Forestry

Finding Books in catalogs

Searching for books

The OSU Library catalog and the Summit catalog operate very similarly.  Even better they are connected to one another, making your job a little easier.

*Start with the OSU Libraries catalog. 

Keyword searching

Use the keyword search feature to start.

You can search:

• individual words, separately (ie logging)
• multiple words anywhere in the catalog record (logging aerial)
• phrases ("log transportation")
• word stems where you might want to search a variety of words at once (fisher* -- which will result in records that contain the words fisheries, fishery, but not fishing, fishes or fish)
• Other features are available such as limiting by year published, media type, etc.

Look closely at the item records for the results you are getting.  Be sure to look at the subject headings.

Subject heading searches

You may find this feature useful once you have explored your topic and have found how your topic is described by others.  This will help you navigate the catalogs a little easier.  For example, in one the records for my searches on aerial logging, I found these subject headings:

           --Helicopters.

           --Lumbering -- Machinery.

           --Logging, Aerial. 

If I click on these headings from the catalog record, I may find additional titles described with the same subject headings.

Once you have done a search in the OSU Libraries catalog you can click "Try Summit Libraries" to see if any regional libraries have additional titles that meet the search criteria.