Searching for Books and eBooks is similar to searching for articles, but there are some differences. Here are a few tips for how to search for books.
Searching in Discovery
The easiest way to search for books in Discovery is to start with an Advanced Search and select "Library Catalog" on top of the search bar. The Library Catalog contain all the physical and electronic books, movies, audiobooks, etc. To further narrow it down, use the following filters:
- Books and eBooks ONLY - If you are getting too many streaming or DVD options in you search and you want just the books in our catalog, go to the filter on the left-hand side that says "Resource Type" and then click on "Books."
- Physical Books ONLY - If you want a book you can grab from the library, then you can filter this further by clicking on "Availability" and then selecting "Held by Library." If you specifically need a book that is located in Macon, go the the filter that says "Location" and select "Tarver (Macon)--Stacks, 3rd."
- Online Books ONLY - If you just want books that you can access online, go to "Availability" and select "Available online."
Types of Books
There are two main types of academic books (and eBooks) found in the library catalog:
- Monographs - Written by (usually) one author, that is an in-depth analysis on a specific topic. When searching for monographs, it can help to keep your keywords a bit general, since these are mostly tagged with the Library of Congress subject headings.
- Anthologies - Edited collection of essays from multiple authors, each centered on an aspect of a certain topic. When searching for anthologies, each essay title and author should be available for keyword searches, but it is helpful to think of the more general subject area when choosing keywords.
Books Not in the Library
We have access to quite a bit of research at Mercer, but we don't have everything. Our Discovery likewise only searches the books in our system. If you need to get a specific book or find out what other books are out there, here are some options:
- Finding more books - If you need to research and find what other books have been written on your topic, here are some options:
- WorldCat - This database compiles catalog information on pretty much every book that a library could hold. You want to search it like a library catalog as it uses the Library of Congress headings and other bibliographic categories to prioritize search results. You can also use this to find relevant information for any book you would like to request through InterLibrary Loan.
- Google Scholar - When you search in Google Scholar it searches for both articles and books from your keywords. However, there is not a way to just filter out either books or articles, so you would have to sort through quite a few results. However, the book results all begin with "[BOOK]" before the title of the work.
- Requesting books - If you find a book that you would like for your research, but Mercer does not currently have it, you have a few options:
- Request a purchase - You can submit this form to ask for the library purchase the book you are interested in. These purchases are not guaranteed, since a lot depends on the kind of permissions we can get with the purchase (the library prefers multi-use electronic copies).
- Use Interlibrary Loan - InterLibrary Loan is a way to borrow the book you need from other libraries and you will get an alert in your email when your request becomes available. However, wait times depend on the kind of resource you are asking for.
- Requesting the entire book - These requests take longer, as the book has to be physically mailed to the library. Entire book requests use this online form.
- Requesting an article or part of a book - These requests usually come in quicker and you will receive a download code in your email. This type of request includes book chapters or specific essays from an anthology. Partial book requests use this online form.
