Looking for E-Books?

Search Strategies

Electronic Books have distinct records, separate from those for the paper editions, in the CLIO catalog. You can limit your search to include only electronic books by using the Pre-set Limits option available on Basic or Guided Keyword search screens:

Example:

  • Click on the Pre-set Limits button.
  • Go to Medium menu and click on electronic resources.
  • Go to Format menu and click on books.
  • Click on Set Limits button.
  • Enter your search terms and then select a Title or Keyword search on the Basic search screen or enter your search terms and select search options on the Guided Keyword search screen.

Alternative Search Options

Option 1: If you know the title of the book, do a Title search, and look for records with the embedded label [electronic resource] before the subtitle.  If you are looking for a work with a common title (e.g. Hamlet) you can also apply a Quick Limit.

Example:

  • On the Basic search screen, select All Electronic Resources in the Quick Limit menu (below the "Enter Search" box).
  • Enter the title and then select Title search from the search options list.

Option 2: The records for e-books in CLIO usually include the word "electronic resource."  You may search these by adding the term "electronic resource" to your keyword search.  Since this term is also used for e-journals, this method is not as effective as those described above.

Example:

  • On the Basic Search screen, select All Electronic Resources in the Quick Limit menu (below the "Enter Search" box).
  • Select Keyword from the search options list and enter your search terms, such as:
  • optics  "electronic resource"
  • "moby dick"  "electronic resource"

Option 3: If you know the name of the distinctive collection of e-books, add the collection's name as a term in a Keyword search.

Example:

  • biology  netlibrary

Connecting to Full Text

Connect to an e-book from the "click here for full text" link to the right of the red "online link(s)" arrow.

If you would like further assistance, Ask a Librarian for help.