Sociology and Politics

Most print books for Politics and Sociology 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 Politics and Sociology are:

• Subject                                 Shelfmark
• British Politics                            324.941
• Internal Relations                       327
• Political Theory                           320.01
• Social Problems & Welfare         361
• Social Processes                        303
• Sociological Theory                    301.01
• Sociology & Anthropology           301

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 Politics and Sociology. 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.

Most of the eBooks we provide are discoverable by searching Library Search, but it is also possible to search some  the eBook collections directly.  Below are some individual collections that might be of interest.

The Library has a range of eBook collections. You can search Library Search to find eBooks about many different subjects and that approach may be quicker than searching individual collections. You can also browse or search with the collections directly.

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.