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Information about the library and links to library search tools and other resources
Search box for the catalog (WorldCat Discovery) |
Online guides to using the library and library resources
Can cover a course or a topic
May include search tips, recommended databases on a topic, links to relevant websites, and more |
Search tool to find the physical items in the library collection (books, CDs, DVDs, and more) as well as ebooks and some of the journal articles and streaming content included in library databases
Contains records describing the items and information/links to access materials Records describing articles and other content found in library databases may be very brief – for example, they may not include subject information |
Searchable collections of (often detailed) records for articles, books, streaming music and videos, and more as well as links to access materials
Many cover a specific discipline (music, education, business, biology, literature, etc.) or format (ebooks, streaming videos, newspapers, etc.) May include the actual content, in addition to records describing the content |
Subset of the information found in Google
Can be used to search for scholarly articles, books, reports, and case law |
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Search tool
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Google Scholar | |
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What is searched |
You are searching records that describe the items, but in some cases you are also searching the full text. |
You are searching records that describe the items or, in many cases, the full text along with the records. |
You are searching the full text of what is available in Google Scholar. |
| When to use the tool |
If you want to find the physical items that are in the library collection, this is the tool to use.
This is also a good tool for searching many of the databases at once. Because this tool includes information on so much of what is in the library collection, you can often find out quickly if you have access (and get access) to the item by searching for it by the title. |
These are often the best tools to use to narrow your search. | This is a good tool for searching many scholarly publications at one time. |
| Things to consider |
Some of the databases are not covered in Discovery.
You can narrow down the results list by using the limiters (date range, subject, format, etc.) on the left side of the screen and/or by using the Advanced Search.
Some of the records in Discovery for items in databases are fairly brief and may not include subjects. So, if you do a subject search, the search results may not include many of the articles even though this strategy would work when searching for articles in a database.
Please remember that books are generally not considered to be peer reviewed, so they will usually not be included in your search results if you limit the search to Peer Reviewed items. |
Most databases have specific features that can be very helpful for finding the types of items that are included in that database.
You can search multiple databases at one time if they are part of the same database provider (EBSCOhost or ProQuest, for example).
In addition to databases with content from particular disciplines, there are databases for specific formats, such as newspapers and streaming media and images. |
There are limited features for narrowing your search (no subject searching, for example) so you may need to use many search terms and/or the Advanced Search options.
If you use this link to Google Scholar, the results list should include links to the full text if it is available through the library. |
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