Look around and get to know the tools
Books are easy to find once you know how. When you are physically
at the library look around for maps,
computers, and helpful librarians. The catalog, often called an OPAC
("OH-Pack"), is the main finding tool.
The library catalog
The
catalog is found on line. The library catalog is the best place to
start to find any library material. The online web site for the CSU
catalog looks like this and is found at
this link.
You could use “Quick Limit” to restricting searching
to books only. Then choose how you want to find the book. This often
depends upon how much you know about a book. Do you know who wrote
it? Do you know the title on the cover? Do you know what it is about—science,
crime, or another subject?
Use the catalog
Title search If you know the book’s
title, type that in the box "Search for." Do not put leading words
like "a" or "the" even if these words are part of the title. For
example, if you are looking for "The Little Prince," just put "Little
Prince." In the "Search by" box choose "title."
Author
search The author who wrote the book, your favorite author,
or an author you are studying could be used as a search term.
Authors are usually located by their last name. For example, "Smith,
Roland," or "Twain, Mark." Use "Author (last name, first name" in
the "Search by" box and your author’s name in the "Search
For" box. The picture here demonstrates this choice.
Subject search When you know what you
want to study or read try a subject search. These searches are good
too when you are searching for specific information, but you do not
know the title. If you do not discover what you want the first time,
try searching on different words. Use "Any word anywhere" in the "Search
by" box.
More details on finding books
Follow these links for more important tips on finding and using books.
... and finding is not browsing
"Sometimes browsing is
best. If you have a particular interest, often it is fun—and
useful—to browse what other works there are and see how others
think. Try our “I.
Brows” browsing tool for eBooks, electronic books, here.
I. Brows
