Biosciences and Chemistry

Most print books for Biosciences & Chemistry are based at the Adsetts. Library. You can search for print books using Library Search.

Library Search will tell you which library a book is in and what floor it is on. It will also tell you the shelfmark of a book: there is more about shelfmarks in the next box on this page.

You can borrow most print books using your SHUcard and the simple self-service machines at either library, which are available 24 hours a day. You can put in request for books which other people have borrowed or which are at the other campus library.

Shelfmarks are used to organise and order the books on the shelves. A book will have its shelfmark on its spine, or on its cover if that is not possible. The shelves in the library will have signs at the end telling you which shelfmarks which are on those shelves

A shelfmark has two parts:

• A number code, which describes the subject area. Books on the same subject have the same number and will be together on the shelves. There is a number sequence 001 to 999 which runs through each library.
• A few letters, taken from the start of that book's title or the family name of its author. These appears after the number.

An example of a shelfmark might be: 370.152 COT, which is for a book on the subject of academic skills, written by an author with the family name Cottrell.

Books are organised by number order first, and then in alphabetical order of the letters on the books that share a number. So you need to remember or copy both parts to find the book.

It is possible for multiple books to occasionally share the same shelfmark, so make sure that you have the right title and edition when you find the book. 

Some useful shelfmark subject numbers for Biosciences & Chemistry are:

• Subject                     Shelfmark
• Analytical Chemistry  543
• Biochemistry              572
• Bioethics                    346.044
• Cell Biology                571.6
• Drug Development     615.9
• Forensics                   363.25
• Genetics                     576.5
• Haematology              616.15
• Human Anatomy         612
• Immunology                571.6 & 616.079
• Inorganic Chemistry   546
• Microbiology               579
• Organic Chemistry      547
• Pathology                    616.07
• Pharmacology             615
• Physical Chemistry     541 & 543
• Plant Physiology         571.2
• Toxicology                   614.013 & 615.9
• Virology                       579.2 & 616.9101

In this section, we are going to show you to engage with your reading

You need to understand the basics of a subject before you can get into the more challenging literature. Thinking of reading like a muscle! You need to use it every day to build up your scientific knowledge.

We wouldn't attempt a 10mile run without building up to the process! The same can be said about academic reading!

Learn the basics and move up to the specialist content otherwise the reading process can be much harder and painful! Like that 10mile run if you have not managed to run a mile yet!

Step 1: Take a look at your modules Reading List Online (RLO)

You can find each module RLO on the homepage of your module site in Blackboard. Below you can see examples of essential books listed on the RLO for the first year module: Professional Skills and Practice.

Step 2: Take a look in introductory or background books

A good place to begin is the 'Very Short Introductions' series by Oxford University Press. The series covers a range of science subjects from viruses to organic chemistry, genomics, patents and much more!

Here we have moved from introductory books and narrowed down to the subject of ethics.

Step 3: Take a look in the specialist books 

When you have built up your scientific knowledge and feel confident with the basics... then it's time to move on to more specialist books. These books may expect the reader to have existing knowledge or understanding in this area.

Here we have narrowed down to bioethics, gene editing and crispr.

Step 4: Move from books to journal review articles or primary articles

You may now have sufficient scientific understanding and be comfortable with the language and terminology of a topic to move into potentially more challenging literature like journal articles that focus on a specific area of the topic.

When moving into journal article reading, begin with a review article (secondary literature) to give you an overview of the area of study and then move onto reading research articles (primary literature).

Here are two review article from two journals by different authors about gene editing.

Do not worry if there are new concepts or information covered in the journal articles as articles may be written for readers with different levels of expertise or subject knowledge.

If there is something that is not clear in the journal article, go back to textbooks to find out more about a specific topic e.g. gene editing, crispr or look up the idea, theory, process or concept in AccessScience.

Ethical decisions are part of life!

Here are a range of resources to help you explore ethical issues related to the sciences from chemist to biologist.

Books related to responsible research practices:

Take a look here for themed collections of books from a range of publishers.

Many of the books within the series relate to Bioscience and Chemistry and can provide background information in a familiar style and format.

The 30 second series from Ivy Press.

The Fundamentals of Biomedical Sciences series from Oxford University Press

The Clinical Handbooks from the Oxford Handbook range.

We have lots of different books covering organic, inorganic, physical and analytical chemistry.

You will need to use Library Search to find the full range of the collection. Here are a few examples that you may like to take a look at:

Being able to quickly find reliable and accurate information is often a requirement of assignments!

Here are a few examples of reference works and manuals relevant to Bioscience and Chemistry.

The Library has a range of books related to quality assurance and good laboratory practice.

Here are a few examples that you may like to take a look at:

Many books will be available as ebooks. These are web-based and can be access remotely online: unlike some ebooks you may have used before,  these are not fixed to a single device.

You can find ebooks by using Library Search

There are also some special ebook collections and resources for Biosciences & Chemistry. We have more details about them in the boxes below.

While we try to get versions which give you the maximum possible freedom, there can occasionally be some restrictions on what you can do with particular ebooks, such as a limit to the number of people who can read them at once.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information bookshelf includes a range of eBooks relating to the study of biosciences.

You can search and read the content of these books but some content may not be browsable.

Sometimes there may be a book which you want that isn't stocked in the Hallam libraries. However, it is usually possible to request books from other libraries using the Document Supply Service. 

If you think it would be a benefit for a book to be permanently added to the library, you can request us to buy a copy. Unfortunately, we can't promise to be able to fulfil every purchase request: so if you just need a book for your own work, a Document Supply request is usually the best option.

The curated reading lists are intended for personal rather than academic use. They are designed to help you discover books in the library which can support you in your student life. They have been created by the Library in collaboration with the Hallam staff networks, the Students Union, and the Student Wellbeing Service.