WorldCat Discovery is our catalog, but it's more than just a search for books. It's multi-format - it will bring back articles, books, ebooks, media, and more. You'll see the items we have on our shelves or in our online collection. It's also multi-library - the materials we own typically come back first, but the search does include materials owned by other libraries and available to your via Interlibrary Loan or PALShare. You can search by topic, title, or author.
Find books, articles, media, and more at Butler and beyond
Your Butler librarians have created LibGuides for nearly every major and several specific course sections. These Guides can direct you to recommended databases, books, and other types of resources, as well as giving you contact information for the librarian you can reach out to with questions.
See if your course has a corresponding LibGuide, or check out our Reference LibGuides - filled with valuable information for students of any major!
We have several databases that focus on specific formats (streaming video, newspaper, biographies, etc). Examples: Kanopy Streaming, New York Times Historical, Oxford Reference Online
We also have some large databases that include multiple formats and subject areas. Examples: Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, Google Scholar
The majority of our databases, though, include journals and articles related to a specific discipline. See databases recommended for your major!
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Go to the LibAnswers page to search Butler Libraries' FAQs or ask a question through the Information Commons' chat service.
Abstract: a short preview or summary of a work; maximize efficiency with these tips for reading scholarly articles
Article: a format that varies depending on publication location and intended audience/purpose
Bibliography: a list of sources (articles, chapters, books, websites, etc) that were consulted or cited within a work
Database: a repository of sources, typically of similar format or subject
eBook: electronic book; visit our All About eBooks LibGuide
Keyword: words or phrases representing a topic, often entered into a search box during preliminary searching; improve your searches with strategies in this short video
Literature Review: a section in most research articles that shares what has been discussed to date about a given topic within the field of scholarly literature
Peer-Review: the process by which a work is reviewed by scholars within the discipline; not all scholarly articles go through peer review; watch this video for more detail about the peer review process
Periodical: an alternate term for a magazine, journal, newspaper, or serial
Plagiarism: the fraudulent misrepresentation of any part of another person's work as one's own; How to Avoid Plagiarism LibGuide
Primary Source: a firsthand account, original record, or contemporary document created at the time an event occurred; watch this video for more details
Reference Source: contains basic facts and background information on a wide variety of topics; encyclopedias are good examples
Scholarly Source: typically these works feature scholars/experts communicating with others in their discipline or community; see this video or comparison chart for additional criteria
Secondary Source: works created with secondhand knowledge or experience; watch this video for more details
Subject Heading: designated terms used to organize works within a database; searching with these is typically more effective than using keywords
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