Often, research assignments will require you to locate secondary sources to include in a literature review. Secondary sources often use primary sources as part of their analysis. The two main scholarly forms of secondary sources that are used in academic research in the social sciences are books and articles. Below you will find information that can help you locate books.
Finding books, both in print and as e-books, can be done in using the library catalog. The video below explains how to use the library catalog, GIL-Find, to locate books. If you would like a print copy of a book not in the library's collection, you can utilize our Interlibrary Loan service.
Books in libraries are assigned one or more subject headings. These are standardized terms that ensure books on the same topic can be found even if the keywords are different, as with Istanbul and Constantinople.
Use GILFind (click " Library Catalog" on the library's homepage or just start here) to search in
Use the Browse Search link in GILFind to search by subject terms. (You can also search by subject in Advanced Search).
When you find a good book, look at its subject headings in the catalog record.
Follow these to list other items on that topic. Or, use the subject heading terms in a new keyword search.
Almost every college or university library in the US will use the Library of Congress Subject Headings. WorldCat also uses them.
Most books published after 1924 will not be fully available in Google Books due to copyright protections. However, Google Books will often include a book's table of contents, and snippets or sections of text; sometimes an entire chapter will be included (and it might be the section you need!)
HathiTrust makes accessible a vast collection of works from an international community of research libraries. The collection includes more than 16 million volumes, nearly 6 million of which are in the public domain.
If you have a current library card from the Fulton County Library System, you are able to check out ebooks held in their collection. GSU affiliates are able to get an AFPLS card regardless of what county they live in. Check the Fulton County Library site for information about getting an online library card.(If you have a library card for another public library system, check with that system to see what your borrowing options are).
Digital copies of books whose copyrights have expired.
Wide-ranging collection of digitized resources. Search the CRL's catalog, or browse the collection.
Digital library, includes scanned books for checkout (select "Books" from the top menu) as well as moving images, live music, audio.
