See how the discover tool at our university works. Learn how to create search statements and find the best results.

1. LIBRARY.ATU.EDU
A P O R TA L TO C O L L E G E R E S O U R C E S

2. • Functions• Help
• Supplies• content
Information Tools
ServicesLibrarians
WHAT ARE LIBRARY RESOURCES?

3. Library
Resources
Define Examples: Online
Library Homepage
Examples: At the Library
Ross Pendergraft Library &
Technology Center
Information Content packages Databases Collections
Tools Supplies that assist
students & faculty
with learning &
teaching
RefWorks Printers, staplers, laminator
Librarians Professional
information
specialists
Ask Us – virtual help with
research
The Reference Desk
Services Policies &
procedures in place
to assist library
users needs
Interlibrary Loan with
ILLiad
The InterLibrary loan office

4. CONTENT
Books
Periodicals
Multimedia
• electronic
• physical
• electronic
• Physical
• electronic
• physical

5. LIBRARY BOOK COLLECTIONS
PHYSICAL
• First Floor
– Popular Reading
– Reference
– Youth & Children’s Book
Collection
– Course Reserve
• Second Floor
– RPL Book Collection
ELECTRONIC
• Library Homepage (library.atu.edu)
– Find it… (search everything)
• Find physical books
• Ebook Central Subscription
• Ebsco eBooks Subscription
• Individually purchased titles
• Smaller ebook collections

6. PERIODICALS
PHYSICAL
• First Floor
– Current Periodicals
• Newspapers
• Scholarly journals
• Magazines
• Trade journals
• Microfilm
• Second Floor
– Compact Shelving
• Bound journals
ELECTRONIC
• Library homepage (library.atu.edu)
– Find it…
• Find location to physical titles
• Search 200+ databases
• Find articles, journals, historical newspapers,
etc.
– Link to article in its database
Largest multidisciplinary databases
– Academic Search Complete
– Proquest Central

7. MULTIMEDIA
PHYSICAL
• First Floor
– DVDs
– Audiobooks
• Second Floor
– Music Lab
• CDs
• LPs
ELECTRONIC
• Library homepage
(library.atu.edu)
– Find it…
• Find location of physical
multimedia
– Databases
• Streaming Video Collections
– Academic Online Video
– Digital Theater Plus
• Streaming Audio Collections
– Naxos Spoken Word
• Streaming Music Collections
– Naxos (mostly classical)

8. SEARCH STRATEGY
WORDS ACT LIKE MATH IN LIBRARY DATABASES
Keywords + Boolean Operators = better
results

9. KEYWORDS
Use only keywords in your search
What are the effects of CO2 on the
plants in the ocean?

10. BOOLEAN
OPERATORS
These words
are used with
keywords to
make a
search more
precise
AND
NARROWS SEARCH -
BOTH WORDS MUST BE
PRESENT IN ITEM RECORD
OR
EXPANDS SEARCH –
EITHER WORD CAN BE PRESENT
WITHOUT THE OTHER IN
ITEM RECORD
NOT
OMITS A WORD FROM
THE SEARCH
“ “ WORDS IN A SPECIFIC
ORDER

11. BOOLEAN OPERATORS
USE AND WITH 2
DIFFERENT
ASPECTS OF TOPIC
USE OR WITH SYNONYMS
OR OTHER PHRASES THAT
MEAN THE SAME THING
USE NOT TO OMIT
A WORD FROM
SEARCH
BEARS FOREST FOREST
WOODS BEARS CHICAGO

12. HOW TO USE BOOLEAN OPERATORS:
CREATING SEARCH STATEMENTS
SEARCH STATEMENT NUMBER OF RESULTS
CO2 755,692
CO2 AND OCEAN 46,287
CO2 OR CARBON DIOXIDE 1,182,814
OCEAN PLANTS 109,991
OCEAN PLANTS NOT NUCLEAR 89,724

13. USING FIND IT…
DATABASES -
ELECTRONIC
• Organization of
information using
software to
strategically search
and find
information
COLLECTIONS –
PHYSICAL
• Information items that are
usually grouped in
locations by resource type
and are found by using a
search tool; what used to
be the card catalog
Results
multimedia
Books
Periodicals
Keywords
Filters
Precise
Keywords
related to
topic
AND
OR
NOT
Boolean
Operators
• Brainstorm for synonym
• Add other aspects of topic
• People
• Places
• Time period
• viewpoint
left sidebar of results
page
• resource type
• peer-reviewed
• full-text
• available in library
• date

14. SEARCH EVERYTHING
KEYWORDS
+
BOOLEAN

15. F I LT E R S
Tools within search
engines/databases
that limit results to
specific types of
details.
Dates, Subject,
Collection, Type of
resource, etc.

16. RESULTS TYPE OF RESOURCE
WHERE TO ACCESS
NUMBER OF RESULTS
GET MANAGABLE RESULTS BY
CHANGING YOUR SEARCH STATEMENT
ACCESS:
AVAILABLE AT… = PHYSICAL
ONLINE ACCESS = ELECTRONIC
FULL TEXT AVAILABLE = ELECTRONIC
TYPE OF RESOURCE:
BOOK, ARTICLE, REFERENCE, ETC.
CLICK TITLE TO SEE FULL DETAILS

17. NOW YOU TRY
H T T P : / / L I B R A R Y. AT U . E D U