Learn about our search tools and when to use them.
Search tools
- IUCAT searches the Library's collection of books, journals. multimedia, and government documents.
- EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) searches our collection of articles, books, periodicals, and multimedia. EDS includes results from IUCAT and most of our online library databases.
- A-Z Databases lists all library databases. The list can be searched by name or filtered by subject area or database type.
- Scholarly E-Journals lists academic journals in our collection. Browse by subject or search by title.
- Journal and E-Book Locator searches our collection of e-journals and e-books.
Guidance for searching
Understanding Call Numbers
To locate physical materials in the library, you will need to use their call numbers. Learn how to read the call number systems we use here.
Finding Articles and Books
Find scholarly articles in databases
The Library provides access to thousands of scholarly, peer-reviewed articles, which are available within our many online databases. Start your search by selecting one of these databases. If you know the name of your database, find it with A-Z Databases. You can also filter the A-Z list by subject or browse our other LibGuides. Watch this short video for a quick demonstration of how to find scholarly articles through the Library website.
Searching a library database is different than searching Google. Try these best practices:
- Use the Advanced Search option. Advanced Search allows you to search for multiple keywords. The "AND" option allows you to combine terms and focus your search, e.g. cats AND dogs. Use the "OR" option to broaden your results, e.g. cats OR dogs. Use the "NOT" option to filter your results, e.g. cats NOT dogs.
- Many articles contain summaries or abstracts. Use these to determine if an article is a good fit.
- Search results may automatically include the full text of an article. If not, look for a button on the result that says "Look for it." Choose this button to see if we have the article in another database. If the article is unavailable, interlibrary loan is another option.
- Use your imagination. Think of all possible ways to express your topic. For example, an article about post traumatic stress disorder may not have the acronym PTSD. To get the best results, use the "OR" option mentioned above to combine synonyms and acronyms, e.g. post traumatic stress disorder "OR" PTSD.
- Try more than one database or set of results. Search a database that covers many subjects, e.g. Academic Search Premier, and a subject-specialized database, such as PsycARTICLES. The same phrase in two different databases may bring up completely different results. Don't be content with the results of one search.
Find books in our catalog or EDS
The Library offers two main ways for finding books in our collection. Both of these tools allow you to search for both print books and e-books.
- IUCAT is our library catalog, which allows you to search for books by keyword, title, or author. Our links to IUCAT default to items held at IU Kokomo. You can expand your search to include other IU libraries by checking the "All IUCAT" box located beneath the search box. You can request available items at other campuses be delivered to Kokomo for you to borrow. This short video covers the basics of finding books in IUCAT.
- EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) is our Amazon-like approach for books. Enter your keywords into the search box. When the results appear, be sure to select Books (or eBooks for online books you can read right away) in the Filter By Format section on the lefthand side of the results page. Items from IUCAT are automatically included in EDS search results. EDS also allows you to search by title or author. EDS also contains many open access e-books that may not be available in IUCAT.
Custom recommendations
Looking for more specific advice? Let us know. We want to work with you to help you find exactly what you need.
Consult the Research Help desk
