Finding Books in the Library

As of Spring 2010, VIU has approximately 5,700 books in its collection which is located in the Commonwealth Hall Building. The library collection concentrates on materials specific to the academic disciplines within the curriculum - business and computer science - and to the English as a second language (ESL) program. All VIU students may use any material in the Library collection.

Using the Online Catalog

With the library's electronic catalog, you can search for books and other materials by title, author, keyword, and ISBN (International Standard Book Number).

Browsing the Collection

Instead of using the online catalog, you may want to search for books by browsing the collection. Therefore, it's useful if you understand how the books in the collection are organized. The materials in the Library are organized using the Dewey Decimal Classification System. The Dewey Decimal Code has ten main categories:

Some Dewey classes of particular interest to VIU students include:

003-006    Computer and Information Science
330           Economics
420           English as a Second Language
650           Management

Using the Library

Bring your VIU Student Identification Card each time you visit the Library. You will be asked to show your ID card when you borrow materials and when you request reference assistance or other library services.