Self-Service Portal
"What would you like to know?"

There are four main things you need to locate a physical book: the library, the collection, the status, and the call number.

1. Identify the appropriate library-- either Sherrill on the Brattle Campus or Moriarty on the Porter Campus.

2. Note the what collection the book is in. "Stacks" means the general collection.

3. Determine the status.

• A book is either on the shelf and available or it is checked out and unavailable.
• If the book you need is checked out, read here about how to place a hold on it when it is returned.

4. Once you have the call number and the relevant library location, locate the book on the shelves:

• Determine what floor/level of the library you need to search. For Moriarty, all items are on the 1st floor, except books with call numbers that start with P. Those are upstairs. For Sherrill, ask us at the Information Desk to locate the floor and collection that correspond to your call number.
• Lesley Library's call numbers use an alpha-numeric system. Start with the first letter in the call number. (In the example above, that would be P.)
• Within the P's, you will find just P, then PA, PB, PC... and so on down to PS.
• Once you find the PS's, look for 3513. This is a whole number.
• Once you find PS3513, look for the letter A.
• Once you find PS3513 A, look for .6418 - and note that this number is a decimal number, not a whole number.
• Keep going until you find your book!
• The last number is often the year the book was published or the copyright date.

Questions? Ask Us!