Anthropology
Purchase Recommendations
Is there a book that you think we should have in the library?
- Recommend a PurchaseFill out the purchase recommendation form or, better yet, send me an email with information about the book that you would like to see added to the library.
Anthropology Librarian
Where can I find books and e-books?
- Discovery Search This link opens in a new windowThis search tool helps you find print books at the Five College libraries as well as e-books from many different platforms.
By default, results will include many different resource formats. To limit your results, find the 'Format' header on the results page and click 'Show More'. This will allow you to select 'Books' and 'eBooks'.
How do I access print books?
If the location is UM Bois Library, you can use the call number to find the book on the shelves. For more information on how to use call numbers to find books or browse, select the 'Call Numbers' tab at the top of this box.
You can also click 'Request Item' to have the book placed on the hold shelf on the lower level of the Du Bois Library.
If the location is one of the other Five College libraries (AC = Amherst College, MH = Mount Holyoke, etc.), click 'Request Item' to have the book sent to the Du Bois Library for you to pick up.
How do I access e-books?
To access an e-book, click on the full text option that appears with the result.
*Note: E-books from the other Five College libraries (AC, MH, HC, SC) are not available to UMass students remotely. You can go to that college's campus and access most e-books using a library computer
What if I can't find a print book in the Five College Catalog?
- WorldCat This link opens in a new windowWorldCat allows you to search the library catalogs of most libraries in the US and other parts of the world for books, films, audio, and more. Many of these resources are not available through the Five College libraries.
How do I access a book that isn't in the Five College libraries?
- UMass Interlibrary LoanThis is a free service through the UMass Amherst Libraries that lets you request books that we do not have in the Five College libraries. Interlibrary Loan will work with other libraries to have chapters scanned and sent to you as a PDF or the entire book mailed to the Du Bois Library where you can check it out.
- UMass Interlibrary Loan FAQFor more information about this service, check out the FAQ
How do I use a call number to find a book?
- W. E. B. Du Bois Library Call Number DirectoryOnce you have a call number for a book (ex. P35 .O94 2013), you can use this directory to figure out which floor of the library it is located on. Think of call numbers as the street address of a book that will tell you where it "lives".
How do I browse anthropology books?
Every book is given a call number from the Library of Congress Classification System to indicate what the book is about. This means that books on similar topics are grouped close together on the library shelves.
When a book has a call number that starts with GN, it means that it is primarily about some aspect of anthropology. You can use the chart below to identify call number ranges for various topics in anthropology.
Just remember: classification is tricky and there are often multiple ways to look at the topic of a book. It might seem obvious that books about linguistic anthropology would have call numbers that start with GN, however; these books usually have call numbers that start with P, which encompasses linguistics.
One useful strategy is to find a book on your topic and look at the books near that one on the shelves.
Anthropology Call Number Ranges
GN 49-298......................Physical anthropology. Somatology
GN 51-59................................Anthropometry
GN 62.8-265...........................Human variation
GN 269-279............................Race (General)
GN 280.7................................Man as an animal. Simian traits versus human traits
GN 281-289............................Human evolution
GN 282-286.7...............................Fossil man. Human paleontology
GN 296-296.5.........................Medical anthropology
GN 301-674...................Ethnology. Social and cultural anthropology
GN 357-367............................Culture and cultural processes
GN 378-396............................Collected ethnographies
GN 397-397.7.........................Applied anthropology
GN 406-517............................Cultural traits, customs, and institutions
GN 406-442...................................Technology. Material culture
GN 448-450.8................................Economic organization. Economic anthropology
GN 451-477.7................................Intellectual life
GN 478-491.7................................Social organization
GN 492-495.2................................Political organization. Political anthropology
GN 495.4-498................................Societal groups, ethnocentrism, diplomacy, warfare, etc.
GN 502-517...................................Psychological anthropology
GN 537-674............................Ethnic groups and races
GN 550-674...................................By region or country
GN 700-890...................Prehistoric archaeology
What are subject headings?
Subject headings work similarly to hashtags on social media. They are used to group resources on a particular topic together so that they can be found more easily.
Subject headings are standardized so that even when authors use different terms, you can easily find all books on that topic.
For example, "interment," "inhumation," and "burial" all describe approximately the same social practice. The subject heading "burial" would appear on the record of books where the author uses any of these terms in order to help you find them. Instead of having to do searches for "interment," "inhumation," and "burial," you can do one subject search for "burial".
How do I find subject headings to use in a search?
To browse subject headings, check out the Library of Congress Authorities page.
It's useful to keep in mind the context surrounding the creation subject headings, especially those that represent groups of people. Power and position impacts which terms library workers choose to be subject headings. For example, the Turkish ethnic group that refers to themselves as the Sakha are referred to with the subject heading "Yakut (Turkic people)".
How do I search using subject headings?
In Discovery Search, begin your search with 'DE' and place subject headings in quotation marks. This will tell the search engine that you are only interested in resources which have been given the same subject headings that you're searching for.
If you link multiple subject headings together, separate them with two dashes (--).
How can I use the subjects headings from relevant books to find more?
When you find a book that's relevant to your research, take a look at the subject headings on its record.
Take this book found in Discovery Search for example:
Clicking on one of the subject headings will show you all other books in the Five College libraries that are also on that same topic.
You can also edit subject headings and search for them in Discovery Search. You could search for "Burial, China" instead to learn more about the practice in that part of the world.
What if I can't find many books using a subject heading?
There are many books that the Five College libraries don't have. You can use WorldCat to find books by subject heading. For best results, separate subject terms with two dashes and use parentheses.
