Depending on the tab you select above the search bar, the library software will search different parts of the collection and return different kinds of information.
Quick Search covers all kinds of media (books, ebooks, video, images, articles, etc.), accessing most but not all of the material in the library. Some of our subscription databases cannot be searched by our discovery software, so some topics may require searches within subject-specific databases. The Advanced Search covers the same range of material as the Quick Search but offers more filters and search options.
Books & Media, as the name implies, searches only for physical books, ebooks, and media (video, audio, images, and so forth).
Journal Title is where you can discover whether the library subscribes to a particular publication, popular or academic, by entering the title (e.g., American Cinematographer or Vanity Fair).
Databases (mostly) contain journals, which contain articles. Clicking on the Databases tab brings up a link to the A-Z list of all Pace databases, and also a drop-down menu to get lists of subject-specific databases.
Reserves are the items that have been held out from the regular collection so that all of the members of a class can use them, usually in the library.
Research Guides provide starting points for subject research, including appropriate databases, specific resources, and sometimes links to software and other tools. Some Research Guides provide information or instruction rather than covering an academic subject.
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.
A Keyword Search will search for any time a word or phrase is mentioned in the description and/or record of an item. 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.
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:
(women AND computer science)
Use "OR" to use similar terms:
(woman OR women)
Use "NOT" to use exclude terms:
(computer science NOT software)
AND and NOT will tend to narrow your results; OR will expand them.
Getting started with research and not quite sure where to start? A research guide can help you discover the information that you need.
Research Guides give you more information on the resources and services available through the library on a specific topic. They have been created and are maintained by the librarians at Pace Libraries.
From the library homepage, select the Research Guides tab in the search box and enter a subject term, or click the link to look at the full list of guides.
