Nursing

A subject search is best if you have a broad topic, for example a common disease such as diabetes or cancer. The STLCC catalog uses Library of Congress Subject Headings, a standard list of subject terms. Sometimes a subject search will lead you to the correct heading. For example, a search for the subject stroke will lead to the subject heading cerebrovascular disease. Using the subject term cerebrovascular disease will find fewer books than you would find with a keyword search for the word stroke, but they will be more relevant.

If your topic is more specific, you can combine words in a keyword search. Keep in mind that keywords are not necessarily subject words. For example, a keyword search for stroke will find books on the medical condition, but will also find books with the word stroke used in a different way, such as "The Stroke of Midnight." Some examples of keyword searches include

1. Wom*n AND "heart disease"
2. Nursing AND cerebrovascular disease
3. cancer AND "care plans"
4. Diabetes AND (diet* OR nutrition)

The asterisk (*) truncates a term and will retrieve all forms of the word that follow the truncation symbol. For example, diet* will retrieve diet, diets, dieting, dietetics and dietitian. The asterisk can also be used as a wildcard for an unknown letter, as in wom*n, etc.

Many eBooks are listed in the Libraries' Classic Catalog. There are others that are only available through Search It. For more information, see the eBook guide. 

Try Search It! to research your topic. Search It! is a consolidated search tool (discovery service) that searches in many different places simultaneously. You will find books from the Library Catalog (Books+), ebooks, videos, links to databases or library guides, and articles from many databases (50+) or freely accessible repositories. Learning how to refine/filter your search results is key to getting the most out of Search It! Try it out by using the "Refine Results" menu on the left side of any search results page. Remember, you can always Ask a Librarian for help.

The National Academies Press (NAP) offers free, full-text access to selected books and reports from the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and other organizations.