STEP FOUR: FIND BOOKS ON YOUR TOPIC

Books are an excellent source of information on a variety of topics. Though the information found in books may not be as current as that in journal or magazine articles, nevertheless, they can help you place your topic in historical perspective.

Searching the Online Catalog (GIL)
To find books on your topic, search the libraries online catalog (also called GIL) The catalog is *not* a search engine (e.g. Google); it is an electronic inventory (that contains thousands of records) of all the materials owned by the Ingram Library.

Each catalog record tells you the author/editor and title of an item, the library location, the call number, the number of copies, and the status of the item (status means if the item is still in the library or has been checked out).

The following is a brief introduction to searching the Library Catalog. For more detailed information, click here to access the Online Library Learning Center.

1. Start at the Ingram Library home page.

2. Click on the link to the Catalog from the toolbar near the top of the Library homepage.

   

3. Doing so will display the GIL Quick Search screen. From here, click on Keyword Search, as shown below.

   

4. At the Keyword Search screen, type your topic's keywords into separate boxes. Do a Title/Subject search. Click on the GO button.

   SAMPLE TOPIC:

   I need to find information on the use of alcohol by college students.

   Your keywords are: alcohol and college

   

5. At the Title List screen, click on a title to view more details about the book. Also, take note of the Library Location, the Call Number and the Status. This particular book is located on the second floor of the Library and has a Status of "Not Checked Out."

   

6. At the Brief Record display, click on the Library of Congress Subject(s) headings to find other library items on your topic. e.g. Click on the subject:

   College Students - Alcohol use

   

7. For example, if you clicked on the Subject heading College Students - Alcohol use, the following screen would display. You could then click on one of the resulting Subject Headings to find more books on your topic:

   

8. If you find a book appropriate to your topic, write down the location, title, author and call number.

9. Retrieve the book from the shelf. If you cannot find the book on the shelf, ask for help at the Circulation Desk.

10. Examine and evaluate the book and determine if it is relevant to your topic. Add relevant sources to your bibliography.

11. Borrow books at the Circulation Desk; remember to present your student ID card. Also, there are photocopy machines on the First Floor of the library.