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ANTH 021: Human Cultures - Steinberg (Spring 2022)

Finding books


CATQuest is a search engine that provides information about, and access to a wide variety of materials from the UVM Libraries and beyond. To look for books that are available in the library or from the library, please do the following:

Search the Library Catalog using CATQuest

  • In the main search box on the library home page, click on: Advanced Search
  • On the top of the Advanced Search screen, click the Library Catalog button in the Search box 
  • Enter your search terms
  • Look at results and note locations in the library
  • If you'd like to limit your search results to books available in electronic format, from your search results page, under the Quick Limits facet on the left, select: Available online

Locating books beyond the UVM Libraries

** The most comprehensive resource for locating books is a database that UVM subscribes to, called WorldCat.

When using WorldCat and other larger catalogs of books, use Interlibrary Loan to order materials of importance to you, that we do not own. First, make sure it is something that you really need.

How do I know if a book is scholarly/ academic?

  • Who wrote the book?  What are their credentials to write the book?  Are they scholars in their field? (To answer this, read the biographical description of the authors provided in the book; Google them to see their professional associations - university faculty are easy to find by Googling.)
     
  • Who is the intended audience?  Is the book written by scholars with the intent that other scholars are the primary audience?  (See questions below.)
     
  • Is the language formal, containing jargon, and assuming knowledge of a field? (Answering YES to this points to scholarly book.)
     
  • What is the purpose of the book?  Is it to present research in a field? To analyze other scholars' work?  (Answering YES to this points to scholarly book.)
     
  • Who published the book?  Is it published by a university press, scholarly association, or known publisher of scholarship? (University press or scholarly association is a great indicator that the answer is YES - scholarly book)
     
  • Does the book include cited references and a bibliography (generally extensive)?  (Answering YES to this points to scholarly book.)

Looking for an edited book?

Your professor may ask you to find edited books on a topic, or you may find a reference to a book chapter in an edited book in a bibliography or in a research database. 

 Edited books are compilations of chapters that are written by different authors on a specific topic; the editors compile the chapters and write an introduction explaining the content of the book and how the chapters are related. 

To specifically locate edited books in the Library Catalog, it can be useful to use the term "edited" as one of your search terms.

The recommended way to locate a known book chapter in an edited book in the Library Catalog is to search the library catalog for the BOOK TITLE, not the chapter title.