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SPAN 221 Introduction to Methods of Literary Analysis in the Hispanic World

This guide aims to support SPAN 221 (Winter 2024) students with their Group Project: Critical Edition Assignment. Use it to identify how to use UBC Library website, catalogue and databases.

Finding a Book

Journal articles are often in-depth discussions of a very specific topic, and sometimes you want a more comprehensive perspective, or a reference work covering a topic, or an introductory-level text. This is where good academic books come in handy! UBC Library has an excellent range of books ranging from broad-ranging introductions to expert treatises. UBC's collection contains both print books, which can be accessed in library locations or requested from storage, and eBooks, which can be accessed online.

  • UBC has an in-depth Finding Books guide that covers many aspects of finding and using academic books!
  • If you are a community user looking to access UBC's eBook collections, check out this guide on guest access offered at UBC library locations.

Books as Search Results

When you're looking for a book specifically, there are a few ways to do this!

  • Search the catalogue of Books & Media using this page, or by selecting the "Books & Media" tab on the Library Homepage; the catalogue contains specific items like books, DVDs, and entire journal titles rather than individual journal articles.
  • Use Summon/General search (the default search described above), and then find the second filter category on the left called "Content Type" to select "Book / eBook"
    • If you would like to find eBooks specifically, you can select "Full Text Online," the very first filter option under "Refine Your Search," to only see eBooks.
    • If you want to look within a particular library, you can scroll down and expand the "Library Location" filter options. Selecting one of these will exclude eBooks unless you also select the "Online" location. Individual library locations or "branches" have different topical collecting areas, which you can learn more about in this video. To see a list of UBC's library locations and their hours, go to the Hours & Locations page.

What Kinds of Books?

  • Searching a topic with the keyword "introduction"
  • Searching a topic with the keyword encyclopedia

Many of UBC Library's books and other resources are electronic and can be accessed easily by clicking a link.

Print books are kept on the library shelves, called stacks. There are many benefits to visiting the stacks: browsing the shelves can give you ideas and inspiration for your research, the library offers a quiet and comfortable studying space, and librarians are always present to help if you get stuck.

The incredible number of print materials at UBC Library may seem overwhelming and difficult to navigate. However, as the infographic below explains, it is relatively easy to find the location of materials you find in Summon or the catalog by noting a few key pieces of information. The same information is also attached in a Microsoft Word document. And, if you get stuck, a librarian will be happy to lend a hand.

How to Read Call Numbers from UBC Library

For a text version of this information see: Finding Books at UBC Library.

 

Selected Reference Books - Literature

Selected Reference Books - Language

Spanish literature and language call numbers

How to find books at UBC Library

Libraries use classification systems to organize the books on the shelves. A classification system uses letters and/or numbers (call numbers) to arrange the books so that books on the same topic are together.  Books at UBC Library are shelved using the Library of Congress Classification System.

Romance Languages are shelved in the subclass PC. Here are the call number ranges:

​PC3801-3976 Catalan
PC4001-4977 Spanish
PC5001-5498 Portuguese

Spanish and Portuguese Literature is shelved in the subclass PQ:

PQ6001-8929 Spanish literature

Subsections include:

PQ6001-6168 History and criticism
PQ6058-6060 Early to 1500
PQ(6061)-6073 Modern
PQ6075-6098 Poetry
PQ6098.7-6129 Drama
PQ6131-6153 Prose

PQ7081-8560 Spanish America