How do I...?

You can find books through our online catalog. To get to the catalog, select Books/Library Catalog from the Passports home page.

Begin searching by entering a term or terms in the blank Quick Search box.

Note that the default setting is "keyword." This searches the entire record for each catalog entry: title, author, subject headings, etc. Avoid using long phrases in your search; if you type in a phrase like the image of librarians in the media, you will find nothing because no records contain that exact phrase. You'll get better results if you use one search term or two search terms joined with an "and," for example, image and librarian.

If the catalog contains records with your search terms, you will see a list of titles. Clicking on the title brings you to the catclog record for that item, which includes information on where to find the book ("stacks"are what bookshelves are called in a library), the book's call number, and whether it's available for check out.

For more detailed information on searching the catalog, see our Searching the Library Catalog tutorial. A video demonstration of finding books in the catalog is available. We also have a complete list of videos in our Passports Skills Video Series, as well as information on system requirements for playing these presentations. If you're ready to begin searching for books, proceed to the library catalog.