The Library Catalog [or CrossSearch]
General (Article) Databases [or CrossSearch]
BOOKS, EBOOKS, CHAPTERS
SEARCH FOR BOOKS
To find books in our library collections, you can use either CrossSearch, or the Library Catalog.
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. To look for books specifically, you
can use the Catalog Only limit in CrossSearch. Watch our video introduction to CrossSearch 📺 to learn more!
The Library Catalog searches specifically for physical items such as books, DVDs, and magazines, as well as electronic versions of these items. It does not search, for example, individual articles.
Regardless of where you search:
Beyond Holy Cross:
To search for books beyond those owned at Holy Cross and request them on Interlibrary Loan, use the WorldCat database:
A world-wide catalog of books, journals, audiovisual materials, and other sources available in libraries worldwide. Includes direct links to request items on Interlibrary Loan.
NAVIGATE THE STACKS
If the book you want has a call number listed, like so --
-- and the status says Available, you're in luck -- the book is here! but what now?
Books at Dinand Library are arranged by Library of Congress Call Number. Call numbers provide an exact 'address' for where you will physically find the book in the library. They also help us keep all of the books in order by subject!
The Stacks Guide handout attached here has more information about how the stacks are organized, and the best places for you to look.
You can also watch our Call Numbers video tutorial 📺 to learn more about how call numbers work. Or, check out the Library of Congress Classification Outline for a detailed breakdown of our call number system.
MONOGRAPHS VS. EDITED COLLECTIONS
Monographs typically consist of a single intellectual work in one volume (i.e., one topic, likely one overall argument, etc.). You might find that an individual chapter or section of a monograph contributes substantially to your understanding of a topic.
Edited collections (also sometimes called anthologies or edited works, among others) contain a collection of essays around a topic or idea, typically curated by one or more scholars in the field. These scholars, called the editors, have usually determined the topic of the collection, solicited papers on relevant topics, and selected the papers for final inclusion in the volume; they may have taken on other roles in the publishing process as well. Edited collections are valuable for their ability to bring together different takes on and aspects of a topic in a particular volume where they can be read together, but the chapters or essays also stand as their own intellectual works.
Whereas monographs are quite broad, chapters in edited collections are more similar in depth and length to journal articles.
Finding Edited Collections
Edited collections are listed in CrossSearch like any other book. A trick for finding edited collections specifically is to include the term "edited" or "editor" as a keyword in your search. From there, if the book is in print, you can use the strategies on the next tab (Book Chapters) to help identify the chapter(s) you would like to read -- or, find the entire book in the library.
You can also find chapters from edited collections...
(among other places).
BOOK CHAPTERS:
Locating book chapters that you may want to read can take a little more time. Here are some creative ways that you might find book chapters:
CrossSearch. Some, but not all, of our books include a table of contents in CrossSearch. If there is one, you can usually find it in the full catalog page for the book -- or, look for a button that says Table of Contents only and/or Publisher Description.
Google Books. While Google rarely provides unrestricted previews, you can often see enough to read the Table of Contents, and maybe even to skim a chapter or two.
Amazon. Again, Amazon does not provide unrestricted previews, but will often let you view a Table of Contents using the Look Inside feature.
WorldCat. A “world catalog” of books from libraries all over the world. Many WorldCat records include a list of chapters for books.
Publisher’s Website. Try Googling the title of the book (in quotations) along with the name of the publisher listed in CrossSearch. If it is a relatively-recent book, or at least still in-print, you may be able to find a list of contents on their website.
Each of these strategies can be used to....
(1) Find the titles of book chapters in our own libraries; or
(2) Find the titles of book chapters held by other libraries, which can be requested on Interlibrary Loan.
Requesting Book Chapters
For instructions on how to obtain book chapters that you would like to use, see the Access Sources page on this guide.
EBOOKS
To search for e-books located at Holy Cross, use CrossSearch or the Library Catalog.
Then, use the Resource Type limiter in the side navigation to focus your search on e-books.
You may also want to search in our specific e-book collections:
When searching within a specific ebook collection, you will be able to search the full text of each book allowing more detailed searching. For example, you may search the library catalog and not find any titles on your topic, but a search in ebrary might find a book with one chapter focused on your topic.
Accessing Ebooks:
In most cases, your best option is to use the "Read Online" feature for our e-books. Most academic e-books do not work with devices that you might use to read personal e-books, such as a Kindle or Nook (believe me -- this frustrates librarians too!). There is software that you can download onto a PC or iPad, but this can be difficult to use, so if you have a stable internet connection, I recommend reading online.
However, if you would like to download the software, or if you are having trouble accessing any particular e-book, please feel free to contact us (libref@holycross.edu) or see our e-books guide linked below:
NOTE that most e-books do have limits on printing. Each publisher has different functionality and rules for downloading and printing ebooks.
ACADEMIC ARTICLES
Research Databases for History (1450-):
Journal articles, book chapters and magazines about the history of the United States and Canada, 1450-present.
Journal articles, book chapters and magazines about the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450-present.
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
Citations for journal articles, reviews, books, and other sources about the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700).
Research Databases for History (to 1450):
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
Citations for journal articles, essays, books, and other sources about the Medieval period in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East (300-1500 AD). **Limited to 2 users at one time. Please click "Logout" and close the website when you are done.
Citations for journal articles, reviews, books, and other sources about the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700).
Research Databases for Politics:
Journal articles, working papers, conference proceedings and other publications dealing with political science and international relations.
Legal documents at the federal and state level, including court cases, laws, and legal encyclopedias.
Research Databases for Social Policy, Sexuality & Gender
Journal articles, and citations for books, conference proceedings, and other resources, in the field of sociology.
Academic and professional journal articles, reports, blogs and other sources relating to criminal justice.
Academic and professional journal articles, dissertations, magazines, and news dealing with a variety of social science fields.
Research Databases for the Arts
Journal articles, books and dissertations focusing on literature and literary criticism, language, and publishing.
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
Multidisciplinary Databases
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
Journal articles, magazines, and news in almost every subject area.
Journal articles, magazines, and news in almost every subject area.
Theses and dissertations on all subjects from around the world.
These databases include Historical Period information for each article, allowing you to search for articles about a specific time period.
Combining Databases
ACADEMIC JOURNALS
JOURNALS ONLINE
Browzine, our E-Journals search (also on the library homepage) is a "cheat-sheet" to our research databases -- it will tell you which journals we have online access to, for which dates, and in which online tool.
To use Browzine to find an online copy of an article:
JOURNALS IN PRINT
If the journal, or the issue of the journal you need, is not available online, check to see if we have a print (physical) copy. It sometimes happens, particularly with older articles, that an article will not be in our online collection, but may be available somewhere in the library building. The Library Catalog and CrossSearch both contain information on everything we have in physical copy in the libraries.
To look for journal articles that may be available in physical copy:
If the Libraries own the volume/issue you need, note the call number and location. Journals in Dinand Library will typically be shelved by call number, alongside books in that section. Follow the instructions for finding books to locate the specific journal. Journals in the Science Library are shelved alphabetically in a separate section of the library.
Once you find the volume in the library, use the issue number and page number from the article citation to locate a copy of the article. All 3 campus libraries have scanners that you can then use to send a PDF of the article to your email.