New and Notable Books Available through the SC Library
Searching the library catalog
Start here to search for books, articles and more in the library catalog.
Tips for using ebooks
Our collection of ebooks is rapidly growing! To access these books anytime, anywhere you have an internet connection, do a search in the in the library catalog. Once you find an ebook that interests you, click "Access Online" to enter one of a few ebook databases we subscribe to. Once inside, click "read online" or look for a PDF icon (it depends which database you're in). You will be able to read the entire text of the book.
Subject headings and keywords
Subject headings are official terms assigned to concepts. These can be used to efficiently find books and articles because they are more standardized than your more informal keywords. Some examples of subject headings include Library of Congress Subject Headings (LC) or Medical Subject Headings (MeSH terms).
Here is an explanation of subject headings that is fairly simple.
Ever wonder if you are using the right set of words for your search? Sometimes a keyword search is easiest, but once you start really trying to find a comprehensive set of articles on a topic, it is important to know that there is a more focused option.
The National Library of Medicine's MeSH Browser will allow you to search for your concept, such as "Lou Gehrig's Disease" and find out that articles on this disease, no matter how they word it in the article, will appear if you search using the official MeSH heading Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. You can bring this knowledge to any medical database, and make sure you're finding exactly what you need quickly.
Pay special attention to MeSH terms, as they will come in handy for your OT research.