First-year Writing Seminar

The library catalog is the place to begin if you are looking for books, journal articles, cds, dvds, and other research materials. This video focuses on how to find books in the library system. For more detail, see Catalog Help.

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• Use the search box on the library home page.
• "Books and More" is the left-most column. Click "See all" to enter the full results page.
• Use Advanced Search for combining multiple search terms.
• More terms = fewer results
• When you find a useful item, click on a relevant subject tag under the "details" tab to find more like it.
• You can limit search results using the limiters in the left-hand column.
• The code starting with one or two letters is the book's "call number," a.k.a. address on the shelf.
• Under the "Find in Library" tab, click "locate" to get a map of the book's location, and to text it to your cellphone.
• If a book is checked out or missing, request it, and you can get it within a few days.