Finding Books
Books can provide a comprehensive overview of your topic by pointing you towards key ideas, arguments, and thinkers. Scan the index or the table of contents to find the most relevant chapter. Use the bibliography for leads.
- Coates Library CatalogYou know it, you love it: the good ol' Coates catalog. Be sure to check the whole entry for additional searching help in the form of subject keywords, Google Books previews, tables of contents, etc.
- Open Library @ Internet ArchiveUse the Internet Archive to search for digital surrogates of Trinity's print books. Thanks to a program called controlled digital lending, you can check out and download these books as if they were physical copies on library shelves. You will need to create an account in order to borrow books.
- Google BooksGoogle Books is not as precise for local holdings as our own library catalog, but it indexes many items not held at Trinity, and it often gives excerpts using your search words. Click on "Get this book in print" to search WorldCat locations.
- WorldCatWorldCat is a catalog of library holdings worldwide. When Trinity doesn't have a book you need, you can send an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request straight from WorldCat.
Primary Sources in Books
Read secondary sources to find primary ones. Skim the notes and references to learn which kinds of evidence scholars adduce in support of their arguments and interpretations. To find items that Coates Library doesn't own, search WorldCat and submit interlibrary loan requests right from the item record.
You can also search for primary sources in WorldCat or the library catalog by using the subject keyword "sources" in an advanced search as pictured below. Look for subject tags such as diaries, letters, memoirs, and accounts to find primary sources.
