Finding Children's Books in the Library

Author or Title Search

If you know the author, illustrator, or title of the book, enter it in the search box on the Libraries’ home page, using the “Search by” pull-down arrow to select either “Title at WMU” or “Author at WMU.”

HINTS:  When searching for a person’s name, enter the person’s last name followed by the first name, e.g., sendak maurice

When searching for a title, be sure and put the title in quotation marks, e.g., “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”

Subject Search

If you are looking for children’s books by topic, click on the Advanced Search link on the Libraries’ home page.

HINTS:  Keywords offer maximum flexibility in searching.  Advanced search has four boxes where you can type in your different search terms; you may use any number of those boxes, depending on how complex your topic is.  Check drop-down menus for a full list of options.

If you are using keywords that are phrases be sure and put them in quotation marks—this is crucial.  For example:  “african american”

You can use the “OR” connector to string similar terms in the same box, e.g., folklore OR folktale OR myths OR legends OR “folk tale”

The “AND” connector automatically connects the different boxes, to narrow your search results.

BEFORE HITTING THE SEARCH KEY YOU MUST DO ONE IMPORTANT THING:  Once you have typed in your keywords, you need to use the LIMIT function. Go to the Location box (left hand side of search screen) and use the pull-down arrow until you see All children’s books.  Click on that that and then you can click on the Advanced Search button.

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 "Available" 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.