Ashland University Library Catalog
Includes books and other media in US libraries. Used only for locating, not requests. Once you have found an item you would like, you have two options...
Keyword Search or Subject Search?
1. Keyword Search
Use natural language by typing a word or phrase.
Use simple words, not sentences.
Put quotes or parentheses around phrases when you want to retrieve all of the words, in the exact order given. Example: “carbon footprint"
You can expand your search by inserting OR between words. Example: global warming OR climate change
You can narrow your search by inserting AND between words. Example: recycling AND economics
You can use an * to retrieve multiple variants of a word with one efficient search. Example: communicat* retrieves results with communicate, communicating, communicator, communicates or communication
Refine your search Example: (private health care) AND communication
2. Subject Search
Library catalogs use specific Library of Congress Subject Headings to classify books. When you search, the words have to be typed in the exact order used by Library of Congress.
Article databases also use a controlled vocabulary similar to Library of Congress, but different databases may use different subject terms.
*Note: You cannot use operators such as AND or OR , nor truncate with an asterisk when doing a subject search.*
Examples of a few subject headings related to dietetics:
Economics Developing Countries
Free enterprise -- United States
United States -- Economic policy
Criminal justice, Administration of -- United States
Located at the front of a book; laying out what the book is discussing. Find the chapter title that connects with your topic.
Learn what the author is trying to prove or the information the author is presenting first. This is a great place to gain basic knowledge on a topic and find keywords.
Located at the end of the book. (Not all book have bibliographies.) This tool will help you locate the sources the author used to prove his/her point. Look up these resources for more useful information.
Located at the very end of a book. (Again, not all books include an index.) Look for your topic/keywords in the index. This will guide you to the sections of the book which will be most useful.
