Finding the book you want
Use the menu to the left
to trawl through general
bibliographies. For books on a specific building type, see the page on
that
type. For books on a specific style, see the page on that style.
Tracking down a copy of the book you want has never been easier. Many library catalogues are now online. There are even combined library catalogues. Copac provides access to the merged online catalogues of major university and specialist research libraries in the UK and Ireland plus the British Library, the National Library of Scotland and the National Library of Wales. WorldCat is the largest union catalogue, combining the records of thousands of libraries around the world.
If the book you want is not in the nearest library, you can arrange for it to be sent there through inter-library loan.
Certain libraries receive a copy of all works published in the UK, but they restrict access: the Bodleian Library, the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, National Library of Wales and the libraries of Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge. In a similar way, the National Library of Ireland and Trinity College, Dublin are entitled to a copy of all works published in the Republic of Ireland.
Books online
Books and scholarly papers are becoming available online in increasing numbers. However the laws of copyright restrict the choice. The works of the last few decades will generally not be found in full online, except to paid subscribers, or those who have access to online collections through their university or public library. Almost all public libraries in the UK now offer access to Oxford Reference Online.
Over a million books can be read online at the Open Library or printed out or downloaded from the Internet Archive. Some recent books have been made available by their authors or publishers through Scribd, either free or for digital purchase. Google Book Search allows you to search the full text of books, but the amount of text it allows you to read depends on whether the book is in or out of copyright.
Buying books online
Buying books has never been easier either. One can order online not only books currently in print, but those hard-to-find items. You can trawl for second-hand books via online retailers, or in some cases buy a digital copy of an out-of-copyright work on CD. This website does not recommend booksellers, but mention should be made of Archive CD Books Ireland, since it specialises in material of value to genealogists and local historians.