About
Finding, Borrowing, & Using Books at KU Libraries & Beyond
Library Catalog search tips
Library Catalog Search Tips
Keyword
- Enter words in any order
- Use quotes to search phrases: "central asia"
- Use ? to truncate: ukrain?
AND, OR, NOT (Boolean operators)
- Combine terms: puskhkin AND lermontov
- Use NOT judicioulsly so you don't exclude relevant content
- Use parentheses: (poland or polish) AND cinema
Author
- Last name first: platonov, andrei
- Spaces in initials: turgenev, i s
- Include periods in acronyms: U.S.S.R.
Title, Journal Title
- Omit initial articles (a, an, the...)
Subject Headings
- Omit punctuation
- Search Limits do NOT apply
Search KU Catalogs
Identify Keywords: Before searching the Library Catalog or other databases, write down all the words that describe your topic.
Follow the Bibliographic Trail: One proven method for gathering reliable information is to follow the citations, references, or footnotes from one source to another.
Browse Topics in the KU Online Catalog: Click on links in the "Subjects" field to find books about related topics. Examples: Diplomacy, Nationalism, International cooperation.
Can't Find Books on Your Topic? Some content on a topic can be hidden in small chunks within general works. So you may need to think more broadly about your topic.
Worldcat
Can't find it at KU? Search WorldCat, then borrow via Interlibrary Loan.
- WorldCat This link opens in a new windowSearch WorldCat to find books in other major research libraries. Then, request to borrow books through KU's Interlibrary Loan service.
- Interlibrary Loan & Document DeliveryHelps you get books and articles not owned by KU. Watch the tutorial below to learn how to use this service.
Search HathiTrust
- HathiTrust
HathiTrust has many Slavic-related primary and secondary sources published piror to 1923. Log in with your partner institution account to access the largest number of volumes and features.
Google Books
- Google book search This link opens in a new windowGoogle Book Search (unlike WorldCat) searches the full-text of the books in its inventory. WorldCat is limited to searching only by title, author, subject heading, and other specific and limited information about a book. Because Google Book Search lets you search within books, you can see a table of contents, or an index, or just a portion of a book. You can then locate the book in a nearby library.
Center for Research Libraries
- CRL Catalog = Advanced SearchCRL is especially useful for finding old newspapers, periodicals, and primary source materials from all over the world.
Find Theses & Dissertations
Dissertations & Theses
- ProQuest dissertations & theses global This link opens in a new windowProvides online access to over 3.8 million dissertations and master's theses with 1.7 million available in full text for immediate downloading. Citations are available for dissertations dating from 1861 and full text online from 1997 for over 1,000 schools submitting to the ProQuest UMI database. More than 90,000 new citations are added to the database every year.
- UTREESFree online index of British and Irish university theses in Russian and East European studies. Over 5,800 doctoral and masters’ theses, the oldest dating from 1907.
- Электронная библиотека диссертаций (Open Access)Search Russian dissertations, mostly on Russian language and linguistics. Dissertations are open access.
E-Books and Ebrary (examples)
E-Books
Use Ebrary to search for e-books about Slavic cultures, languages, linguistics, literatures, and more.