Use the Classic Library Catalog to locate books and other material at UVM.
Types of Searches
Quick Search – Use this search mode when you already know the title or author of a book or of a movie. Also use to search for journal titles. Use subject searches sparingly – they work best for a name.
Example of Title Search: Beyond Rosie the Riveter : Women of World War II in American popular graphic art
Example of Title Search: Making war, making women : femininity and duty on the American home front, 1941-1945
Example of Author Search: D'Emilio, John
Guided Keyword Search – Use when you are looking for books or DVDs on a topic but don’t already know the titles. For best results, I recommend that you run several searches using different combinations of keywords.
Example: race AND birth control [as a phrase]
Example: women AND military AND history AND united states [in subject]
Some Tips and Tricks
Books are generally written on broad topics. When searching the catalog for books think broadly rather than very specifically. For more specific topics look for journal articles.
One great one to locate materials on a subject is to start by doing a quick search for a book you already know about (one that you have read in class, that your professor has recommended, or that is listed in a bibliography. Once you have located the known book, you can locate similar books by clicking on the links (Subject Headings) that broadly describe what the book is about.
Use a ? after the root of a word to find variations on a term. (This process is called truncation and can be used in many of our electronic databases – the symbol used varies depending upon database).
Example: feminin? (will locate feminine, femininity, femininities)
Watch for books with links to Google Books. Many items in our catalog now have a link to Google Books where you can often learn more about a book (see the table of contents, search for a word or term inside the books, or preview selected pages). Note: Previews are not a substitute for the entire book.
When UVM doesn't own the books or article that you need you can order it through Inter-Library Loan. There is no charge for this service but be prepared to wait 3-10 days for your material depending upon availability.