Find Books

Use the Library's online catalog, the MERLIN Catalog, to find books on your topic.

• The MERLIN Catalog provides access to over 3 million volumes.
• You can search the MERLIN Catalog by author, title, keyword, subject, table of contents, etc.
• To find books on your topic, search the MERLIN Catalog using keywords.
  

Keyword Search

Use the Keyword search option when you don't know the author, title, or the Library of Congress subject heading for your topic. In a keyword search, multiple words are searched as one phrase, e.g., endangered species. Single keywords or concepts can be combined using Boolean operators (and, or, not) to broaden the search and parenthesis can be used to nest keywords.

Examples:

• internet and commerce
• internet or world wide web
• environmental policy and not united states
• (internet or world wide web) and commerce

Keyword searching is broad and flexible, but not very precise. For more precise searching, click on the Library of Congress subject headings assigned to relevant books retrieved by doing a keyword search.

Subject Search

Use the subject search when you know the Library of Congress subject heading for your topic.

Example: Electronic commerce -- United States

Request books not available in MU Libraries from other MERLIN libraries, the MOBIUS Union Catalog, or by using Interlibrary Loan.