Skip to Main Content

Honors Program Research Guide: Finding Books

OneSearch

OneSearch (also known as EBSCO Discovery Service) is a tool that provides a single search box to simultaneously search many of the libraries' resources, including books, e-books, articles, media, and more. Check out this step-by-step guide to using OneSearch.

You can also search for books and ebooks using their native interfaces.

SOUTHcat

To find books and government documents in USA Libraries' collections, use SOUTHcat: USA Libraries' Catalog.

  • Catalog tips and tricks:
    • Keyword searches – use quotation marks to hold phrases together ("linear algebra")
    • Truncation – use ? after the root of a word to find all its variants (math? finds math, maths, mathematics...)
    • Browse the Subject(s) field in records to find the right words for searches. (Example: Try doing a keyword search for math? history then look at the subject(s) field in several records. You’ll see that the subject term is "Mathematics -- History." Click the subject heading to find more records with this subject.)
  • Revise and refine your searches.
  • Watch for repeating call numbers and browse stacks in that area.
  • Pay attention to the Location and Status fields. You will need this information to locate the item in the library. The Location field will also tell you whether or not a book can be checked out. A book that's shelved in Marx Library Reference cannot usually be checked out, while one in Marx Library Bookstacks can.

Ebooks

The Marx Library has a variety of ebook collections on a plethora of subjects. For the complete list, see the Marx Library E-books page. For tips on using these ebooks, see Using Marx Library Ebooks with Ereaders. Some collections that may be particularly useful for students in Honors classes are: