INST 3800: International Service-Learning (Guenther)

Often, a successful search strategy uses both keyword searching and subject searching:

1. Do a keyword search to find materials on your topic.

2. Examine the list of materials to locate one whose content seems to match your topic.

3. Once you have this one item on the computer screen, look at the subject/descriptor field to determine which subject/descriptor heading best matches your topic.

4. Do a new search for material on your topic. This time, try a subject search for the subject/descriptor heading that looked promising.

Read Word and Subject Searching to learn more about the different search strategies.

To find books, you can search the three main catalogs:

• BGSU Libraries Catalog -- contains books, magazines and journals, videos, music, electronic resources that are owned by BGSU. Almost all of them are located on campus, with some located at the Firelands campus library and the Northwest Ohio Regional Book Depository (those can be requested).
  
  
• OhioLINK Central Catalog -- contains books, videos, music, electronic resources from academic and some large public libraries in Ohio. Request online, delivery to Jerome Main Circulation desk in 2-3 business days.
   
• WorldCat Catalog -- tens of thousands of academic, public, and special libraries internationally. Got some time, and can't find it in OhioLINK? You can request things not owned by BGSU or OhioLINK via interlibrary loan -- average delivery time is 17 days. It's best to get help from a reference librarian to make sure there's not a faster way to get what you need.