A Keyword Search will search for any time a word or phrase is mentioned in the description and/or record of an item. This can sometimes give you search results that are not relevant to your general research question. Starting your research with a keyword search can help you find more relevant subject terms, which can help you narrow (or expand) your search results.
Subject Terms and/or Headings are terms that are used to describe the content of an item. Searching by subject will bring you materials that are explicitly about that topic. You can use subject terms to view items that have also been "tagged" as being about a particular topic. Keep in mind, that subject terms and/or headings are pre-selected. When you're starting your research try using both broad and specific terms - this will help you discover different subjects that you can also search by.
To search by subject in the Pace Library Catalog, select "Subject" from the drop down menu under "Books & Media":
Searching in the library catalog or in one of the library's databases can be a little bit different than searching in Google.
Using AND, OR, or NOT to combine your search terms, search for similar terms, or exclude terms can help you discover more relevant information on your topic:
Use "AND" to combine terms:
(Gender Identity AND Feminism)
Use "OR" to use similar terms:
(Sexual Orientation OR Sexual Identity)
Use "NOT" to use exclude terms:
(Heterosexuality NOT Homophobia)
