The Ohio State University

Guide to Information Resources in Education:
Finding Books

To find books on education you'll be using the OSU, OhioLINK and other library catalogs.  You can perform searches using authors' names, material titles, subject headings, or key words that might appear in book titles, author names, or even chapter titles. Be sure to ask a librarian if you need any help using online catalogs.

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Ohio State, OhioLINK, and Other Library Catalogs

Ohio State

OSU's online catalog, formerly known as OSCAR, lists almost all the OSU library holdings.  (Note: While it does not list specific journal articles, it does list the titles of journals held by the libraries, as well as detailed information about volumes owned and their campus locations.) Connect to the OSU catalog.

OhioLINK

Is OSU's copy checked out?  Do you need more information than OSU can provide?  Try OhioLINK, the consortium of 80 Ohio academic libraries, including the State Library of Ohio.  OhioLINK provides you with access to over 21 million items for which you can place requests using your computer.  Items are delivered from all over the state in approximately three working days, making OhioLINK a unique resource.  Connect to OhioLINK catalog.

Other Library Catalogs

If you can't find what you need using OSCAR and OhioLINK, you may want to try one of the other library catalogs that is available to you through OSU.  Examples include WorldCat, which represents the holdings of thousands of libraries around the world, and CIC, representing the Big Ten Libraries plus the University of Chicago.  Complete list of available library catalogs.  You can place online requests for CIC materials.  For others you must submit a request through Interlibrary Services.

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Author Searches

To search for works by a specific author, choose AUTHOR from the search menu, then enter the author's last name first, followed by as much of the first and middle names as you know.  OSCAR and OhioLINK are huge catalogs, so the more specific you can be, the better.  Feel free to ask a librarian for help.  If you are searching for works about an author; for example, John Dewey, then you should do a SUBJECT search instead of an AUTHOR search.

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Title Searches

TITLE searches may be the easiest of all, provided you know the correct title.  If you don't find the item you are looking for, try transferring your search to OhioLINK to see if another library owns the item.  If you still don't find it, try another library catalog like CIC or WorldCat. If you can't find your item listed in any of these places, you may not have the correct title.  In this case, try a KEY WORD search instead.

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Subject Searches

SUBJECT searches require you to use official words and phrases assigned by the library to classify items by subject. OSU, and most other large libraries, use the Library of Congress Subject Headings.  A complete list of these subject headings is available in the SUL Library Reference Room (205 Sullivant Hall).  Investing a little time in this 4-volume work can save you a lot of time in the long run.

Another  good way to find appropriate subject headings is to do a KEY WORD search first.  Select a relevant item from the results list, then scroll down to the "Subject" area of the screen.  Use the subject headings you find listed there in subsequent SUBJECT searches.  Repeat this process until you have a wide list of useful official subject headings.

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Key Word Searches

KEY WORD searches allow you to enter any single word or combination of words you want. You don't need to use official subject headings, as you do with SUBJECT searches.  The computer will search for the words you enter in authors' names, book titles, series names, publishers' names, and chapter titles.  Don't be surprised if you turn up some irrelevant items.  Check the subject headings for the relevant items, and use those for subsequent SUBJECT searches.  To be really thorough, do both SUBJECT and KEY WORD searches.

For tips for KEY WORD searching, see the examples at the bottom of key word search screen.

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