Finding a Children's Book

Overview: To locate children's books at Western Michigan University use the WestCat Library Catalog. The University Libraries has two locations for children's books: (1) Waldo Library, 2nd floor, and (2) Education Library, Sangren Hall, (the Curriculum Enrichment collection).

Author or Title Search

If you know the author, illustrator or title, go to the Basic Search in WestCat.

HINTS: When searching by author or illustrator, always enter the person's last name first. For searching purposes, the illustrator of a children's book is considered its author.

When searching by title, always drop the initial articles "A," "AN," or "THE" at the beginning (and ONLY at the beginning) of a title.

Subject Search

If you are looking for children's books by topic, go to the Guided Keyword in WestCat.

BEFORE typing in your search terms complete the following steps in order to limit your search only to children's books.

On the opening WestCat screen, click on the Guided Keyword option.
On the lower right hand side of the screen, click on the blue More Limits button.
Under the box labeled Location, use the pull-down menu to select the location titled WMU All Children's Books.
Now click on the Select Limits, Then Click Here button at the top of the screen.

This will now return you to the Guided Keyword search page, where you will see a bright blue message: "Search Limits are in effect!" You have just programmed WestCat to search ONLY for books in the children's collections. The search limits will remain in effect until you remove them or until you reset your computer.

HINTS: Keyword offers maximum flexibility in searching. You can combine author, title, and keywords in your searching. Guided Keyword offers you three boxes where you can type in your search terms; you may use one, two or all three of the boxes. Check drop-down menus for a full list of options.

Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) can be used to broaden or narrow your search. The default for Guided Keyword is "AND." By connecting search words with "AND" you can narrow and focus your search. Use the drop-down menu to change default operator to "OR" if you are not finding enough material and want to broaden your search. Select "NOT" to exclude a topic, but use this with caution.

Finding Your Book On the Shelves

To locate books on the shelves, be sure to note location (Waldo Library or Education Library), call number, and availability on the shelf (is it "not checked out" or is it "checked out?").

HINTS: Children's books are located on the 2nd floor of Waldo Library (near the bridge to the Computing Center) and in the Education Library on the 3rd floor of Sangren Hall. The books in Waldo Library have the location "Waldo Library, Children's Collection." Children's books in the Education Library have the location "Education Library, Curriculum Enrichment Collection." It is crucial that you check the location of the book you want to make sure you are in the right library.

The children's books are shelved in four different classifications: Easy Books (E); Beginning Readers (BR); Fiction (Fic); and Non-fiction (arranged by modified Dewey Decimal number from 001 to 999, including "92," the call number for individual biographies).

Easy Books are picture books from pre-K up to about the third grade and are usually 32 to 48 pages in length.
Beginning Readers are for children just learning to read, have a controlled vocabulary, and are usually 64 pages long.
Fiction books are novels intended for readers from the fourth grade through high school.
Nonfiction books are factual books covering all subject areas, including biographies.

For additional information about Children's Literature in the WMU Libraries, please see the Children's Literature Subject Guide to Resources. You may also contact Maria Perez-Stable, Coordinator of the Children-Young Adult Collection, 387-5322, maria.perez-stable@wmich.edu

Contact Information

Maria Perez-Stable
E-mail: maria.perez-stable@wmich.edu
Phone: 269-387-5322

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