Library Tools: Catalog and Subscription Databases
Library Catalog:
Search the Suffolk University catalog to locate books, ebooks, periodicals, and multimedia that have been selected and purchased for the collection. The circulating collection is located on the 4th floor. Non-circulating Reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases) are located on the 2nd floof next to the Reference Desk. Course textbooks, available for in-library use, are located at the Cicrulation/Reserve Desk.
Searching Basics:
• Keyword: searches for words that might appear anywhere in the catalog or database record, such as titles, authors, subjects, abstracts, etc.
• Use AND to combine Key terms (aka, Boolean). Boolean Searching will be discussed in more detail later.
• Example: Women AND politics
The Catalog record shows the publication information, location (floor and call number), and status (available = Check Shelf)
In addition, the catalog may be searched by Author, Title, Subject, Call Number, ISN, and more.
• Subject: The Catalog uses the Library of Congress (LC) Subject Headings. It is necessary to know the actual subject heading for this search to be productive.
LC Subject Headings for the book, Women, politics, and American society, are
Women's rights -- United States
Women -- Political activity -- United States
Research Databases
Library Research Databases allow the user to search for articles in journals, magazines, newspapers, and ebook collections. Database content is carefully selected and organized, in order to assist the user in locating quality material.
Find Databases on the Library Homepage.
Like the catalog, databases may be searched by keyword, subject, title, author information, and much more. Detailed searching assistance may be found in Module 2.
