Finding Books with Keywords
As you begin to look for books on your topic, you want to put the keywords you've brainstormed into to catalog's search box. If you were interested in exploring how attitudes towards tattoos and other body art have evolved in America, you could start out by search "tattoo AND America."
Finding Books with Subject Headings
One relevant book can lead you to others through the book's subject headings. A subject heading is a standardized phrase that describes the main themes of the book. These are different from the keyword search because a librarian has identified that the book is mainly about these subjects. With a keyword search, your search word just showed up somewhere in the book's record, but might not be a major subject of the book. If you find a subject heading that describes your topic really well, you can use it to find relevant sources faster.
Subject headings are hyperlinked in the catalog. If you click on a subject heading, the catalog will do a new search and return a list of books with that subject heading.
IIn your list of results, click on the book title. Scroll down to "Subjects" and you'll see the Library of Congress Subject Headings.
Other Sources to Find Books
There are several great places where you can start looking for books on your topic.
- Library CatalogFind books, videos, online resources, and more through the McKillop Library catalog. You can also use the catalog to find books that the library does not own but can request access to through HELIN or Interlibrary Loan. For more information, check out the Requesting Items page of this guide.
- Google BooksProvides a rather random assortment of books. Some full-text searching of books, and some full-text viewing of out-of-copyright materials. You may be able to request books viewed via Interlibrary Loan.
- Archive.orgSimilar to Google Books, Archive.org can be used to access an assortment of miscellaneous texts.
Still Struggling?
Conversing with someone else about your research and writing process can be incredibly helpful. Contact staff at McKillop Library or the Writing Center using the links below.