a link instead of a call number?
If you see “Electronic Resource” or "View Online" instead of a call number, click on the title to open the record and then click the link to view the item.
What if the Library Catalog does not list the book I need?
Please check OhioLink and/or SearchOhio. You can request books yourself with your Hiram College ID, and they will be delivered to our library. If that does not work, fill out the InterLibrary Loan Form or ask us to consider purchasing it for the library by emailing us at library@hiram.edu
Find a Physical Book
Find an Ebook
Borrow from Other Libraries
You can request books from academic and public libraries across the state of Ohio and have them sent right here to Hiram at no cost to you by using OhioLINK and SearchOhio!
