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Stamps Virtual Theological Library: Search for Books

by Steve Jung and Sharon Ralston, exp., rev., maintained by S. Ralston

How to Do a Basic Search for Print Books and eBooks

  1. Start at the library home page. 
  2. Click on the Books and Media tab.


  3. In the Search for books and media box, enter some initial keywords that describe your resource needs, the title of a book you are looking for, or an author you are interested in.  Note: When searching by author and/or title, it can sometimes be more efficient to use the Advanced Search option whereby you can search using the Title and/or Author indexes.  
     
  4. Click the red Search icon (looks like a magnifying glass).
     
  5. On the results page, move to the panel on the left and select desired filters to limit or expand the search and its results.  (For example, some options here that you can set are Language/Dialect to limit results to your language of choice or set a particular date range for results.)  Be sure the Retain Filters box at the top is checked. 

    Important limit here when searching for books: Under Item Format, check the boxes for Print Book and/or eBook. If you only want to find eBook results, make sure this is the only option selected for format.  
     
  6. This basic search is preset under Held by my library to material at APU (which then can be narrowed to specific libraries at APU -- but be mindful that books held only as eBooks at APU will be excluded from your results). Broadening the search pool to also include holdings in California Academic Libraries or Libraries Worldwide (WorldCat) can be selected here or later when viewing results in your search. Searching Libraries Worldwide will allow for requesting of material that we do not own when you open a record from the search results.
  7. In the list of results, click on the linked title of a promising book to see a full-display record for more information about the book. When there are multiple editions/formats of a book at APU, this page will also lead to information about additional access options (ie eBook access and/or to place a request, as in the example below), and/or Library/Shelving/Call Number Locations(s) and Availability status.  Note: Request Item from APU generates a "hold" or "document delivery" request form. For items not at APU, you will see Request from Interlibrary Loan, which will generate an ILL form to request APU's ILL to obtain the item from another library for you.     

How to Search for Print Books and eBooks Using the Advanced Search

  1. Start at the library home page.
     
  2. Follow Step 2 in the Basic Search box.
     
  3. Click on Advanced Search link below the search box and search by a combination of search indexes, such as last name of an author and a word in the title or keyword combination and/or by using subject headings that you have might have discovered on relevant records from a basic search and hit Search or set select Filter by filters and any other limiters under Additional Tools and hit Search (see Step 5 on Basic Search) or, better, set your Filters/Limiters in the next step on your results page.

        4. On the results page, move to the panel on the left and select desired filters to limit or expand the search and its results.  (For example, some options here that you can set are Language/Dialect to limit results to your language of choice or set a particular date range for results.)  (See the 3 notes below.) Be sure the Retain Filters box at the top is checked and hit Search. 

Note: Important limit here when searching for books: Under Item Format, check the boxes for Print Book and/or eBook. If you only want to find eBook results, make sure this is the only option selected for format.  

Note: The "Book" filter here includes print and eBook but the filter can be refined to one or the other on the results page.  

  1. Note: The default setting in the Advanced Search searches Libraries Worldwide.  Under Held by My Library, at the bottom of the Search Tools, check the Azusa Pacific University box in order to search only our holdings.  Broadening the search pool to also include holdings in California Academic Libraries and/or (keeping or broadening to) Libraries Worldwide (WorldCat) can be selected here or later when viewing results in your search. Searching Libraries Worldwide will allow for requesting of material that we do not own when you open a record from the search results.

    5. Alternatively, Advanced Search and be used when you are searching for works by a certain author or a book by its title: enter that in a search box and then change the dropdown Search Index to either Author or Title to make that kind of targeted search. Hit Search and then add any needed filters/limiters on the results page as in Step 4 above.


         6. Click on the linked title of a promising book to see a full display record for more information about the book. When t are multiple editions/formats of a book at APU, this page will also lead to information about additional access options (ie, eBook access or to place a request), and/or Library/Shelving/Call Number Location(s) and Availability.   

Note: Request  Item on a record for an item at APU generates a "hold" or "document delivery" request form.  For items not at APU, you will see Request from Interlibrary Loan, which generates an ILL form to request ILL to obtain the item from another library for you.

  1. 7. As mentioned previously, when viewing the results page, the search can also be reset to the filter to broaden the current search to Libraries Worldwide (WorldCat) or other options by selecting that box in the left panel.  A Request from Interlibrary Loan can be placed from the record, similar to Step 8 above.