UA Library Search Tips

 

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The main search box on the library website searches the Library Catalogue and ~300 article databases and the Education & Research Archive (ERA)

There are various ways to limit searches, including to all or parts of the library catalogue. Need help? ASK US

U of A students and staff will be prompted to authenticate with CCID & password after beginning their search. This allows access to ebooks, ejournals, and other online materials that the library subscribes to. 

Note: *CCID is your U of A email address WITHOUT "@ualberta.ca"

 

Guests can look up library holdings using the Guest Catalogue link above the seach bar.

 

What are you searching?
The print and ebook holdings in the NEOS Libraries catalogue AND ~300 databases AND the Education and Research Archive (ERA). All in one search.
UA current staff and students should login when prompted. All other users may search, but will not have access to subscription ebooks, journals, etc.

  • ~300 databases  
    • journal articles
    • conference proceedings
    • digitized primary source collections
    • images
    • The UA Library subscribes to ~1000 databases that index information in various ways. EBSCO Discovery includes the contents of ~300 of these databases. Check here for a list of databases included ("enabled") in EDS.
    • Need help identifying which databases are suitable for your subject matter? Try one of our Subject Guides to help identify which databases focus on your subject area.
       

  • NEOS Library Catalogue: The print & online collections of UA Library + our NEOS partner libraries.
    To search the Library Catalogue only, click the 'Catalog Only' box under the search bar.

    • Books/eBooks, 
    • Musical scores, recordings, and film / video in various formats 
    • Periodicals and newspapers
    • Government information & Maps
    • other material held in the U of A Library's collections and those of our NEOS Partner Libraries.  
    • Search results will provide:
      • A description of items
      • Links to online sources (ebooks, etc.)
      • Location and Call Number (for physical items)
        • To search by call number, do a keyword search using the Field Code "NU" (NUmber), then the call number,
      • The option to place a hold (on physical items)
        • "RESTRICTED" status mainly refers to print books that are currently available in digitized format as part of the temporary Hathi Trust Emergency Access Service during the pandemic. See the "Hathi Trust Tips" tab on this guide for more info.
  • ERA: Education and Research Archive (more info)

 

Searching the Library Catalogue:

1. To limit your results to physical items and e-Books in the NEOS catalogue, click the 'Catalogue Only" box.

 

2. This is the top of the results screen. 

 

 

3. Limiters to narrow your search are located in the column on the left. Limit to location, format, language, date and more.

eg: Under Publication Type, you can limit to e-Books. Under Location, you can limit to 'University of Alberta Internet'.

 

 

 

 


HELP: EBSCO Discovery Help Files or Ask Us

Find Databases. Use a discipline-related database to help focus your search.

Find Databases

What are you searching?

  • The list of databases that the UA Library subscribes to in order to access content best-suited for your topic.

Databases focus on the literature of a specific discipline and may include:

  • Journal articles
  • Conference proceedings
  • Book chapters
  • Numeric data, images, audio & video

Find the databases that work for you:

  • Use a Subject Guide to identify useful databases. The guide will also identify your Subject Librarian, who can provide further research support.
  • Search the Databases List alphabetically or by name
  • Not all databases are the same. Some disciplines will have specific features that will help you narrow down your topic in the most appropriate way. For example: history databases can search by time period, chemistry databases can search by molecular structure, psychology databases can search by methodology.

HELP: Ask Us for help with identifying useful databases, search strategies, and research resources.

Ask Us

Use the Find EJournals search to:

  • Find out if the library subscribes to a specific eJournal, and what years/volumes we have access to, OR
  • Search for articles within a single specific eJournal

 

► ► If you are searching for information on a given topic, then you should search in one of our many databases or in EBSCO Discovery.

See the "Find Books and Articles" or "Find Databases" tabs on this guide to learn more. Need help? Ask Us

 

Example Journal Search:
1. On the  page, type the title of your journal into the search box, eg:

2. You will get a list of results.

In this case, there are many journals that start with the word Nature. Choose the first title link on the list:




 

3. This will lead you to a Get It window which lists all options for access to the journal through UAlberta Library subscriptions.

In the case of the journal, Nature, we subscribe to the full run of the journal directly through Nature publishing, which is indicated on the Get It screen. The Get It screen will include any Open Access holdings that are available to those of you who are not current UA students or staff.

 

 

4. Choose the link that corresponds to the date range that you need.

In this case, access to the entire run of Nature since 1869 is available through the publisher subscription that is linked at the bottom of the list.

 

HELP:

Ask Us

 

Google Scholar

Google Scholar

 

Reach into the collections of:

  • UA Library
  • other libraries worldwide
  • Subscription Databases
  • Open Access collections
  • and more...

For Current UA Students, Staff, Faculty
Instructions to turn on UALibrary "Get It" links:

  • Use this link to Google Scholar
  • Click on google scholar Menu Icon
  • Select "Settings"
  • Select "Library Links"
  • Search "University of Alberta Library"
  • Check off the box beside University of Alberta Library - GetIt @ UAlberta
  • Click Save

 

HELP:

Ask Us

 

HathiTrust Access Tips

In EDS, look for records that show a "RESTRICTED" status - this indicates that the digitized version of this book should be accessible via HathiTrust.

  • Note: if status shows as 'ON SHELF' at a University of Alberta Library location, this will NOT be available via HathiTrust and current UofA staff/students can 'Retrieve Catalogue/Place Hold' and items will be made available via our Curbside Pickup service. 

  • Click 'Check HathiTrust Access' to be redirected to HathiTrust. Note: you must log in to HathiTrust by selecting your partner institution: University of Alberta from the drop down menu.

  • Reading & Using:

    • When viewed within HathiTrust, books now available through the Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS), have the label "Temporary Access".

    • "Temporary Access" books can be ready only online.  You can check out a book for 1 hour.  Your access will renew automatically at the end of that hour, unless another user requests the book after that hour is over.

    • Books marked "Limited (search-only)" are restricted and you cannot access them.

    • You can also access other books that are part of our usual access to HathiTrust - these are marked "Full View"

    • For terms of service, please review Canadian institutions participating in HathiTrust’s Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS)

  • Accessibility:

Tags: Help, Searching