SOCL 101: The Sociological Perspective (Beard): Find Sources

Have you ever discovered a journal article that would be perfect for your research topic, only to learn that Holy Cross doesn't have access to it? That's where InterLibrary Loan comes in. 

InterLibrary Loan or ILL is a service that allows you to request resources -- including journal articles-- owned by other libraries all over the US, and in some cases, around the world! Once you've placed a request, another library will send a scan of the article to Holy Cross, and it will be delivered directly to your e-mail. 

Keep in mind: Depending on how long it takes a library to accept the request and scan the article, it can take up to 1 week (though usually less) to arrive. Make sure to plan ahead!

You might come across citations for articles through our research databases. Or, you might see them cited in another resource. In the databases, use the  button to start the request process; otherwise, visit the ILLiad Interlibrary Loan page on our website to log-in and get started. 

To learn more about Interlibrary Loan, watch this video .

Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay 

Here are some general tips to guide you in choosing your search terms:

- Use keywords or brief (2-word) phrases instead of sentences -- one or two for each part of your topic.

- Use concepts and other nouns as your keywords.  Think of words that are likely to be used in titles (or that you have seen in titles).

- If your keywords aren't turning up many results, you may need to:

• Try thinking of synonyms or other ways of phrasing your topic. If you can find one or two relevant articles, check to see what subjects are listed for them and try to build keywords from there. 
   
• Try a broader search (broader topic, broader date-range, etc.).