Quick Links
- Library Home Page This link opens in a new window
- OSCAR - SCU Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
- Find Journals & Magazines This link opens in a new windowFind out if the library has specific journals, magazines, or newspapers, either electronically or in print.
- Merriam-Webster Unabridged This link opens in a new windowThe largest and most comprehensive dictionary of the English language as it is currently used today.
Humanities Librarian
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
lgoodwater@scu.edu
Finding Books
FINDING BOOKS
To find books written about a specific novel, do a Subject search in OSCAR (the library's catalog) and type the name of the author (last name first). For example, to find books about Dracula, type "Stoker, Bram." Books about all aspects of Stoker's works will now appear, organized by various subheadings under his name, which is the main heading. The heading "Stoker, Bram, 1847-1912. Dracula" will list the books that focus specifically on Dracula, but other headings (such as "Stoker, Bram, 1847-1912 -- Criticism and interpretation") will list books that provide extensive discussion of the novel, too.
If you are looking for books about a topic (not a person), do an Advanced search in OSCAR. If the first terms you type do not give you the results you want, try typing in various ways of describing your topic. Then, once you find some books that look like what you want, click on the Subject links that appear in the full records for those books, and you will probably find even more books on the same topic. (For example, if you type "vampire fiction," you will find a few books, but clicking on the Subject heading "Vampires in literature" will reveal additional books to choose from.)
Obtaining Printed Books in the Library's Collection
HOW TO OBTAIN PRINTED BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY'S COLLECTION
While the library is closed because of the shelter-in-place order, its printed books are available for borrowing in the following ways:
- Curbside Pick-Up ServiceBooks and other physical materials in its collection can be requested for pick-up outside the entrance to the library. Click the link to learn complete details of this service.
- Residential/Home Delivery ServiceFor people who do not live near the university or who are otherwise unable to use the curbside pick-up service, the library is offering residential/home delivery of printed books and other physical materials in its collection, within the continental U.S. and Hawaii. Click the link to learn complete details of this service.
- Scanning ServiceIf you need only one chapter, or a small number of pages, within a printed book, library staff can scan those pages and send them to you as a PDF attachment to an e-mail message, usually within one or two days. This is much faster than waiting for the entire book to arrive in the mail. Because of copyright restrictions, it is not possible to copy an entire book in this way. Click the link to learn how to request this service.
In addition, you may be able to find a digitized copy of a printed book at the following website:
- Internet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that provides permanent access online to 1.4 million digitized copies of printed books from around the world and from all time periods. Works in the public domain (i.e., published before 1929) are readily available to all, while works still under copyright may be "checked out" and read by one person at a time, similar to one person at a time borrowing a printed copy from a library. The Internet Archive may not have digitized every book you are looking for, but it is definitely worth looking there for any books you need that exist otherwise only printed on paper.