Searching for books in Quick Find
Quick Find is a search tool that will help you locate research materials in all four campus libraries. This is the tool that you will use to search for books, INCLUDING E-BOOKS (although you can search for many other types of materials as well, by changing the Resource Type filters). You can access Quick Find from the Library home page.
To search for books in Quick Find:
- Enter your search terms (for searching tips, see Archer Library's Quick Find LibGuide).
- Under Resource Type in the left column, select Books to limit your results to books (noting that this search includes e-books).
Boolean operators
Many databases, including Quick Find, allow you to use Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT) to carry out your search.
An explanation of how to use Boolean operators is available from MIT Libraries.
Is this book scholarly?
When carrying out research for your university classes, you will be asked to use scholarly (or academic) books and journal articles. Most books you will locate in our campus libraries using Quick Find will be scholarly; however, if you're unsure, there are a few questions you can ask yourself:
- Who published the book? Is it a university or scholarly press?
- Who wrote the book? Is it an academic? Someone with scholarly credentials?
If you're still unsure, you can always ask a librarian for assistance.
Interlibrary loans
If you are unable to find a book or article through the library's catalogue or databases, you can make an interlibrary loan (ILL) request to obtain this material from another library.
To place an interlibrary loan request:
- Go to the ILL Request screen.
- Log in using your barcode and last name.
- Under Add request select the type of material you are requesting.
- Complete the form with as much information as you can.
If you have any questions about this process, just ask for help at Campion Library, or you can check out the library's FAQ page on ILL. Please note that ILL can take days, or even weeks to complete (since the material is coming from another library), so it's a good idea to plan ahead and start your research early.