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LITTRANS 303: Topics in French Literature and Culture: French Love (Spring 2025) : Finding Books

Memorial Stack Guide

Consult the Memorial Stack Guide using the book call number to which floor and which stacks (North/South) the book is located in.

Reading LC Call Numbers

For help reading library call numbers, consult this Library Research Guide by the University of Michigan Library: Library of Congress (LC) Call Numbers.

Searching in the Library Catalog

The quickest way to find books is by searching the catalog on the main library website.

Finding Books in the Library Catalog

  1. From the UW-Madison Libraries homepage, choose “Catalog” from the drop-down menu.
  2. Enter a book title, author name, or other subject keywords into the search box and press “Enter” on your keyboard.
  3. From the results page, you can select a book title to see its full record, which provides more information about the book, as well as where to find the book.

Advanced Search

  • If you want to have more control over search results, you can try an “Advanced Search” within the library catalog
    • On the UW-Madison Libraries homepage, the “Advanced Search” option is in the left-hand corner under the Catalog search box.
    • The options within the advanced catalog search window allow you to limit searches by:
      • Subject
      • Call number
      • Publication Year
      • And more…
  • There is a “Format” list to your right on the advanced search page screen. It is underlined in blue. This list will give you options for limiting the format of media sources returned with your search results.
  • Above the “Format” option, on your right, there is the option to select “Locations,” including specific UW-Madison Libraries and other UW campuses’ libraries. You can limit searches to a specific library or libraries by clicking on “Locations,” clicking on a UW campus, and then clicking on a library.

Useful Subject Headings

Library Catalog records include subjects, or tags from an official list. They describe what the books or other items are about. Clicking on subjects or using them as keywords in searches can help you find similar books.

These subject headings might be useful to you for this class:

[Author/filmmaker name] -- Criticism and interpretation (e.g. Molière, 1622-1673 -- Criticism and interpretation)

Courtly love

Courtly love in literature

Film criticism

French literature -- History and criticism

Love in art

Love in literature

Motion pictures, French

Platonic love

Unrequited love

Boolean Operators