Murrell Library Research Guides: Missouri Government and Statistics: Books and Journals

Find Books

Each book in the library has a unique call number. A call number is like an address: it tells us where the book is located in the library. Murrell Library and Commons both use the Library of Congress Classification (LC) for call numbers. This system uses a combination of letters and numbers to arrange materials by subjects. To determine the LC call number for a specific book, search the Avalon online catalog.

MOBIUS Union Catalog - allows you to search for and request books from 60+ Missouri Libraries. Typical delivery time is 3-5 business days after receipt of request. This is a FREE service for all current MVC students, faculty & staff.

If we don't own a copy of a book you need, we can borrow a copy from another library for you with a service called Interlibrary Loan.

Why Search Google Books

Google Books searches the full-text of books. It is great for narrow topics because it lets you search within the text of books--you can see the table of contents, index or a portion of the contents of the book. You can then locate the book in a nearby library.

Database Search Tips

Use Boolean Logic (AND, OR, NOT) to combine search concepts.

TOO FEW hits: OR to add synonyms; individual key words, NOT whole phrases; drop concept(s) with AND; truncate; consider other databases.

TOO MANY hits: AND another concept into search; use other available limiters in the database.

Truncation symbols (?, *, !, +) will provide variant spelling after the root word.

A wildcard (?, *) is a character that may be used in a search term to represent one or more other characters.

Do an advanced search and take advantage of the fields provided.

Use the subject headings/descriptors to find additional citations on your topic. If that does not work, use the keyword search.

You can also use limits (e.g., publication year, language, words in the title, etc.) to narrow your retrieval.

Set up an auto alert/RSS feed to monitor the research.