Books are the best way to get background information! 
They are broader and longer than articles.
They can provide the basic facts, background and context/vocabulary to help you conduct more detailed research.
Book chapters can also be helpful if there is a chapter dedicated to a sub-topic that interests you.
Helpful Reference "Books"
- OED: Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
Considered the authoritative dictionary of the English language.
- Gale Literature Criticism This link opens in a new window
A compilation of commentary essays on literary works, including drama, poetry, and short stories, from the 15th through 20th centuries
- Dictionary of Literary Biography Online This link opens in a new window
Biographies of and essays on influential literary figures.
- Contemporary Authors This link opens in a new window
Biographies of novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalist and scriptwriters, from the early 1900s to present.
- Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series This link opens in a new window
Biographies of and other information about writers currently active in poetry, fiction and nonfiction, journalism, drama, television and movies.
Searching for Books
CrossSearch
CrossSearch is the Libraries' multi-search "discovery" tool. CrossSearch searches a cross-section of journal articles, newspapers, CDs, images, and many other types of resources available through the libraries. It is also our main library catalog -- the tool you use to find books, journals, films, and other items physically located in the library, as well electronic versions of those items. 
To leave out individual articles and focus on things like books and films, you can use the Catalog Only limit in CrossSearch.
Watch our video tutorial 
to learn more about CrossSearch!
Not a CrossSearch fan? You can also use the Library Catalog.
Search Tips
Try searching for books using a very basic keyword search. Books tend to be on broad topics, so the terms you search with should be broad, too! Once you've found a few books that look interesting to you, you can use clues from the books to help you find other books. For example....
- Call Numbers. Books on similar subjects are in similar areas of the library. For example, if you search for books on Gish Jen, you would see pretty quickly that many books have call numbers starting with PS3560 (or nearby). This means you can easily go to that section of the library and look through the books in person!
- Vocabulary. Check the records in the library catalog for vocabulary in the tables of contents, titles, descriptions or other information that you might use for future searches.
- Subjects. Every book in our catalog is marked with at least 1 "tag" that tells you what the book is mostly about, and links together other books on that same topic. You can click on the tags to find a list of all other books using that tag. For example, if you click on the tag --Immigrants in literature.-- you would find all of our books marked as literature about immigrants.
Finding Books in the Library
At Holy Cross, we organize our books using a system called Library of Congress Classification or LCC. LCC is based on the subject of the books. Each letter represents a specific subject. Each subject is broken down into more specific letter sections, each of which is further broken down into number ranges for specific topics. Most call numbers have additional numbers and letters on the end of them, which are used to give each book a unique spot on the library shelves.
In general:
- Reference Books are in the Main Reading Room. These books must stay in the library.
- Books whose numbers begin with letters A through G are on the Mezzanine level (1 floor down from the Main Reading Room).
- Books whose numbers begin with N or TR are in the Visual Arts Wing on the main level.
- Books whose numbers begin with letters H through Z are mostly on the Ground (bottom) level.
- Books whose numbers begin with M are in the Music Library in Brooks Hall.
- Books whose numbers begin with Q, R, S or T are in the Science Library in Swords Hall.
Watch our Call Numbers video or visit our Call Numbers guide to learn more about how call numbers work.
Use the handout below to learn more about locating materials in Dinand Library.