How to Find Books

Search the Catalog for books Duke owns

Use Title/Author/Subject begins with...

When you know the title, author, or Library of Congress Subject Heading you want

Search by keyword

• Combine keywords using and, or, not
  • Ex. women and science
• Use quotation marks around a phrase to search for it
  • Ex. "women in science"
• Tips on advanced search techniques

Follow subject headings to find related books

• Ex. Women in Science ­­History

Print or make note of the information in the "Location/Call No." section of the catalog record.

Use Locate Materials to find the right library and find the book.

If the book is checked out, recall it using the "Request" link.  View a 1-minute tutorial showing how. 

Duke Faculty and Duke Graduate Students may request articles and books delivered to your closest library using BARD (Book/Article Delivery).

Get books Duke Libraries do not own

• Request books that Duke does not own through Interlibrary Loan and we will borrow them for you.
• Search the online catalogs of other area libraries where you can borrow materials
• • UNC Libraries
  • NCSU Libraries
  • NCCU Libraries
  • Durham Public Library
• Confirm that the book you are looking for exists using WorldCat, an exhaustive database of books