Pleasure reading books
While the University Libraries at Virginia Tech are primarily focused on serving the research needs of the university community, we still provide a number of pleasure reading books and popular literature.
Popular Reading collection| Searching Addison | LibraryThing for Libraries links | New materials lists | Preferred searches | Browsing the stacks | Using the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library | Reader advisory books and websites
Popular Reading Collection
The University Libraries has reestablished the Popular Reading Collection. Made up of best sellers and recently published fiction and non-fiction, this collection is located on the exterior wall beside the second floor Learning Commons.
These books check out for 21 days and cannot be renewed. Overdue fines are $1/day, regardless of borrower's status. These books cannot be recalled, but you can place a hold to be next in line to check them out. See a complete list of this collection online.
Searching Addison
Users can search Addison by title or author to find pleasure reading books. It is often easier to start by searching for a known work, like R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton, and then use the links provided on the Addison screen for that work to find related works:
- Author links to other works by this author. Also look for Added Author links when there is more than one author listed for a book (such as a collection of poetry or short stories).
- Call number links allow browsing items nearby on the shelf. (See Browsing the Stacks section below.) Each author get his or her own call number (so Sue Grafton's is PS3557.R13) where his or her works, along with books about those works, will be found.
- Some, but not all, works of fiction will list Subject Headings that can be used to find similar books. This example lists subjects for a fictional character used in the series, along with genres for this book. To find more fiction about women private investigators, use that subject to link to other similar books.
- Suggested Books from LibraryThing Users links to other books in Addison based on books owned in common by LibraryThing users. Here, owners of R is for Ricochet also tend to own other books by Grafton, plus a book by Sara Paretsky.
- User Tags from LibraryThing links to other books in Addison using LibraryThing user supplied tags (key words to describe the work). These can be especially useful when the work in question has few or no Subject Headings. The size of the tags indicate the frequency with which LibraryThing users have applied the tag to the work. Click a tag to find similarly tagged works and to find other related tags to use as well.
New materials lists
Each month, a list of materials added to the collection the previous month is posted on the library's website. Users can browse by subject or call number ranges. Often a quick scan of books listed on the American and British literature pages will turn up recently published poetry, short story collections, and popular works. Non-fiction works can be found on other subject pages. The current status of each book is displayed, so if an item is currently checked out, use the Request button on the item's Addison screen to be next in line for it.
Preferred searches
You can be emailed alerts whenever a new book matching your criteria is added to the collection. Simply log into My Library Record then use the Search Addison button. Then search using a search type (probably Author) and enter appropriate search terms, such as a favorite author's name. Construct a narrow search (this may require some trial and error) so as not to get too many results emailed each time. If you use an author, title, or subject link from an existing work, you'll automatically get a narrow search you can save. You can also use the Advance Search form to limit by format and language.
After finding the best search results, use the Save as preferred search button. Then go back to My Library Record and use the My Saved Searches button. This page displays all your saved searches (limited to 25 saved searches). Select the Mark for Email box and Update your searches. Emails are sent late in the evening on the 1st and 16th of each month when new items matching your search are found.
Browsing the stacks
| British literature, 1900-1960 | PR6000-PR6049 |
| British literature, 1961-2000 | PR6050-PR6076 |
| British literature, 2001- | PR6100-PR6126 |
| Asian, African, Australian, New Zealand and Caribbean Literature | PR9199-PR9639 |
| American literature, 1900-1960 | PS3500-PS3549 |
| American literature, 1961-2000 | PS3550-PS3576 |
| American literature, 2001- | PS3600-PS3626 |
| Canadian literature | PS8001-PS8599 |
Like most academic libraries and unlike public libraries and bookstores, Newman Library does not have a fiction section. Our fiction is cataloged using the Library of Congress call number system. Literature is arranged by the country of origin of the author and is further divided by date, based on the year an author was born.
British, Scottish, Irish, and Australian fiction is located in the PR call number range; fiction written in English by authors from the Caribbean, India, Asia, New Zealand, and Africa are also located there. American and Canadian fiction is found in the PS range. Each author is assigned a call number of his or her own, which arranges the books in alphabetical order by author (note that books about an author's works will also be found in the same call number range). Literature from other countries and languages will be located in other P call number ranges.
Using the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library
Residents of Montgomery and Floyd counties, including students living on campus, are eligible to obtain a library card from the Mongomery-Floyd Regional Library (MFRL). While the Virginia Tech Libraries select items for its collections primarily based on the academic research needs of its users. Public libraries, in contrast, strive to collect popular works (among many other types), with frequent turnover of their collections. While university libraries typically purchase a single copy of a book, public libraries often purchase multiple copies of popular works. We highly recommend our students, faculty and staff take advantage of the offerings of their local public library.
Search the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library catalog
See our webpage on the MFRL to find information on obtaining a library card. Note that in addition to popular fiction and literature, the MFRL also owns an extensive collection of audio books which the Virginia Tech Libraries typically do not collect.
Reader advisory books and websites
A number of books and websites provide recommended reading lists based on a person’s interests and favorite authors and genres. Search titles and authors of recommendations in Addison and the MFRL catalogs.
Databases
Books
- Genreflecting advisory series of books provides recommendations based on genres and authors
- ALA readers' advisory series provides lists for horror, mystery, science fiction, and genre fiction
- Readers' advisory guide to graphic novels
- Reader's guides to mystery novels
- Readers' advisor's companion
Websites
- What Do I Read Next (via FindIt VA using your MFRL card)
- New York Times Best Sellers list
- Fiction Finder from OCLC
Also try using your favorite online bookstore’s recommendations; if you have the LibX browser extension installed, you can immediately search these recommendations in Addison using the book's ISBN (standard number).
