These are equivalent to what you would find on the shelf in a library.
See the Articles tab for locating journals, magazines and newspapers.
More detailed directions can be found on our Searching Databases page.
Use Basic Search to find books listed by author keyword and title keyword.
Books are also assigned subject terms in the catalog. A book is given the most specific subject(s) which fully describes its contents. Use Basic Search / Words in Subject search to look for specific subjects such as: GOVERNMENT - LATIN AMERICA -- HISTORY, as well as broad subject headings such as LATIN AMERICA--HISTORY. Also search for related geographical terms including: SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, and names of particular countries.
Remember that books on broad subjects may well have sections dealing with the more specific topic you are researching.
Time periods are especially important when searching for history books. Each country or city will have time periods appropriate to that place. To find the time periods used for the history of a country, city, or region, do a Basic Search by “Subject begins with...…”. Type in the PLACE NAME and the word HISTORY. Then you can browse through screens of time period subdivisions. This is very useful for places with many history books in our collection.
Example: Latin America History - you will see the many time periods of British history to choose from - in 3 groupings, listed one after the other.
Clearly, you will want to check all three sequential lists.
If you just use Basic Search / "All Fields" or "Words in Subject" for - Latin America History - you get more than 440 hits, with time periods all mixed together.
Also, use the SUBJECTS listed on the catalog records themselves to identify other useful search terms.
