Circulating Books

Printed books you can borrow from the Brooklyn College Library are called circulating books and arranged by Library of Congress call numbers. Circulating books that cover Latin America are primarily shelved on the second floor of the Library in the call number range F1201-3799. This, though, is not the entire extent of the collection of books that cover topics in PRLS. A book on the Puerto Rican economy, for example, or a book on politics in Chile will be shelved somewhere in the H range, also on the second floor. Books of poetry by Dominican poets, though, will be on the third floor shelved in the PQ range. Consequently, because studying within PRLS is an interdisciplinary endeavor, it is best to use the OneSearch system to find specific titles and find their exact location in the library by using their call number. For further explanation of Library of Congress call numbers, see this video provided by another college library.

Reference Books

The majority of the reference books for PRLS are now available electronically. Nonetheless, any printed reference books in the subject area will appear in OneSearch and be available on the shelves on the first floor of the library opposite the reference desk. The call number system used is the same system used for circulating books. More information about electronic reference books the Brooklyn College Library provides is available in the "Learning About a Topic" section of this guide. 

Reserves

• Students are able to access items that professors have placed on reserve.

Many professors request that heavily used materials (such as required readings or class assignments) be placed on reserve for their classes. The Reserve collection also includes items kept on permanent reserve because of their continuous high demand. The Reserve collection is located to the left of the guard's desk when you first enter the Brooklyn College Library.

Also, some professors place items on E-Reserve, allowing 24/7 access to required materials via Blackboard.

• Instructors are able to place items on reserve to ensure access to material.

To place an item on on-site reserves, the instructor must first complete an on-site Reserves Materials List Form. Books not already owned by the Brooklyn College Library should be ordered well in advance through the Circulation Desk. At the end of the semester, reserve material will be returned to the stacks without further notice to the instructor. Faculty wishing to have the materials kept on reserve for the following term must notify the Circulation Desk before the end of the current semester. For further assistance regarding reserve procedures, visit this Reserves guide. Please direct all questions or problems to the Circulation Desk at (718) 951-5335 or via email at CircDesk@brooklyn.cuny.edu. E-mail reserve requests and queries can be sent to Mary Pope at Reserves@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

Consult this guide for more information on adding material to electronic reserves.

CLICS for Books from Other CUNY Libraries

Use the OneSearch system to find books and other resources in other CUNY Libraries beyond Brooklyn College. When in OneSearch, change to "New Search (CUNY)" to bring up results that include the other campus library holdings.

You can request items that are available from the other CUNY libraries by signing into OneSearch. More information about borrowing books from other CUNY libraries is available in the guide "CLICS for CUNY Books."

Worldcat for Identifying Books from Libraries Beyond CUNY

Use the library database Worldcat to find books available in libraries beyond CUNY. You will find Worldcat listed on the Library A-Z database list.

Books you find in WorldCat that are not in any of the CUNY libraries will provide a link that will allow you to request the book through ILL (interlibrary loan) from another library.

Interlibrary Loan for Requesting Books from Libraries Beyond CUNY

You will be able to register for an interlibrary loan account (ILL) on the Brooklyn College Library web site.

WorldCat and other library databases will allow you to send book information for requests directly to ILL, or you can visit the ILL web site and add the book information to make your own request.

When the books you need are not available from any library, you have many options for purchasing books. 

Brooklyn College WebCentral offers an online textbook exchange. 

You can also rent textbooks for a semester for less than you would spend to buy the book through Chegg,  

Find vendors specializing in Latin American books at Biblio.com.

Consider visiting a New York City icon, Strand Books, and browse for the books you need in person.

The Brooklyn College library provides access to electronic books freely available on the internet and others that require your remote access login. 

Find eResources in OneSearch

Browse the ebook collections below. The ebooks available in these collections may also be found through title, author and keyword searches in OneSearch.

These e-book sites require no login.