Tips on searching the library catalog:
- Keywords are the best way to begin your search:
- Try to break your topic into the words or phrases that express the central idea instead of using whole sentences or questions like you might in a Web search.
- If you're completely unfamiliar with your topic, look for background information (such as an encyclopedia or other reference source) on the library site, on the Web, or even on Wikipedia.
- Consider synonyms (girls, women, female) of those ideas as well as related topics (drugs, addiction, mental health) as additional keywords to try.
- Use the options (filters) to the left of your search to narrow the results. You can limit your search to print or electronic books, articles, and other sources types; look for sources based on the date they were published; and more.
- The library's print books use the Library of Congress classification system. The first couple of letters of the call number indicate the item's location in the library; there is a chart with those locations to the right of the library elevator.
