Skip to Main Content
Research Guides

Books

Books offer breadth and depth of coverage on a topic that is not available from other, shorter formats.

Using books in research

Because of their length, it can feel more daunting to approach books than shorter forms of scholarship. Consider these steps when using a book for your research:

  • To identify books: Find books and ebooks in UW Libraries Search
  • To get a print book: Request the book in the catalog interface for pickup at a library desk; or locate the book in the Libraries using the location and call number information to retrieve it yourself.
  • To access an ebook: Find the book in UW Libraries Search, then click the links to connect to the content on the ebook platform.
  • To find relevant content in books: To find portions of a book that address your topic, use the Table of Contents at the beginning of the book, and the Index at the end. This will help you identify chapters and pages that discuss your topic.
  • Read for context: Read more than just the sentence or paragraph that mentions your topic. Read the section or chapter it appears in for a fuller appreciation of context and related concepts that might flesh out your ideas.

Search Subject Headings

Subject headings in the library catalog allow the subject of library materials to be described consistently. The subject headings below are used in the Library of Congress system to identify the subject of materials in UW and other academic libraries. Search these in the "Subject" field to identify items on a particular topic. The headings in the list below are linked so as to run a search library holdings at UW and other institutions in the Pacific Northwest for English-language materials on the topic.