Missouri History: Books & eBooks

Each book in the library has a unique call number. A call number is like an address: it tells us where the book is located in the library.

Call numbers appear ... on the spines of books ... and ... in the online catalog

Spiva Library uses Library of Congress Classification (LC) for call numbers. This system uses a combination of letters and numbers to arrange materials by subjects.

To  determine the LC call number of a specific book one must search the Spiva Library Online Catalog (SWAN).  A Spiva Library catalog search widget is provided below.  

MOBIUS Union Catalog - allows you to search for and request books from 60+ Missouri Libraries. Typical delivery time is 3-5 business days after receipt of request. This is a FREE service for all current MSSU students, faculty & staff.  Community patrons are charged a fee.

WorldCat - connects you to the collections of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide.

If we don't own a copy of a book you need,

we can borrow a copy from another library for you

with a service called Interlibrary Loan.

Read call numbers line by line

Google Books searches the full-text of books.  It is great for narrow topics because it lets you search within the text of books--you can see the table of contents, index or a portion of the contents of the book.  You can then locate the book in a nearby library.