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Searching the library catalog is one of the best ways to find solid academic books, ebooks and journal articles about your topic. However it isn't always easy to find what you are looking for on the first try. Here are some tips and tricks that might help you out.
1. Find the subject heading that best fits your topic.
Searching for "9/11" won't get you a whole lot of good results. However searching for su:September 11 Terrorist Attacks (2001) will get you much better ones. To find the subject term that best fits your topic, experiment with different keywords and once you find one item that appears to be close to your topic, click on it and open up Description. There you will see the subject headings associated with that item. Click on one that looks helpful and it will take you to a search of just items connected to that specific topic.
2. Use interlibrary loan to expand your search
Just because our library doesn't have immediate access to a book or article you are interested in, doesn't mean you can't get it. If you find a book or article that interests you, use the Request Item button to ask for us to get you a copy.
