Books and Documentaries in the Library Catalog: Basic Search and Advanced Search
Search for books and documentary films in the library catalog. Read the Search Tips to learn more. Depending on what you are trying to find and how precise or exhaustive you want your search results to be, you may want to try the basic keyword search, the Advanced Search, or the Browse mode (within basic keyword search).
An example of a basic keyword search that works well with no specific field selected is Pond Head Hunters in All Fields.
An example of a good use for the Advanced Search, with specific fields selected for multiple common search terms, is Zaslaw in Author and Mozart in Subject.
Books and Documentaries in the Library Catalog: Subject Headings, Subject Heading Browse, and Author Browse
​Sometimes, the Subject Browse (A-Z) search is useful for browsing alphabetical lists of available subject headings and subtopics. Ask a librarian or experiment with terms until you determine an appropriate subject heading. For example, books about punk music are cataloged under the subject heading Punk rock music, sometimes with additional topical, geographical, or chronological terms.
Select a heading to explore. Use the facets to limit your search results to books or video (Format), online or at the library (Access), items in English (Language), etc.
Within any catalog record, select any part of a subject heading to carry out a new search for either the main term or string of terms, such as Punk culture > United States.
Sometimes, the Author Browse (A-Z) Sorted By Name search is useful for browsing alphabetical lists of names to find works by or about a person, especially with common names like Michael Jackson or short, generic names like Prince.
Scan the name headings resulting from your Browse search. When available, select the Info button for contextual information about a person, such as Prince.
Within the description of a person, select results for Works by or Works about the person, such as Prince.
See this search in action (works by and works about Michael Jackson) on YouTube. (This video was made prior to a redesign. The Browse mode is now integrated into the basic keyword search box of the library catalog.)