Let's take a step back

Before we jump into learning to search the catalog, let's get some important things about library catalogs straight.

• Even if you cannot borrow books from a library, searching its catalog can help you discover relevant materials for your topic.
• They are a great source for finding a wide variety of materials, but…

Article databases are the place to go for that, and you can learn about those in Module 4.

Now that you're a little clearer on what you'll find once you get there, the next challenge is finding a library catalog to search. Because library catalogs usually contain descriptions of only those materials in that specific library, you'll need to choose a library that is right for you.

In your situation, that probably means finding a catalog of an academic library.