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English and Creative Writing

Using print books

How to find print books in the Library

Many of the print books in the library collection that are related to Creative Writing and English can be found on level 6 of the Adsetts Library. But you may also need to look in other sections depending on your topic.

When you look up a book in Library Search, the entry will say whether a printed version of the book is available.  The entry in Library Search also tells you whether the book is held at Adsetts or Collegiate Library and the book’s shelfmark.  Shelfmarks are numbers used to organise books in the Library according to their topic. The shelfmark number is located on the spine of each book and the books are arranged in numerical order in the library.  Books that are next to each other on the shelf will be about similar topics.

The signs at the end of each shelf tell you the topics and shelfmark numbers covered by the books on that shelf. 

There will normally be 2 or 3 letters after the shelfmark number on Library Search (e.g. 813.6 JEM). These are usually taken from the author's surname and are used to alphabetically arrange books that have the same shelfmark number. 

Need help with borrowing books?  

You can find out more about borrowing library books here:

Using eBooks

The Library aims to have both digital and print versions of books as we know both formats are important especially when studying away from the University. Unfortunately publishers do not always offer an eBook in a format suitable for library use, or it is not available at the time we order the print version.

How to find eBooks in Library Search

  • Go to Library Online: https://library.shu.ac.uk.
  • Search for your keywords in Library Search - e.g. dystopian fiction.
  • To the left of your search results click on Books / eBooks and Online.
  • Choose a book and follow the link(s) available under Full text availability

Reading eBooks

How you can use an eBook depends on terms and conditions set by the publisher.  In most cases you will be able to choose between reading online and downloading the eBook for a limited period to your own device. When downloaded eBooks expire you can download them again.

Most eBooks can be read by more than one reader at a time but sometimes you may have to wait if another reader is using the book.You can search within individual eBooks, add notes and print or copy a limited number of pages from most eBooks.

Further help with eBooks

If you need further help please take a look at the Library Help guide to eBooks or contact the Library using the links below:

eBook collections for Creative Writing and English

You can use Library Search to discover eBooks for your coursework.  However, you may find it helpful to search specific collections depending on your topic.  Here are some eBook collections that we have in the Library which have content that might be useful to Creative Writing and English students:

Useful shelfmarks for English

African literature
896
American authors
      e.g. Edward Albee
818
818 AlbeeE
American drama
812
American fiction
813
American literature
      1830-1861
      1861-1900
      1900-1945
      1945 onwards 
810
810.3
810.4
810.52
810.54
American literature
811
Children's literature
028.5
Comedy
809.917
Criticism
801.95
Discourse analysis
401.41, 415
English authors
      e.g. Jane Austen
828
828 AustenJ
English drama
822
English fiction
823
English language, history
420.9
English literature
      1558-1625, Elizabethan
      1625-1702
      1702-1745
      1745-1800
      1800-1837, Romantics
      1837-1900, Victorian
      1900-1945
      1945 onwards
820
820.3
820.4
820.5
820.6
820.7
820.8
820.912
820.914
English poetry
821
Gothic fiction, criticism
809.38729, 823.6, 823.7
Grammar
415, 425
Linguistics
410
Literature, Comparative
809
Psycholinguistics
401.9
Romanticism in literature
809.914
Sociolinguistics
306.44, 408
Shakespeare
828 ShakesprW
Theatre
792
Tragedy
809.251
Women and literature
809.89287

Requesting books that are not available from Sheffield Hallam libraries

If you need to access a resource that the library doesn't already have in its collection, then you can use our Document Supply Service. You can use the library's Document Supply Service to request journal articles, books, book chapters, or other resources not available at Sheffield Hallam. The Document Supply Service will then apply to borrow these resources from other libraries, both from within the UK and from around the world.

More information about how to use this service can be found at the following link:

Recommend something for the library

We love books and are always on the look for new publications to support your learning and keep the library up to date with high-quality materials. If you think we're missing something crucial though, we'd like to hear about it. You can let us know using the below form: