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ROML 89: Wonder and Energy in Science Fiction: Books & Articles

Finding Books

Searching the Library Catalog: Tips for Finding Books and Articles

Start by entering a few keywords related to your topic in the library catalog search bar. Once you find a relevant item, check the Subject Headings listed in its record, these are standardized terms that link to other materials on similar topics. Clicking on them is a great way to discover related resources.

Example of Subject Headings

"Futurism (Literary movement) -- Africa, French-speaking"

"Science fiction, French -- History and criticism"

"NDiaye, Marie -- Criticism and interpretation"

"Truffaut, François -- Criticism and interpretation"

"Power resources -- Social aspects"

You can also narrow or expand your search using the filters (called facets) on the left side of the catalog screen:

  • Use "Available Online" to find materials you can access remotely.
  • Use "Resource Type" to limit results to books, journals, or government documents.

Search Strategies:

  • To find books by a literary author, use an Author search.
  • To find books about a literary author, use a Subject search.

You can also combine these terms with other keywords or search your keywords as subjects.


Expanding Your Search:

  • Use the catalog’s filters to include results from Duke, NC State, and NCCU Libraries.
  • For even broader results, try searching WorldCat, a global catalog of library collections.

General and multidisciplinary search options

Google Scholar provides the "cited by" feature which traces an article's topic from the time of publication forward.The cited by link will show other articles that have cited this resource. When combined with an article's bibliographyyou are then able to locate a project within a scholarly conversation. Be sure to configure your Google Scholar account so that you gain full access to articles provided by the University Libraries.

Subject specific databases

Reference Resources