Discover@UMSL

First, a caveat: TJ Library prioritizes buying books that have value to researchers, so current popular fiction is not a common purchase. Although we do have some fiction, it’s not organized in the same way fiction at a public library is, and we don't have fiction databases that lend themselves to browsing and discovery. You often need to know what you’re looking for before you begin a search.

So what are your options? Luckily, you have a few! 

• Visit TJ Library in person and browse the New Books and Best Sellers sections on Level 3 (see  2  below).
• Check out our New Arrivals guide for recent additions to the Bestsellers collection.
• Use MOBIUS (see the next page of this guide) to search a more extensive, regional catalog that includes books held by St. Louis County Library (SLCL), as well as numerous other public and academic libraries. 
• Become a SLCL cardholder and visit a branch to browse their shelves and get recommendations from librarians familiar with popular fiction. All UMSL students, regardless of permanent address, are eligible for a free, “special” SLCL card that expires in 2 years. 

 1   If you want to browse books by topic, an Advanced Search will offer the best results.

 A   Start by clicking the Advanced Search button on the library homepage. If prompted, log in using your SSO ID and password.

 B   On the Advanced Search page, you should see 3 search boxes. (If you don’t, click the Advanced Search link below the single search box.) Type fiction in the top search box and change its field to SU Subject Terms.

 C   In the search bar for the second line, add additional keywords that will help narrow the search to a type of fiction you enjoy reading. Separate any related terms with the word OR. You can add keywords in the third line as well—but the more lines you add, the fewer results you’ll get. Examples of keywords you might include in either search box: 

• a specific genre (e.g., mystery, young adult, psychological thriller)
• a type of character (e.g., black woman, assassin)
• a time period or location (e.g., Vietnam war, Syria)
• a fiction trope or literary convention (e.g., time travel, amnesia, revenge)
• part of an author’s name (e.g., Sarah J Maas, Patterson)

Do not change the field for the second and third lines; this will search titles and abstracts/descriptions in addition to subjects. Click the Search button to run the search. 

 D   If you’re searching for a specific title instead of a topic, enter the partial or full title in the second search box and select TI Title from the dropdown menu. Select the UMSL Libraries Books filter if you want print books only.

 E   In addition to print books, the results will include eBooks and articles (such as book reviews). If you want to see only print books, including the ones in our New and Best Sellers collections, here’s how:

• Select the UMSL Libraries Books filter, which will limit your search to items held by Thomas Jefferson Library or the Mercantile Library. Only one of these filters can be selected at a time.
• If you're looking for recently published books, select one of the date limiters, such as Last 10 Years or Last 5 Years.

 2   You can try browsing our shelves, but it’ll be a bit of a challenge. Our fiction books are not organized by genre or author’s last name. Instead, they are shelved in the Languages and Literature section (see the 2nd bullet below).

• On Level 3, to the right of the Public Service Desk, is where we shelve our new books and a leased collection of best sellers. Fiction books will have call numbers that begin with P (Languages and Literature).
• Non-juvenile fiction books will be on Level 4 in the P section: PN (literature, general), PR (English literature), and PS (American literature). 
• Young adult and children’s fiction can be found on Level 2 in the Juvenile collection (behind the State Historical Society offices). These books have call numbers that begin with a lowercase j.
• Literature in non-English languages have their own subsections in the Languages and Literature section on Level 4 (for instance, French literature begins with PQ). Contact a librarian for help finding them.