When to Use Books
As research sources, books are excellent means for identifying various areas of interest within a larger subject.
In short, books have:
- in-depth coverage of a subject
- overview of a big topic
- background information
- lists of additional sources, or bibliography
Because they take more time to write than an article, they typically are the most thoroughly edited but not always the most timely. The average book is also 200-300 pages, some having many more, so it may not be the best if you're running behind in your research.
So unless you're coming up on a deadline or need the most recent information on your topic, books will always be an excellent resource for your research needs. The Fresno State Library provides print and digital editions of thousands of books; all you have to do is look!
Finding Books @ the Library
Finding Books Using OneSearch
The best way to locate books, in both electronic and print format, is by using our OneSearch tool, located prominently on the library's website. To learn more, visit the library's guide to using OneSearch.
For Browsers
Browsing Can be An Effective Strategy
...as long as you have the time! Browsing is not ideal if you're in a time crunch, but can help inspire students and other researchers who may be unsure where to start. Observing a collection in real-time can be a great way to see what's already been done and where we can go next.
Relevant Library of Congress Classifications for Sociology
Classifications denote the primary subject. An inherently multidisciplinary field, "Sociology" materials can overlap with other subjects. The following is a list of call number areas for browsing the library stacks as classified by the Library of Congress.
Most Relevant
HM - Sociology (General)
HN - Social history and conditions; Social problems; Social reform
HQ - The family; Marriage; Woman; Sexuality
HS - Societies: secret, benevolent, etc.
HT - Communities; Classes; Races
HV - Social pathology; Social and public welfare; Criminology
HX - Socialism; Communism; Anarchism
Z5703 - Subject Bibliography: Criminology
Z161-7166 - Parts dealing with Subject bibliography: Political and Social Sciences
Closely Related
BJ - Ethics
BF - Psychology
GN - Anthropology
GT - Manners and Customs
HA -Statistics
HB - Demography
JF - Political institutions and public administration
JZ - International relations
P - Communication and linguistics, including sociolinguistics
- Finding a Book by Call Number How to read call numbers on our materials and shelves
Most of our general location is located on the Lower Level and organized by call number as seen in the picture on the right.
Librarian Picks
America Is the Prison by ISBN: 9780807871171Publication Date: 2016-04-01In the 1970s, while politicians and activists outside prisons debated the proper response to crime, incarcerated people helped shape those debates though a broad range of remarkable political and literary writings. Lee Bernstein explores the forces that sparked a dramatic "prison art renaissance," shedding light on how incarcerated people produced powerful works of writing, performance, and visual art... these prisoners' words had crossed over the wall, helping many Americans to rethink the meaning of the walls themselves and, ultimately, the meaning of the society that produced them.
Capital by
From the Publisher: Capital, one of Marx's major and most influential works, was the product of thirty years close study of the capitalist mode of production in England, the most advanced industrial society of his day. The library has all three volumes (Note: cover image only conveys one volume cover).
Call Number: HB501 .M36 1977ISBN: 9780394726571Publication Date: 1977-08-12
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by
In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.
Call Number: HT725.U6 W55 2020ISBN: 9780593230251Publication Date: 2020-08-04
Feminist, Queer, Crip by
In Feminist, Queer, Crip Alison Kafer imagines a different future for disability and disabled bodies. Challenging the ways in which ideas about the future and time have been deployed in the service of compulsory able-bodiedness and able-mindedness, Kafer rejects the idea of disability as a pre-determined limit
Call Number: HV1568.2 .K34 2013ISBN: 9780253009227Publication Date: 2013-05-16
I Am Woman by
From the author- "represents my personal struggle with womanhood, culture, traditional spiritual beliefs and political sovereignty, written during a time when that struggle was not over."
Call Number: E78.B9 M36 1996ISBN: 9780889740594Publication Date: 2002-05-31
The Next American Revolution by
In this powerful, deeply humanistic book, Grace Lee Boggs, a legendary figure in the struggle for justice in America, shrewdly assesses the current crisis-political, economical, and environmental-and shows how to create the radical social change we need to confront new realities.
Call Number: HN65 .B634 2011ISBN: 9780520269248Publication Date: 2011-04-05
Off the Books by
Sudhir Venkatesh takes us into Maquis Park, a poor black neighborhood on Chicago's Southside, to explore the desperate, dangerous, and remarkable ways in which a community survives
Call Number: HD2346.U52 C535 2006ISBN: 9780674023550Publication Date: 2006-10-16
Power/Knowledge by
These pieces, ranging over the entire spectrum of his concerns, enabled Foucault, in his most intimate and accessible voice, to interpret the conclusions of his research in each area and to demonstrate the contribution of each to the magnificent - and terrifying - portrait of society that he was patiently compiling.
Call Number: HM291.F59ISBN: 9780394513577Publication Date: 1980-11-01
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by
In The Protestant Ethic, Max Weber opposes the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and relates the rise of the capitalist economy to the Calvinist belief in the moral value of hard work and the fulfillment of one's worldly duties. Based on the original 1905 edition, this volume includes, along with Weber's treatise, an illuminating introduction, a wealth of explanatory notes, and exemplary responses and remarks-both from Weber and his critics-sparked by publication of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
Call Number: BR115.C3 W413 2002bISBN: 9780140439212Publication Date: 2002-04-30
Racism Without Racists by
"...Eduardo Bonilla-Silva documented how beneath the rhetorical maze of contemporary racial discourse lies a full-blown arsenal of arguments, phrases, and stories that whites use to account for and ultimately justify racial inequities."
Call Number: E184.A1 B597 2006ISBN: 9780742546851Publication Date: 2006-08-03
The Sources of Social Power (Volumes 1-4) by
Distinguishing four sources of power - ideological, economic, military, and political - this series traces their interrelations throughout human history. The library carries all four volumes of Mann's influential series. (Note: image cover only conveys single volume)
Call Number: HN8.M28ISBN: 9780521308519Publication Date: 1986-04-30
Toxic Truths by
Debates over science, facts, and values are pivotal in the struggle for environmental justice. For decades, environmental justice activists have campaigned against the misuse of science, engaging in community-led citizen science that champions knowledge produced by and for ordinary people living with environmental risks and hazards. However, post-truth politics have threatened science itself. Toxic truths examines the relationship between environmental justice and citizen science, focusing on enduring issues and new challenges in a post-truth age.
ISBN: 1526137003Publication Date: 2020-07-14
White Trash by
"A history of the class system in America from the colonial era to the present illuminates the crucial legacy of the underprivileged white demographic..."
Call Number: HN90.S6 I84 2016ISBN: 9780670785971Publication Date: 2016-06-21
Interlibrary Loan
Didn't Find What You Were Looking For? Request It From Another Library.
The Library offers two options for requesting materials from other libraries:
- Find and request books and media from all 23 CSU libraries.
- Materials arrive in 2-4 business days
- Most books have 60 day lending periods, no renewals. Media items (DVD's, audio CD's, etc.) usually 30 days, no renewals
- Select the CSU+ Books and Media collection in OneSearch to find and request materials
- Request articles and books not in CSU+ (not textbooks) through interlibrary loan
- Books typically arrive in 7-10 business days, articles in 2-3 business days
- Loan period for books varies, as is set by lending library. Articles arrive in PDF format and are accessible for 30 days
- To request an item, log into your InterLibrary Loan Account and fill out a new request form