I always encourage the use of books in ENG 295 classes, because they tend to give you the right level of historical background for what you need. History journal articles are usually on extremely narrow and focused topics, while history books provide overviews of broader topics.
The video below will provide you with a brief introduction to searching the library catalog for books.
Given that most of us are still working remotely, starting with ebooks is going to be fastest and easiest.
Before you start searching-- take a moment to lock the 3 limits I set into place (so they don't come undone). Find them at the top of the left-hand column. Hover over each until each until the padlock icon appears, then click it. When you are done, all three should show a closed blue padlock.
If you need a book that we only own in print, you can always ask that it pulled from the shelf and held for you, or even mailed to you.
Here is a link to a catalog search that I limited to print books.
Again, take a moment to lock the "available in the library" limiter at the top of the left column by clicking on the padlock icon.
Currently, you can request a book for pickup at the library or have it mailed to you. The video below will give you the details on how to do that.
Green Library is only able to purchase a very small percentage of the great number of English books (or film or journalism books) that are published each year. That is why it is essential when conducting research in English to use other sources to locate relevant books. REMEMBER: you can almost always use interlibrary loan to request the books that you find for free and they will arrive within 3 to 4 business days.
Google Books: This is one of my personal favorites for two reasons. First, for many books you can search (and preview) some of the text of the book. That helps you find books that have just a chapter or a few pages on your topic. Second, look for the Get this book bar, which usually appears to one side of the screen on both the preview and overview pages. Below a list of booksellers you will usually see a link called Find in a library. Click it and put WCU's zip code (19383) in the search box. If we have it, West Chester University Library will pop up as the first result and you can click on the link to go directly to our catalog! If we don't have it, you can also see if any other nearby libraries have a copy.
Amazon.com or other booksellers: One caveat, booksellers usually carry a mix of popular and academic titles. Try reading the description and seeing who the publisher is before you request a book.
Catalogs of larger university libraries: Most library catalogs can be searched by anyone (unlike databases, which are always limited to those associated with a particular school). So go to the library catalogs of large universities . Most catalogs work in a similar manner, so the search tips I provide in the left-hand column should apply to other catalogs as well.
