Dance: Books/Catalogs

Simple Search

• Single white box
• Huge results list
• Many different types of resources; articles, books and more
• Best when you are NOT looking for particular types of sources, e.g. - popular, scholarly, primary sources, empirical studies, DVD, etc.
• Refine results with options on left margin

Advanced search

• Use for complex searches
• Many more options
• Specify Articles books or more (big results list); Resources in the Library (small results list of mostly books); etc.
• Specify type of resoruce
• Specify one or more fields - author, title, subject, ISBN
• Specify publication year, language,  book
• contains, starts with, exact phrase

Browse Search

• NOT for keyword searching
• Use for known item searches - e.g., titles, authors, subject headings

An online version of the orange Library Locations handout, which tells you what floor, and part of the building (Ocean or Mountain side), the various library locations (Main, Andelson, Government Information, etc) and call numbers are on. 

WorldCat Discovery @UCSB is a way to find books and other materials located in libraries outside the UC System. 

When keyword searching, use keywords that best describe your topic.  The objective is to get a small group of relevant records.  People, places themes, characters, time periods, events, types of information (i.e. ethnography) issues and more can be keywords.  What words or phrases best describe your topic?

Try: And, Or, Not

• And -- "cell phone" AND distraction
• Or -- ("cell phone" OR gps) and distraction
• Not -- (Distraction and children) NOT adolescents

Library of Congress Classification System

Most books about Dance will have a GV call number.

Most GVs are located on the 4th Floor, behind the Elevators.

However, some may turn up in other areas of the library such as Black Studies or Feminist Studies collections (Ethnic & Gender Studies Collection, 2nd Floor Oceanside).

Here are some specific Call Number ranges you may find helpful, if you want to explore the 4th Floor stacks:

GV1585 = Dictionaries. Encyclopedias

GV1588 = Dance Philosophy

GV1589 = Studying & Teaching

GV1600 = Dance criticism. Appreciation

GV1601-GV1619 = Dance History

GV1746-GV1750 = Social Dancing

GV1753 = Technique

GV1779 = Dance in Motion Pictures and Television

GV1781 = Theatrical Dance

GV1785 = Biography

GV1786 = Dance Groups or Companies

GV1789 = Ballet

GV1794 = Tap Dancing

GV1796.A-Z = Special dances

GV1799 = Children

GV1799.4 = Women

RC489.D3 = Dance therapy
RJ505.D3 = Dance therapy (Pediatrics)

UCSB Library uses Library of Congress Subject Headings to describe materials.

(Think standardized hashtags for subjects and topics.)

LCSH is not a perfect system by any means, but Subject Headings can be useful for exploring the library's collections quickly. Always pay attention to the subject terms listed on the records for books you are interested in.

Below are some examples of Subject Headings related to dance that you can use in the UCSB Library Search to help find relevant books, videos, and other materials on dance topics: