Psychological & Brain Sciences
Find Books
Getting Started
You can search for books and articles at UMass Amherst and Five Colleges libraries using Discovery Search.
Searching
When your search is complete, the results can be narrowed using the limiters on the left. You can get a book from the other four colleges by clicking on the Request Item button at the top of the book's record.
When you find a book that seems useful, click on the title to open the full record for that book. Look at the Subject Terms assigned to that book. If a subject term looks good, click that to get other titles that have been given that subject heading.
Search WorldCat for books held by other libraries in the world. Books not owned by UMass Amherst can be borrowed for free through Interlibrary Loan.
Books on the Shelves
The Libraries' catalog, Discovery Search, provides a call number and location for each physical item. The call number consists of an alphanumeric string based on the Library of Congress classification system. View an example of how to read a call number.
Materials on psychology reside primarily in the BF call number range.
BF 1-990 Psychology (i.e.)
BF173-175.5 Psychoanalysis
BF309-499 Consciousness. Cognition
BF608-635 Will. Volition. Choice. Control
BF697-697.5 Differential psychology. Individuality. Self
BF also includes areas that would have been lumped in with psychology in the 1800s when the Library of Congress classification system was invented (i.e.).
BF839.8-885 Physiognomy. Phrenology
Neuroscience can be found primarily in the RC range, as class R is medicine.
RC321-571 Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
E-books
An e-book is an electronic or digital book that is available for reading on your computer (desktop or laptop), tablet, or mobile device.
- You can use Discovery Search to find e-books available in our collection
- You can use the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) to access books available to everyone at no cost
Other e-book resources:
- Last Updated: May 22, 2025 11:28 AM
- URL: https://guides.library.umass.edu/psychology
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