OneSearch for books at the University Libraries
There are types of books you might wish to look for, which can be used to find literary criticism about your topic or that might contain literary criticism themselves. OneSearch is the resource you can use to discover books (and other physical items) in the University Libraries' collections. Its advanced search is particularly helpful for finding these kinds of books. OneSearch is on the University Libraries' homepage. Access the advanced search by clicking the link just below the OneSearch text box.
In every case you will type some search terms that represent your topic. You will use additional terms depending on what kind of books you hope to find. You can add text boxes to the advanced search page by clicking the plus icons.
If you are looking for annuals and yearbooks - resources that list scholarship published about a particular subject within a year - in addition to terms representing your topic, search for "bibliography" and "criticism" as subject terms, and "annual" or "yearbook" as additional words that could appear anywhere (i.e., leave the pull-down menus set to "all fields.")
If you are looking for books that themselves contain literary criticism - which might be original to the book or reprinted from a journal, and that will likely have citations that could lead you to additional sources - use some search terms that represent your topic and add "criticism" as a subject term.
If you are looking for bibliographies in book format, choose some search terms that represent your topic and add "bibliography" as a subject term.
Whatever sort of book your are searching for, apply the "library catalog" filter on the results page.
If you find a book you would like to borrow, note its call number and location.
WorldCat for books at other libraries
The same combinations of search terms outlined above can lead you to yearbooks, bibliographies, and literary criticism in book format in WorldCat.
- WorldCat This link opens in a new window WorldCat is the collected catalog of materials (such as books) owned by over 54,000 libraries worldwide. Great for exhaustive searches for books on a topic. Look for the "Request via interlibrary loan" in WorldCat records to borrow items from other libraries using Interlibrary Loan. Use the "Check OneSearch" link in the record to see if we have book first.
You can use WorldCat to discover and borrow items from other libraries. Physical items can take a couple weeks to be delivered to Ball State. Typically, the more libraries that have an item and the closer they are to Muncie, the less time you will have to wait for delivery.