If you're looking for a specific item, the best way to track it down is by using the university's library catalogue, iDiscover:

Search for books and ebooks in 'Cambridge Libraries Collections'.

Type the author's name and a few key words into the search box.

If the book is available as an ebook (and many of them are) then you should be able to get to it directly by clicking 'Full text available'. (For more help, see this LibGuide to Accessing Ebooks.)

If the book you want it isn't available online, then iDiscover will tell you where the print copies can be found. Use the classmark in the catalogue record to locate the book on the shelves.

For print copies, remember that the catalogue includes records for all the many libraries in Cambridge so you will need to filter your search results by library. If the results still show records for 'Library x and other locations' , the Marshall Library is probably one of those other locations. Click on the link and keep 'clicking through' for more detailed information. Eventually you will be able to see a list of individual copies of a given book held by the library, and whether they are 'in place' (on the shelf) or out on loan.

Search for journal articles in 'Articles and Online Resources', since almost every journal article you are likely to need is now available online.

You can also see the complete list of online journals the university subscribes to on the University Library ejournals webpage. 

For much more detailed information about the additional functionality of iDiscover - including Advanced Searching as well as Compiling and Exporting Bibliographic Data - there is a separate iDiscover LibGuide:

All Marshall Library books are available using the Click & Collect option in the iDiscover catalogue.  (Click 'View More' in the catalogue record to bring up the link to the Click & Collect Request Form.)

The books you request via Click & Collect will be retreived from the shelves by library staff, issued to your account and will be waiting for you to collect from the Issue Desk.

You can, of course, still borrow books directly from the shelves. Just get the classmark from iDiscover, find the book on the shelf and bring it to the Issue Desk for library staff to add it to your account.