Books are a good starting point when you want to find out about general theories and background information.
Use Library Search to search for books on your topic.
Don't be too specific in your choice of keywords. If you were looking for books about tracking shots, for example, you could search for titles about cinematic techniques and then read the appropriate chapter.
As a Falmouth University student, you have access to all the books in the Penryn Campus Library and the Falmouth Campus Library. You can also request to borrow books from the libraries on the Exeter campus.
The Dewey Decimal system is a classification system used by libraries to arrange books via subject. Each book is issued a shelfmark number, usually found on the spine of the book, and arranged in numerical order.
The first three digits refer to broad subject area, and are shelved in numerical order e.g. 745 is shelved before 746.
After the three digits there is a decimal point and numbers after the decimal point show the sub-section of the subject area. Again they are shelved in numerical order e.g. 746.094 is shelved before746.62.
After the numbers there are three letters which refer to the author or editor of the book and are in alphabetical order e.g. 946.62 FOG is shelved before 946.62 INN.
The libraries at Falmouth subscribe to thousands of ebooks. Using a university ebook is different to using an ebook that you might have bought for your own personal use and the following video will give you a good overview.
Watch this short introductory video about ebooks in academic libraries (1:41 minutes)
You can search for eBooks using Library Search for your university.
All ebooks can be read online from most browsers. You will be able to access them off campus too, as long as you have an internet connection.
Downloading a book or chapter will allow you to read it offline. This can be really useful if you are travelling and will be without internet access.
When you download an ebook, it is similar to borrowing a physical book and in most cases the book will be on loan to you for a period of time, set by the publishers. When the due date arrives, your access expires. You can always download them again.
To be able to download an ebook, you may need some software installed (most ebook platforms will provide a link to this software).
Like physical books, ebooks are protected by Copyright Law. Most ebook suppliers have applied Digital Rights Management software to their ebooks and this will automatically limit how much you are able to print or copy.
The following links will take you to Help pages for the different suppliers that we use:
• Ebook Central (Proquest)
• VLe Books
Alternatively, please email library@fxplus.ac.uk or use the Library Chat service if you are having problems.
If you sometimes find it hard to take in the meaning of what you read (either in print or online) or if reading on screen is particularly challenging then there are useful free apps, plug-ins and other tools to help access texts or enhance your reading skills.
Visit our Library tools pages to find out about alternative formats and look at the NoDSA no problem Sway below which tells you about free software you can use.
