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McGraw-Page Library-TEST PAGE: Discovery Search

Help Understanding

What is Discovery Search?

This is a new resource that allows searching across several disparate resources and locations at the same time!

For instance:
If I were doing research on "post traumatic stress disorder." I could:

  • go to Credo or Oxford Reference to get a solid reference source.
  • I might then head to MaconCat to see what books, ebooks or films are available in the library. (it's nice to have a physical book sometimes, right?)
  • Now I need to get some peer reviewed articles. We have over 150 databases containing articles, which one to start with?
    • PsycINFO or PsycARTICLES are great places for psychology based items on this topic
    • maybe I'm also interested in PTSD and education? Well then ERIC is the go to education source.

At this point I have now gone to five or six locations to get my resources. Discovery Search changes that routine.

In one search box you can search MaconCat (books, ebooks, films, audio), reference sources (Oxford, Credo, Gale) and many of our databases, at the same time.


*Caveat to Discovery Search -- not everything is included in this search system. We are generating a list of what is and isn't included, but for now know that:

- physical books, ebooks, films (both DVD's and streaming through Kanopy), and music CD's are included. Archival and Special Collection items that have been cataloged.
- EBSCO electronic resources. Which means the journals that show up in your favorite EBSCO databases

Terminology

Discovery Search help

A search in Discovery Search will return a lot of resources, some of which we don't have access to (check with Interlibrary Loan to get it). Below are explanations of what the limiters mean:

Full Text = eBooks and journal/magazine articles you can read right now. Usually in *.pdf format.

Catalog Only = Physical items, usually books, found from our library catalog and found in the library building

Available in Library Collection = Items the library owns or subscribes to. Basically "Full Text" + "Catalog Only".