Books

The university library owns or provides access to academic books written by scholars, works of fiction such as novels or plays, biographies and a small number of university textbooks.

Non-fiction books may be written by a single author or edited by multiple contributors. A single-authored book typically presents a sustained argument, developed progressively across its chapters. An edited book brings together essays by different authors, each examining the same topic from related but distinct perspectives; these chapters can usually be read independently. You may need to consult books to:

• read an extended argument about a topic (single-authored works particularly)
• conduct research on a topic of broad scope
• get context and background
• use the footnotes, endnotes, or bibliography to find additional resources
• in certain disciplines, like history and philosophy, scholars often prefer to publish their findings in books