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CITC17 Civic Engagement in a Digital Age

This guide will help you with finding resources for the final group project in CITC17.

Getting Started

The University of Toronto Libraries has an extensive collection of books, reports, videos and other resources in its collections that may be useful for City Studies students.

Search for your topic in the library catalogue, or click on one of the subject headings below to get you started:  

Limit To Books at UTSC Library

There are over 40 libraries at the University of Toronto.  You can limit your search to UofT at Scarborough if you only want to see material available at UTSC Library.

Along the left side of the screen, in the Refine Your Search area, look for the box labelled Library. Select UofT at Scarborough from the options. You might have to select "more..." and scroll down to find it.

The total number of items available at a given location is displayed beside the library name. 

 

screenshot showing how to limit search results to materials held at the University of Toronto Scarborough library

Get Books Off the Shelf

Finding the Call Number

When you find a book that you like, check that it is In and write down the call number to find it in the library. The call number represents what the book is about and acts like the book's address on the library's shelves (called stacks).

 

How Call Numbers Work

In the catalogue, the call number is written horizontally, but on the book's spine, it appears vertically. Read the call number from left to right, top to bottom.

Example call number: HQ1381 .U57 2007

  1. To determine which section of the library contains your book, start with the first letter of the call number. At the UTSC Library, books with call numbers beginning with A to JN are on the second floor, and books beginning with JQ to Z are on the first floor. In this example, the book is on the second floor.
    1. To find where the books are held on each floor, check out the UTSC Library's floor plans. 
  2. As you're walking through the shelves, remember that call numbers beginning with a single letter come before call numbers with a second letter (e.g. H before HQ).
  3. Once you're in the correct area for your call number's letter (in this example, HQ), the books are in number order. For example, HQ1381 comes after HQ1371, and before HQ1386.
  4. The next part of the call number is read like decimals. For example, HQ1381 .U57 is before HQ1381 .V35.
  5. Many books also include a year of publication. This helps you choose the right edition from the shelf, if there is more than one edition available.