Search by Keyword

The library catalog's default search setting is set to keyword. Begin by identifying the key words in the question or the subject you wish to find materials for. Here is an example:

Research question:

I am looking for books relating to the portrayal of war in film.

Begin by identifying important words in the question.

For example:

war AND film

Go to the library catalog to perform the keyword search. Remember to think about different terms (synonyms) which may prove to be more effective during the search process. Film, for instance may be changed to, or searched in conjunction with related keywords such as cinema, motion pictures or movies.

You may want to narrow the number of results retrieved by adding a name of a country or region into the mix, particularly if your research is focused on the literature of a specific place.

For example:

Britain OR United Kingdom

Filmmaker search:

You will probably also want to focus on a specific film or television series, or on the works of a specific director or screenwriter once you have done some more background research. Once you have found a work or a filmmaker to focus on, you can also search for criticism related specifically to those filmmakers or works.

Kubrick, Stanley

Using the author as a keyword search will find films by and books about Stanley Kubrick and his work, for example.

Work search:

Citizen Kane

Using the title as a keyword search will find films of and books containing criticism of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, for example.

Search by Call Number

If you know the call number of the book you are looking for, you can use it to find similar materials. Searching by call number allows you to go directly to a book's bibliographic record, while gaining the ability to search the shelves virtually from the comfort of your own desk or home.

Every item in the library has been assigned a call number. These numbers tell us the subject area of the material, the location of the item in the library, and the physical order of the books on the shelf. It is these numbers that allow you to see all of the titles of the books located next to the searched item on the shelf.

Give it a try!

Go to the library catalogue and search by the call number PN1998.3.M332 B43

As you can see, this call number is associated with the text Into the Past: The Cinema of Guy Maddin by William Beard.