WRIT 31300 Teaching/Supervising Writing

The Library Catalog includes records for books, journals, newspapers, government documents, microforms, DVDs, and audio recordings that are held in the library. The standard catalog does not include journal articles; use OneSource to search books and databases together. Remember: not all databases are included. Our A-Z list of databases and our Journal Finder can help you find more sources.

What Are Subject Terms?

A subject term is a standardized word or phrase that describes a main idea in the book or article. When an item is added to a database, the database will assign subject terms to it from the database's list of subjects. Most entries will have from 3 to 12 subject terms assigned.

To help you find relevant keywords for your research, you can often start with an author or keyword search. Then look at the subjects for the items that most closely match what you are looking for. You can use those subjects to search for more precise results. 

How Do I Find Subject Terms? 

Start with an author or keyword search and then look at the subjects included with relevant results. You can then use a subject search for more precise results. 

The Dewey Decimal System

Most books at the Hiram College Library are arranged using the Dewey Decimal System. Essentially, this means that books are assigned a call number or "address" in numerical order, so 303.1 comes before 303.2. The system classifies books by subject so that books about similar topics are typically near one another (although not always - the system has some flaws, especially since it was first used in the late 1800s!). To learn more about the subjects and their corresponding numbers view this document. (Warning - it's really in depth!)

Search strategies for finding materials in our Catalog

Keyword Searching
This search looks for matching documents that contain one or more words specified by the you anywhere in the catalog. It is good for finding the largest possible return. However it can also result in materials that have nothing to do with your subject.

Subject Searching
A subject heading is a standardized word or phrase that describes a main idea in the book or article. Every item about that topic uses the same subject term. Think of this like a tag in social media (#RingIT #Terriers #HiramCollege).

In the library catalog, select "Subject" in the drop down box to the left of the search field, then type in the box: Baseball (or, more specialized terms, such as: planetary motion; armadillo diseases; etc.).

The "*" is a truncation symbol that will retrieve various forms of each word, for example, use regulat* to find results like regulation, regulatory, regulators. The "and" will require that both terms appear, but not necessarily in the same phrase.

Title or Author Searches
In the library catalog, choose "Title" to locate a specific work or, choose "Author" to find books written by a particular author.

Material Type (book, eBook, etc.)
Select a material type from the dropdown to limit to a Book (physical item), eBook (digital item), musical recording, map, and more. 

Collection:
Select the Collection limiter to reduce your results to a particular part of the library, such as the film collection, juvenile collection, or government documents. Since the Government Documents collection is so large, it can sometimes overwhelm your results. Use the "All Collections Except Gov Docs" limiter to remove them from your search.