Getting Started With Discover

Call numbers and how they work

Call numbers are how you find materials in our physical collections.

For physical items like the book pictured below, Discover will include information that tells you

• 1 if an item is available on the shelves or checked out
• 2 how it's available (Standard Loan means it can be checked out, Non-circulating would mean it has to be used in the building)
• 3 where in the library it can be found, and
• 4 the call number for the item

How they work

All print copies of books in the library are assigned a call number, usually found on the book spine (or sometimes on the front of the book if there's not enough space on the spine).

The call number represents what the book is about and acts like the book's address on the library's shelves, which, when shelves are gathered together, are called stacks. Because books on the shelves are arranged in call number order, you will find books on similar subjects shelved near each other.

At Mount Holyoke library, we use the Library of Congress (LC) classification system. LC call numbers are made up of letters and numbers and look something like this:

Finding your book once you have a call number

There's a map for that!

There are print floor maps and copies of the stacks directory posted on every floor of the Williston (or main) library building to help you find your way around the building.  The stacks directory is particularly useful for figuring out which call numbers are available on which floors. You can also find an online version of the floor maps and stack directory on the LITS homepage under the Places menu:

Steps for using the call number to find a book on the shelf

1. Start with finding the first letters of your call number. For the example above, call numbers starting with P can be found on in the South Stacks on library South levels 5-7
2. Call numbers beginning with a single letter come before call numbers with a second letter, e.g.: P before PA, then PB, PC, and so on until PS
3. Once you are in the correct letter area (in this example, PS is on South levels 6 and 7), the books are in number order, e.g.: PS 3552 comes after PS 30 and before PS 4500 and you can narrow the book's location further to South level 7 where books with call numbers in the range PS3500-PT are shelved
4. The next part of the call number is read like decimals, e.g.:  PS 3552.U827  comes before    PS3552.U9 
5. Many books also include the year of publication. In this example it is 2000. This will help you find the right edition, if there is more than one.

Requesting a book

Mount Holyoke students, faculty, and staff can borrow print books from any of the Five College libraries, not just Mount Holyoke. And you don't have to visit another campus to do so!

When searching Discover, if you find a book you'd like to borrow that's available at one of the other colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Smith, or UMass), click on the Discover record's Place request button:

You'll be prompted to Sign In using your Mount Holyoke username and password. When the Place request window appears, 1 Choose a pickup location (MH Main Library will get it delivered to our campus) then 2 click on Place request:

You'll receive email notification when the book has arrived at the library (usually in 1-2 weekdays) and you can pick it up at the library's Circulation Desk.

You can use Place Request for Mount Holyoke library books too

If for any reason you're unable to manage getting around the library stacks, you can use Discover's Place request feature to request books from the MHC library be brought to the Circulation Desk for you to pick up from there.