Finding Books

To find books use the Library Catalog accessible from the first tab on the library's homepage.

1. Type one or more words relevant to your research and click on the search button.

• By default, the catalog searches in all fields of a book's catalog record:
  
  

   

• You may limit searches to just words in the title, author or subjects of books.
• The catalog also allows browsing by title, author, subjects and call number, as well as building more complicated searches.

2. Browse the search results for relevant books.

• By default your results will be sorted by publication date. You may also sort them by title, as well as limit them by library or collection.
  
  

   

• You may need to run several searches until you find good results.

3. Locate a book on the shelf by noting the Collection and its Call No.

• Make sure that the book is Checked In.
• If the book is checked out or available from another library you may request it at the Circulation Desk.

Having trouble?

If you are retrieving few or no results, you may be using different words from the ones the catalog uses.

• Try searching using the Keywords Anywhere option for just one or two important words and narrowing down those results.
• Ask a library staff member to assist you.

When you find at least one relevant book, you can browse its subject(s) to find more books.

Once you have found one or more books, you can also browse the shelves.

Browsing the shelves

Call numbers follow the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system, which uses numbers to represent subjects, thus placing similar books near each other.

When you have located one or more books on the shelf, always look around to see what other relevant books may be there.

The Dewey Decimal Classification system

On the library's homepage select the first tab. Click on the Course Reserves link underneath the search box to go directly to the Course Reserves in the catalog.

1. Select either Course Number or Instructor Name and type an appropriate query, such as…

• EC 1000 (put a space between letters and numbers)
• Harrison (instructor's last name)

2. Click on the desired course number or instructor's name from the list. If there is more than one item available, you will be shown all the course reserves under the course or instructor you have selected.

3. Note down the Call Number of the desired item. For example…

• FOLDER 610
• 365.643 F762t Ed.2
• A116

4. Request the item at the Circulation Desk by its call number.

Articles are available in many different formats, including books and periodicals in print. This tutorial will focus on finding articles available online via the research databases.

These databases are not freely available on the internet. If you are off-campus you will be asked to authenticate yourself.

1. On the library's homepage, select the second tab, and choose a subject area relevant to your research topic from the "Articles & Databases by Subject" drop-down menu.

2. The most relevant databases for each subject area have been selected and divided into tabs based on the type of information they offer.

Click on a database. (You will be asked for your User ID and PIN if you are off-campus.)

3. Enter keywords relevant to your research topic and press the search button.

Depending on the database you are using, not all results may be available electronically.

• If an article is available electronically ("full text") there will be a PDF icon or link labeled "PDF", "HTML full text" or "Linked full text". You can print or download the article.
• If an article is not available electronically, you will have to use the citation information (title of the article, author, publication, volume and issue numbers) to see if we have it in print or microfilm. For more information, check below the section on how to find "A specific article".

Having trouble?

If you are having trouble coming up with good results, the following steps might help:

• Search for only a few keywords and use the database's features to narrow and limit (by subject, type of publication, and so on) your results.
• Most databases (with the notable exception of JSTOR) describe articles with specific subjects. Try to use these as your keywords.
• Choose a different database.
  
  
  • If you are using a narrow database like Education Full Text, try a broader database like Academic Search Premier or Expanded Academic ASAP.
  • If you are using a multidisciplinary database like JSTOR, try a database that covers your specific subject like Business Source Premier or PsycINFO.
• Ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.