HIST 422: Advanced Research & Writing Colloquium (Hooper)

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. 

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: 

• Books tend to be on broad topics -- so, use broad search terms. 
   
• Note the location and call number. Books on similar subjects are in similar areas of the library. For example, if you search for books on the Cold War, you will see pretty quickly that many books have call numbers under either D843 or E183.8. This means you can easily go to those sections of the library and look through the books in person! 
  
  
• 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 -- Espionage, Soviet > United States > History > 20th century,  you would find all of our books marked as being about Soviet espionage in the United States during the 20th century. 

Beyond Holy Cross:

To search for books beyond those owned at Holy Cross and request them on Interlibrary Loan, use the WorldCat database: 

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! 

• Call numbers A through G are on the upper (Mezzanine) level.
   
• Call numbers H through Z are on the lower (Ground) level (with a few exceptions).
   
• M call numbers are located in the Music Library, in Brooks Hall. 
   
• N and TR call numbers are located on the main level in the Visual Arts Wing.
   
• Q, R, S and all other T call numbers are located in the Science LIbrary, in Swords Hall. 
   
• Oversize books (with a "+" in the call number) are shelved at the end of the normal section for that letter. 

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 video introduction to call numbers 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...

• listed in databases like America History & Life (where they are typically labeled as "essays" or, more rarely, "book articles"); 
• cited in bibliographies of articles and other books; and 
• searchable in Google Scholar 

(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.

• Google Scholar sometimes includes citations for book chapters (and searches across Google Books); 
   
• Databases. Some, but not all, include book chapter citations specifically; America History & Life is one); 
   
• Citations in bibliographies of articles, e-books, or other books. 

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 Options page on this guide. 

EBOOKS

To search for e-books located at Holy Cross, use CrossSearch or the Library Catalog.

Then, use theSource Type limiter in the top 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. 

Other Places to Find Ebooks:

JOURNALS ONLINE

All the information that you will need to find a journal article online, is contained in the article citation. Use the citation to look up the journal in the Browzine search.  

Some journals can be browsed within Browzine itself; in other cases, you'll be directed to browse the journal in EBSCOhost. 

Browzine is like a cheatsheet for the databases. It will tell you which journals we have online access to, for which dates, and in which databases. You can find some tips for using Browzine in our online instruction sheet. Follow the citation to browse to the journal (and, if applicable, volume and issue) you need. 

Can't find the journal in Browzine? Check to see if we have a physical copy in the library, or, use Interlibrary Loan!

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. 

Just like with online journals, everything you need to find a journal article in print in the library can be found in the citation. The steps are just a little bit different! 
 

To look for journal articles that may be available in physical copy: 

To start, search for the name of the journal (not the specific article) in CrossSearch or the Library Catalog. 

 If we own the journal, you will see a record like this, just like you would for a book: 

In the library, you can use the call number to find the correct journal volume the same way you would for a book. If you are unable to visit the library in person, you can use Document Delivery to request a scan of journals we do not have online access to: 

 Instructions for using Document Delivery