The Library Catalog

Start from the Library Homepage

The library homepage allows you to start searching for books, articles, journals, and other resources at Cornell and at other libraries worldwide.

This catalog contains the holdings of 19 Cornell University libraries (over 7 million items) including records for books, DVD's/videos, sound recordings, magazines/newspapers/journals, computer files, government documents, manuscripts and archives, maps, musical scores, and more.

 


You can refine your search with the facets on the left.  The advanced search allows for more precision.  The drop down menu to the right of the search box allows you to change what field you are searching. (Author, Title, Keyword, Subject.)

To search the holdings of libraries beyond Cornell in the Worldcat Local database and click on Results at “libraries worldwide”  on the left of the results page.

The catalog page also features links to both the Classic Catalog and Worldcat Local

Search for articles

Search a number of databases at one time using Summon, or go into individual databases for your searches.

Summon / Search for Articles

Summon (Articles & Full Text) searches articles, ebooks, audio files, and video files. It does not search the library catalog (print books and other physical items).

Use the Library Catalog for print books. Also, Summon doesn't search all library resources. Use subject-specific databases (link to the right of Articles & Full Text) for comprehensive or focused searching.

 

Use the library catalog to locate print copies of journal articles not available online.

For example, to access a recent article published in the journal Ethnomusicology that is not yet available in digital form, search by journal title in the "Classic Catalog," which will provide the location, call number, and a list of recent issues.

Finding scholarly articles

When an "articles" tab search in the library catalog proves to be overwhelming, you may wish to try using more discipline-specific databases such as RILM or Bibliography of Asian Studies. Here are some additional humanities databases that may be of use:

  • JSTOR
    JSTOR is a fully-searchable database containing the back issues of several hundred scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, mathematics, music, ecology and botany, business, and other fields. It includes the following collections: Arts & sciences I, II and III, General science, Ecology and botany, Business, Language and literature.
  • Project MUSE
    Searchable database that provides access to the full text of journals and ebooks published by university presses in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. Covers such fields as literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, and others.
  • ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
    With more than 2 million entries, PQD&T is the single, central, authoritative resource for information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts written by the author. Master's theses published from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. UMI offers over 1.8 million titles for purchase in microfilm or paper formats. More than 600,000 are available in native or image PDF formats for immediate free download. Coverage begin in 1861 to the present.