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Biological Science: Books/E-Books

Why use books?

Photo showing books on the shelves in the McFarlin Library bookstacks.

Benefits of Books:

  • Identify significant concepts in the field.
  • Explain terminology used by professionals.
  • Provide breadth and depth that short articles cannot.
  • Good starting place for most research projects.
  • Include extensive bibliographies to help identify relevant materials for further research.

 

Books vs. Journal Articles:

  • Books provide comprehensive coverage of a topic.
  • They place the topic within its broader context within the discipline.
  • Books offer detailed information on the topic itself.

How do I find a book I need?

Print Books: The area in which the print books are shelved (often called the bookstacks or stacks) is located in the West Wing of McFarlin Library. With the exception of the Lower Level, which is closed due to flood damage, the bookstacks are open to the public and you are free to browse them.

The library also offers a retrieval service.  If you find a book you want, you may submit an online request for a book (or books). You'll be notified when the book is ready for you to come to the library for pick up at the Plaza Level Check-out Desk.

Bookstacks on the Main Level of McFarlin Library

E-books: McFarlin has a substantial collection of electronic books.  These are available online, 24/7.  You will need to be a currently enrolled student in order to check these out.  Many of these are on the ProQuest research database platform.  ProQuest has an online help website devoted to providing support for users of these ebooks.  Or you may contact the research librarians if you need assistance.

Location on Shelves

McFarlin uses the Library of Congress Classification System instead of the Dewey Decimal System. While the Dewey Decimal System uses numbers only, the Library of Congress System uses both letters and numbers, such as A78 .B45 2024. The first sets of letters and numbers are the location on the shelf while the last set of numbers is the publication date. Subjects are grouped together by letters.

Biology books are classified under QH.

TU Libraries Quick Search

Search the library for books, ebooks, journal articles, DVDs, and other materials you need.

McFarlin Library's Ebooks

McFarlin Library provides you with access to a large number of ebook (electronic book) collections.  These include reference (quick information) books, classic literature, academic/scholarly publications, fiction, biographies, and more. 

Some ebooks are from free collections, such as Project Gutenberg or ManyBooks.  These are generally works in the public domain, usually published before 1928, and have few if any restrictions on their use.

Search ALL McFarlin E-books by title:

   


The library pays for access to other collections, such as ProQuest's Ebook Central.
 

Ebook Central

 

ProQuest's Ebook Central has over 200,000 academic ebooks from a variety of publishers on a wide range of topics and disciplines.  You may read the ebooks in your browser or check them out and download them for offline reading on your laptop, tablet or phone (iOS or Android).

HINT: To search for an exact title, enclose the title in quotation marks: for example, "Diplomat in Carpet Slippers"

If you need assistance in using the ProQuest ebooks, please consult ProQuest's Ebook Central LibGuide which provides detailed instructions, including tutorials on using the online reader and how to download ebooks.  You may also contact the McFarlin Library Research Dept.  The librarians will be happy to help!

Find More Books

Can't find what you need at McFarlin? Use these resources to locate books that may be available online or from other libraries. If you find a book you want:

  1. Check Discovery to be sure McFarlin doesn't have it
  2. Then go to the Interlibrary Loan Department and request a copy