How do I find books and library resources?

A video showing finding books on NELSON and then on the shelves, with written instructions below

Books and other library resources can be found by searching on NELSON (which stands for 'Northampton ELectronic Search ONline). You can watch a guide to get you started with searching on NELSON.

There are ebooks, which are digital versions of a book or other resources which can be viewed online, and there are the physical items that are part of our physical library collection in the Learning Hub, such as books and DVDs and kits.

The Academic Librarians also offer useful guides sorted by academic subject, you will also find contact details for your subject librarian if you wanted further advice on finding suitable resources for your studies.

You will also find a list of relevant material for your course on your module reading list, which you will find on your module site on NILE. You can also search for Reading Lists here.

Looking in the Learning Hub

Once you know which book you are looking for in the Learning Hub, the books are sorted by a number found on the side of the book known as a 'shelfmark'. These shelfmarks help you to find the particular book you are looking for on the library shelves, as we store the books in number order. These shelfmarks are displayed on NELSON, we have a quick guide to how shelfmarks work. If you are in the Learning Hub a member of Library staff will be happy to show you how to find a library resource, you can identify Library staff at a glance by their yellow lanyard, which hangs alongside their black Staff ID lanyard.