LIB 101 Library Research and Beyond: Find

Remember how you brainstormed keywords? Well, now it's time to use those to develop a search query to find books and articles on your topic! This video shows you how.

• Enter a search in the PCC Library search box. 
• If the book you want has a linked message starting with Available at..., and the book is available on your home campus, write down the location and call number.

• If the book is available from another campus, click on the "Request" button in the "Get It" section, (NOTE: You will need to login with your MyPCC username and password after clicking the blue "Sign in" button to see the "Request" button), and specify the campus to which you'd like the book to be sent.

• If the book is not available from PCC, you can order it using the "Get it" buttons to request a physical copy or digital chapters from the book (located in the "Get it from other locations" section). Learn more about requesting library materials.

Books are essential to researchers and often provide a strong overview of a topic. One way to find books on your topic is to use a keyword search to find relevant subjects.

For example, I searched the keyword phrase college study skills in the PCC Library search box. The first result seemed very relevant, a book called College study skills : becoming a strategic learner. I clicked on the linked title of the book, then scrolled to the Item Details heading to view the Subjects you see below. Clicking on a linked subject will get me quickly to more books on the same topic.

If we don't have a book, chances are we can get it for you!

When you find an item with a "Find and request" message that means the book is not in our collection or is checked out.

You may be able to request the book from a library in our region using the blue "Get it" buttons to request a physical copy of the book or digital chapters from the book. Click on the book you want, and if you don't see "Get it" buttons to request a physical or digital copy of the book, you will need to log in with your MyPCC username and password after you click the blue "Sign in" button. 

Physical Item Requests

Requested physical items can be delivered to any PCC Library at no cost for pick-up in the amount of time listed in the "Get it from other locations" section (usually 7 days). An email to your MyPCC account will notify you when your item is ready for pick up. Items must be picked up within seven calendar days after they are available. Return your borrowed items to any PCC library.

Digital Chapter Requests

Requested digital items (such as book chapters) should be delivered via email in the amount of time listed in the "Get it from other locations" section (often 24 hours). You will receive requested PDFs via email. 

Learn more at our "Requesting Library Materials" page. 

Librarians talk a lot about finding articles in library databases, but what are they and how can I use them? This two minute video from Yavapai Community College explains it all.

While you can use the search box to your left (and click on the Articles tab) to find articles, the library has many other databases that might be useful to you in your research. Here are just a few suggestions:

Once in a library database, there are tools and strategies for narrowing and navigating to find what you want. This video from Portland State University Library will talk through how to navigate a search result list:

Library databases are great places to find published articles, but the results pages can be confusing, so this video will give you some tips to help you find useful results.