Watch the videos below and/or read the instructions listed on how to best find books at the Speed Library.
After viewing the video, please make sure to go to the Using Call Number Page.
There are a few different methods that you can use to find books. Below are some helpful strategies for finding the book that you are looking for. Further strategies for narrowing down topics will be presented in another tutorial.
The first step is to go to the library webpage https://library.mc.edu/ and enter your search term in to the library catalog. Make sure that search books is selected in the search box.
Doing a search from the main page, defaults in a keyword search. This means that is not just doing a title, author, or subject search. A keyword search finds anytime a word or phrase is used in online record or description of an item in the collection. Since, it is searching multiple fields, users will get a wide range of results. Keyword searches can be helpful as a useful starting place to see what results your search term gives you.
Notice that the top four results for Eudora Welty are two biographies, one on surrealism in her work, and one on her as a photographer.
In addition to searching by keyword, title, and subject, you can also search by author. This parameter is beneficial if you are trying to find works by Eudora Welty instead of books on her or criticism of her work. You can select the search parameter from the toggle at the top of the page.
When you do an author search make sure to type in last name, first name format. If you type in first name, last name, then you will receive irrelevant results.
In this example, a search for Welty, Eudora gives 56 of her works that we have in print at the library.
In addition, you can do a subject search to find books about Eudora Welty. There are different ways that you can do a subject search. One way you can search is by first doing a keyword search and then find a book record to find the hyperlinked subject heading for Welty, Eudora, 1909.
Another way to search by subject is to go to the search bar and toggle Subject. Make sure to do a search for Welty, Eudora.
Go to the Call Numbers page to continue learning about how to find books.