Guides & Tutorials: Computing: Find Books

Call Numbers Range

► Computer Engineering QA and TK

Q300 Artificial intelligence
QA75.5-76.765 Computer science, software
T58.5-58.64 Information Technology
TK5100 Computer networks
TK7800-8360 Electronics
TK7885-7895 Computer engineering
Z102.5-104 Cryptography

► Electrical and Electronics Engineering TK

TK452-454.4 Circuits, electric networks
TK1001-1841 Electric energy power
TK2896-3521 Production of electricity, transmission
TK5101-6720 Telecommunication
TK7800-8360 Electronics

Find Books

The quickest way to find books is through a direct search in OneSearch. You may search by Keywords, Title of the Book, Call Number, or an ISBN number.

You may refer to the steps below:

Visit Library homepage. Type in your keywords or title of the book and hit the search button. (You may also switch to "Books & Media+" tab which will limit your search to books and physical AV materials only)
Limit results to "Books" under Resource Type on the right panel of the page. You may further refine results to "Physical items" (which means print books only), or "Full Text Online" (which means e-books only).
Click on the book title to see more information about the book.
For print books, the location is described by its Call Number. You will need to find the book from the bookshelf and check it out at Service Counter at P/F (see below for How to Read Call Numbers).
For e-books, sign in with your NetID and NetPassword to get access to the full-text of the book.

Watch the short tutorial below to learn how to find and access e-books and print books in OneSearch.

There is a chance that the book you need is not available in the library. It could be because our library does not have the book, or another user has checked out our copy.

Here are two ways to help you:

⦿ Option 1. HKALL

HKALL is a shared platform by 8 UGC-funded university libraries in Hong Kong. Eligible users can request a book from other libraries when the copy in PolyU is not available. The book will be then delivered to our Library in about 2-3 working days for pick-up.

⦿ Option 2. Interlibrary Loan

⦿ Option 3. Place a hold (wait in the queue)

Place a hold to reserve a book when the book is only available in our Library and there are no available copies from HKALL. After you place a hold, the previous user will be asked to return the book in about 28 days.

Follow the steps below to request a book from HKALL, or reserve a local copy when HKALL does not apply.

Click into the record of the checked-out book and sign in to the system if you haven't done so.
Click HOLDING(S) IN OTHER HKALL LIBRARIES. It will display the HKALL holdings.
Click Request if there are available copies from other HKALL Libraries. If no available copies, you may place a hold from PolyU Library by clicking Request.
Proceed to Request if there is no Volume number or Standard number to specify. You will be notified by email when the book is ready to pick up.

Look for Course Readings?

You can find course reading materials (e.g. textbooks) prescribed by your instructors for specific courses from the "Resource List" page of your course page on Learn@PolyU. If "Resource List" page is not available, an alternative way is to go to the library homepage and search under "Course Resource List".

Watch this 1-minute video to learn how:

Learn more about Resource List in this guide.

The way to access an e-book can be different depending on the platform the book is located. Some platforms allow you to download the whole book in PDF with one click, while some allow downloading a limited number of pages per day due to copyright restrictions.

Here are a few commonly seen examples from e-book databases:

⦿ Full book download allowed. Usually, books directly offered by publishers offer full book or chapter download options.

Click to see an example from Springer

(Link to this book on OneSearch)

⦿ Limited no. of pages download per day. Two major e-book providers - ProQuest and EBSCOhost- offer this option. Note that some popular books may only allow online reading. There is no limitation if you read the book online.

Click to see an example from ProQuest

(Link to this book on OneSearch)

Click to see an example from EBSCOhost

Other than downloading a limited no. of pages to PDF, you may also "Borrow" the whole book for a specified no. of days and read it offline after installing the Adobe Digital Editions app.