Overview
Library Search provides a unified platform for finding print and online materials such as books, articles, journals, videos, scores, and more from Duke University Libraries' local collections and library licensed online resources.
What am I searching?
Select a Search Profile in the drop-down selector next to the search box displayed in our Library Search platform to narrow or expand your search in different ways:
- Everything: Combines Duke University Libraries' local collections with millions of library licensed online resources
- Books & Media (Catalog): Duke University Libraries' local collections of print and electronic books, journals, videos, scores, and more
- Articles & Online Resources: Millions of library-licensed articles, eBooks, and other online resources
- Rare Books & Manuscripts: Items held in the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library and University Archives
- Course Reserves: Items held at Perkins Library, Lilly at Bishop's House, Music Library, and the Medical Center Library to support courses in the current term
See below for more details on how to use Library Search.
The Basics of Library Search
Keyword searching
Type a word or phrase in the search box and click the search icon to see Library Search results. This keyword searching retrieves records that match your search terms anywhere in the record such as title, author, subject, description, table of contents, and many other fields of a catalog record.
- This is not a natural language search: Library Search is not a natural language search, which means it does not answer a question such as how do I cite an article? Library Search will treat each word in your phrase as a keyword and will return results where any of those words may appear anywhere within a record separately from any of the other words in the phrase.
- Quotation marks: place quotation marks around a group of search terms if you want to retrieve results where those words appear together as phrase such as "Duke Basketball", otherwise your search will contain results where those terms appear separately anywhere within the record or that may contain one term but not the other.
Filter your results
Resource type tabs
You can select from specific resource types (such as Books or Journal Articles) by clicking a tab at the top of your results; the tabs that are displayed vary by search profile.
Filters
Select All Filters to open the Filter Pane.
- Selecting an individual filter or a combination of filters will allow you to narrow your results in a variety of ways such as by Library, Location (only displayed if a Library has been selected), Subject, Genre, Physical Items, Available Online, and more
- Click the crossed-out check box to exclude that filter from your results
- Click Apply Filters to implement your change
- The filters you have selected will appear next to the All Filters selector
- You can remove individual filters or select Clear all to remove all filters at once
- Select Remember all filters if you want to retain your filter selections across multiple searches
- You can select Expand results beyond Duke to discover or request online resources that are not included in Duke's collections or licensed resources, but you must first click the button labeled Show me a toggle to expand results in upper right of search results pages before you will see the Expand results beyond Duke toggle (this is only displayed for search results when the Everything or Articles & Online Resources search profiles have been selected)
Sort your results
Use the Sort by drop-down selector at the top right of your results to sort your results by:
- Relevance
- Date-newest or Date-oldest
- Title
- Author
Sign in to see even more results
A small number of provider platforms from whom we license online resources (such as ArtSTOR) only allow records from their platforms to appear in search results if you are signed into Library Search.
Advanced search tips
Use expert search tips to find what you are looking for more quickly using Library Search.
Access online resources
Library Search provides several ways to access resources available online — you will see buttons saying things like View Article PDF, Available Online, and other text. Some of these buttons include a drop-down selector that when clicked will display additional options.
Access to many licensed online resources requires authentication via Duke NetID, while some can be accessed using a Duke IP address from on-campus or by using Duke's VPN if you are off-campus. For more information, see Off-Campus Access to E-Resources.
Access restrictions
Some online resources are licensed only for a subset of faculty, staff, or students at Duke based on their affiliation with a professional school. Access restrictions will be displayed below the name of the provider platform on the full record page.
Alumni access
Duke University Libraries provide alumni access to a subset of online resources available off campus for personal, non-commercial use. For more information, see Duke Library Access for Alumni.
Other options
In cases where Duke does not have access to an article, Library Search will display two options:
- Interlibrary Loan (learn more about Interlibrary Requests)
- Request immediate PDF (library pays fee) for select journals for faculty, graduate students, and research staff primarily affiliated with University units eligible to use this service
Access physical resources
Library Search provides information that can help you access physical items from our collections.
Availability
Availability buttons include a summary of location information and are displayed just below the brief record information in search results and on the full record page. Clicking the Availability button will take you to the Locations section of a full record page.
Location information
The Locations section displays:
- Locations and call numbers for each item for the record
- Locate links, that when clicked display a map or other information about where an item is located
You can access most books that are located in the stacks by going to that location in person and finding the book on the shelf by the call number that is displayed on the spine of the book.
See our video explaining how to use a call number to find a book located in the stacks.
Requesting
Library Search uses several different links for requesting physical items:
Request
Request links are displayed for resources that are available through Duke.
- You MUST sign in to Library Search before you will see Request links.
- Records that include multiple items, will display a separate Request link in the Locations section for each available item.
- Records that have only one item, will display a Request link in the Requests section.
Request (Reading Room Use Only)
Request (Reading Room Use Only) is displayed for items from Rubenstein Library and University Archives and are visible in the Locations section without having to sign in.
- When clicked, you will be prompted to sign in to a Special Collections account. Learn more about Registering as a Researcher.
- Materials requested from Rubenstein Library and University Archives require four business days for retrieval and can ONLY be viewed in the Rubenstein Library Reading Room.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Request
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Request links are displayed for resources that are not available from Duke's local collections or library licensed online resources.
- When clicked, you will be prompted to either sign in with your Duke NetID or create an Interlibrary Loan account (requires Duke NetID). Learn more about Interlibrary Requests.
Scan and Deliver
Scan and Deliver links are displayed for some records.
- When clicked you will be prompted to sign in to the Interlibrary Loan system where you can complete a request form
Related information
- See the My Accounts page for more information about Library Accounts, Interlibrary Loan Accounts, and Special Collections Accounts.
- See the Borrowing page for more information about who can borrow and loan periods.
My Library Account
Library Search provides access to information about your library account.
How to sign in
Use the Sign in link displayed in the Library Account drop-down menu in the top right of all pages of Library Search.
- You can also use the Sign in link displayed in the Requests section of a Full record page
Account overview
Your Library Account Overview page provides information about your
- Loans
- Requests
- Fines and fees
- Saved records
- Saved searches
Sign in to request items
- You MUST sign in to Library Search before you will see Request links for most physical items in our collections.
- Note: Request (Reading Room Use Only) links are visible for items from Rubenstein Library and University Archives without signing in to Library Search, but require use of a Special Collections Account to place a request. Materials requested from Rubenstein Library and University Archives require four business days for retrieval and can ONLY be viewed in the Rubenstein Library Reading Room.
Sign in to see additional search results
- Some provider platforms from whom we license online resources (such as ArtSTOR) only allow records from their platforms to appear in search results if you are signed into Library Search. These results will appear when you search using the Everything or Articles & Online Resources search profiles.
See the My Accounts page for more information about Library Accounts, Interlibrary Loan Accounts, and Special Collections Accounts.
Citation, Export, Share, and Save options
When clicked, the icon buttons located to the right of a record's title show options you can use to cite, export, share, or save a record.
Citation tool
Click the Citation tool to open a dialogue window with a drop-down selector you can use to pick from different style guide formats.
- Pick a citation style, such as APA or MLA, from the drop down menu and you will see the citation at the bottom of the dialogue window
- Click the copy icon in the lower right of the dialogue window
- Click the x in the upper right to close the dialogue window
- You can paste the copied citation into your paper or your notes
Learn more about Citing Sources
Export
When clicked, the Export tool opens a drop-down selector you can use to pick from export options that include:
- EndNote (about EndNote)
- RefWorks (about RefWorks)
- Export RIS (about Zotero)
- Export to Excel
Share
When clicked, the Share tool opens a drop-down selector displaying a Permalink option you can use to copy a link to the full record page for this title.
Save
When clicked, the Save tool will save the record in Library Search.
- You must sign in to your Library Account to permanently save the record to your Saved records list.
Get help
Librarians can answer your questions about how to find resources using Library Search.
Chat with a Librarian
You can click the chat icon displayed on the right side of pages in Library Search to open a chat window with a librarian.
Ask a Librarian
Click the Ask a Librarian link at the top of the window to view the Ask a Librarian page providing additional ways of contacting a Librarian with your questions.
- On narrow browser windows you may need to click the More link before you will see the Ask a Librarian link
- On many mobile devices you will need to click the menu icon before you will see the Ask a Librarian link
More search options
- Learn expert search tips you can use to find what you are looking for more quickly using Library Search.
- Find other platforms, including specialized search portals, you can use to search for library resources.