For a literature review in Physics, the monograph provides an original synthesis of theory and/or experimental work. This is especially important in older fields; mathematical physics is an example.
Secondary sources are books that provide summaries of other work, such as textbooks. Highly valuable for study, these are used sparingly in a literature review, for background, such as methods or essential concepts. Where the authors of the text are accepted authorities -- these books have become classics (such as L.D. Landau & E.M. Lifshitz or Glenn F. Knoll), and can be cited for theses and dissertations.
In the Library of Congress system, books on astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology are classified in the QB call number range. Physics, including mechanics (but analytical mechanics is QA801-939), electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics, is usually in QC. Mathematics? QA -- there are some math books in Physics Library; most are at the Engineering/Math/Computer Science Library.
Print copies may be on Reserve (ask at the library desk) or checked out, so not everything is on the shelf for browsing. Use the Library Catalog to get exact information about any book we have. Browse books on the shelves and e-books to find writing styles and the depth and breadth that meets your needs.
UNH Library's "Search Box" -- a mixture of indexing and fulltext searching based on the library's catalog and an assortment of databases.
Library Catalogs – usually index whole works, such as books, journals or magazines, and albums. These may be made up of quasi-independent parts such as songs, journal articles, essays, or poems, or chapters. These tend to be more precise in search, but less fine-tuned for relevance.
Examples:
Look for: books, conference proceedings, journals, dissertations, movies, albums, scores
Use: Title of the whole work, Author/Editor of the whole work, Keyword, Subject, ISBN, etc.
Lists: the material provided by a library with a location or link by which to retrieve and/or request it
InterLibrary Loan borrowing for print materials, film, and music can be done directly with Worldcat!
