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PHIL 231: Media Ethics: Finding Books

Spring 2015/ Dr. Achim Koeddermann

Finding Books

  • Books are available from the library in both print and electronic form
  • Books are usually authoritative sources of information
  • Books may provide thorough coverage of a subject
  • Books may contain references and bibliographies (which is really helpful when you are looking for sources!)

To find books owned by the Milne Library, you can check:

Classic Catalog - the classic catalog will show you the print books the library owns. There are several ways to search the catalog. Below are some examples:

  • Search the catalog by leaving the default search as "Words Anywhere" and type in your keywords (ancient philosophy)
  • Change the drop down menu to "Words in Subject" and type in your keywords (ancient philosophy)
  • Change the drop down menu to "Subject Begins With" and type in your keywords (philosophy -- ancient)

You will see that your results vary based on the type of search you run. If you are just beginning your research, it is easiest to leave the default search as "Words Anywhere" and narrow down from the results list.

Make sure to note where the item is located (Circulating Collection, Reference Collection, Electronic, New Material, Oversized). If you are not sure where the item is located in the library, check the floor maps or ask at the Reference Desk.

If you wish to access an electronic book and you are not on campus, remember to log in to the SUNY Oneonta system in order to retrieve the full-text of the item.

WorldCat - if you are having trouble finding books on your topic in the Milne Library, you can check for items from other libraries. WorldCat is an online catalog of material help by other libraries and research institutions around the world. To access it, click on the WorldCat tab on the library homepage. If you find an item in WorldCat that you would like to borrow, you can request it using Interlibrary Loan

Search Everything - this is the default search on the library's homepage. "Search Everything" is literally that - it searches through all the material the library has access to (books, journals, films, sound recordings, articles, databases and more). It is a great service, but (WARNING) you will retrieve a lot of results. You can narrow your results to just look at a specific type of material, but if you are just looking for print books, you may want to use the Classic Catalog instead.
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