Finding Books, Videos, and Tests
The PGSP Research Library offers access to books in several formats.
We have books in print format shelved on our shelves in the library, where some books are in the regular book shelves, called Stacks, some are in special shelves, such as reference books and books in the multi-cultural SECA section and the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) section called SASO, and some are on reserve in the library office.
We also have books in electronic fulltext format available from several different sources including ebrary electronic books, PsycBooks electronic books, and books made available directly by their publishers.
We also have books available through ILL (InterLibrary Loan), through access to Stanford's libraries, and through access to other local libraries.
Books in Print Format
To find books in print format, go to the online PGSP library catalog by clicking on the Books link on any PGSP library web page.
You can search by keyword or change the drop-down menu to search by title, author, or subject.
If you search by title, you can simply type in the first 2-3 words of the title. If you don't know the exact title, try searching by keyword and enter one or two words that you think might be in the title.
Searching for a topic is usually best done by entering 2-3 words using keyword searching.
Once you've entered your words and clicked the Search button, you'll see a list of items available in the library or it will say no matches found.
In the list of items, if you see a call number with letters and numbers in the Call Number column, then that item is a book. If there's no call number, then that item is a dissertation or an electronic book. If you see nothing but numbers in the Call Number column, then that item is an audio tape or a video tape.
To get a dissertation or an audio or video tape, ask the student assistant at the circulation desk for assistance.
If you see an item that you're interested in and it's a book, look at the rightmost column on the page to see if it is in the library or checked out - if you see a zero after a slash, like this: "1/0 In" then the book is checked out, but if you see any other number after the slash, then at least one copy of the book is in the library.
Next you'll need to click on the title of the book to see exactly where the book is located in the PGSP Library. Scroll all the way down on the page that shows the detail information for the book and you'll see a Location column and the information in that column tells you where you can find the book.
If the Location information says STACKS, then you'll find the book in the regular book stacks in the Library and take it to the circulation desk to check it out, usually for two weeks.
If the Location says PERM, then the book is on permanent reserve and you can ask the library staff to get the book for you.
If the Location says REF, then the book is in the reference section behind the reference librarian's desk, and you can use the book in the library but you cannot take it out of the library.
If the Location says SASO, then the book is one donated to the library by the Student Association for Sexual Orientation and can be found on the shelves just below the Reference section shelves behind the reference librarian's desk.
If the Location says SECA, then the book is one donated to the library by the student organization Students for Ethnic and Cultural Awareness and can be found on the shelves to the right of the Reference section shelves behind the reference librarian's desk.
If you have difficulty finding a book or it's not on the shelves, ask the student assistant working at the circulation desk or ask the librarian Scott Hines for assistance.
Books in Electronic Fulltext Format
The PGSP Research Library is building a collection of books in electronic fulltext form.
Electronic books are found in the same way as
print books, by searching in the
online PGSP library catalog.
When you search for books in the library catalog you may find books that have no call number in the Call Number column but they do say "[electronic resource]" at the end of the title of the book.
To see one of these books, simply click on the title and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link that appears at the bottom of the page.
We get our electronic books from two sources. One source is the ebrary electronic books collection from the ebrary corporation, which includes over 20,000 electronic books across many fields, with a very healthy collection of titles in the areas of psychology and psychiatry. Another source of electronic books for us is the PsycBOOKS collection from the American Psychological Association, which includes over 100 books published by the APA.
Email or speak to the PGSP Librarian Scott Hines for assistance with electronic books.
InterLibrary
Loan (ILL)
Information on how to order books and journals
that are not available at PGSP.
Materials at Other Local Libraries
If there are books or journal articles that you need that you cannot find at PGSP, and you don't have enough time to obtain the items through ILL, you may be able to go to another local college or university library and make photocopies of pages from the book or article, or in some cases you may be able to check the book out of the other library.
Stanford University Libraries
The Lane Medical Library at Stanford is open to the public, and they cover medical and psychiatric topics that we do not cover here at the PGSP Research Library. You can go there to get photocopies of books and journal articles or to download and print or email to yourself articles from journals in electronic fulltext format. You can also check books out from Lane Library, but you will need to visit the PGSP library during normal business hours to get the borrowing card for Lane Library. Check the Stanford University Libraries catalog to see if they have a book or journal by going to http://jenson.stanford.edu and choose browse then enter the journal or book title and click on either the Title button for a book or the Periodical Title button for a journal.
Green Library at Stanford does not offer unrestricted access by the public, but you can gain entrance to the library in two ways:
One way is to borrow the PGSP institutional Stanford library card, which is available from Scott Hines or Geeta Patangay in the PGSP library. This card lets you in the door at Green Library, but must be returned to the PGSP library within 24 hours (by Monday if borrowed on a Friday). The other way to gain access to Green Library is to go there and enter information about yourself into the computers at the front entrance and show them a picture ID. This method gets you into Green Library 7 times in the next 12 months. Our advice is to use the PGSP institutional Stanford Library card for most of your visits, and reserve the 7 access method for times when you need to go to Green Library on a whim, late on a Saturday night, for example, when you cannot get the PGSP institutional card.
You can check out books from Green Library only by purchasing borrowing coupons at the PGSP Library. Each coupon costs $5.00 and allows you to check out one book. PGSP students who have advanced to doctoral candidacy are allowed to have Stanford Green Library borrowing coupons at no charge.
The Education Library at Stanford is also open to the public, though PGSP cannot check out books from the Education Library.
Unfortunately the Law Library and the Business School Library are not open to students who do not attend those respective schools.
NCCPL Libraries
PGSP is a member of a consortium called the
Northern California Consortium of Psychology Libraries, and PGSP
students are allowed to borrow books from the libraries of other
universities in the consortium or use their journal collections after
getting a borrowing card from the PGSP Librarian Scott Hines.
One nearby member of NCCPL is the Institute of
Transpersonal Psychology (ITP), which is located just a few doors down
from PGSP on East Meadow Way. ITP has a focus on spirituality and
religion in psychology, and may be a good source of books and journals
in those areas. See the
PGSP Librarian Scott Hines for assistance with finding books at ITP.
Other Local Libraries
Other libraries in the area are also useful at times for quick access to books or journals. UC San Francisco is open to the public and has may be the best way for San Francisco residents to obtain materials related to medicine or psychiatry. Santa Clara University and San Jose State University both have books in the area of counseling that are more difficult to find at PGSP and Stanford libraries.
You cannot check books out from these libraries, but you can use their journals and make photocopies from their books.
For assistance with finding books and journals at
other Bay Area libraries, email or visit the
PGSP Librarian
Scott Hines.
Finding Videos
The PGSP Research Library holds a collection of videos for the use of PGSP students and faculty that covers therapeutic techniques, multi-cultural topics, and other areas of interest to clinical psychologists.
To find a video, go to the online PGSP library catalog by clicking on the Books link on any PGSP library web page.
You can search by keyword or change the drop-down menu to search by title, author, or subject.
If you search by title, you can simply type in the first 2-3 words of the title. If you don't know the exact title, try searching by keyword and enter one or two words that you think might be in the title.
Searching for a topic is usually best done by entering 2-3 words using keyword searching.
Once you've entered your words and clicked the Search button, you'll see a list of items available in the library or it will say no matches found.
In the list of items, if you see a call number with letters and numbers in the Call Number column, then that item is a book. If there's no call number, then that item is a dissertation or an electronic book.
If you see nothing but numbers in the Call Number column, then that item is an audio tape or a video tape or test materials.
Videos are easily spotted because they have the designation "[videorecording]" after the title. Audio tapes have no designation near the title, but when you click on the title to get detailed information on the item, you'll see a line that says "audio cassette" and the location will say AC for "audiocassette"
To get an audio or video tape, ask the student assistant at the circulation desk for assistance.
Finding Tests and Measurement Instruments
The PGSP Research Library holds a collection of tests and measurement instruments for the use of PGSP students and faculty that can be borrowed for class assignments or for use in therapy and research.
To find a test or measurement instrument that may be owned by PGSP, go to the online PGSP library catalog by clicking on the Books link on any PGSP library web page.
You can search by keyword or change the drop-down menu to search by title, author, or subject.
If you search by title, you can simply type in the first 2-3 words of the title. If you don't know the exact title, try searching by keyword and enter one or two words that you think might be in the title.
Searching for a topic is usually best done by entering 2-3 words using keyword searching.
Once you've entered your words and clicked the Search button, you'll see a list of items available in the library or it will say no matches found.
In the list of items, if you see a call number with letters and numbers in the Call Number column, then that item is a book. If there's no call number, then that item is a dissertation or an electronic book.
If you see nothing but numbers in the Call Number column, then that item is an audio tape or a video tape or test materials.
You may have to click on the title of an item to verify that it is a test, if you cannot tell by the title. Click on the title to see detailed information about the item, and scroll down to see the location – for a test, the location will say TEST.
To get a test or measurement instrument, ask the student assistant at the circulation desk for assistance.
If PGSP does not own the test or measurement instrument, you can use other sources to get information – see the section on Tests on the Literature Searches and Databases webpage.
Unfortunately, we cannot borrow tests and measurements from other universities, so using InterLibrary Loan or another Bay Area library is not an option.