Library Search is available from the homepage and you can use it to find print books, e-books, journal articles, videos and more.
There are three tabs above the search bar, so you can limit your search to just books or journal articles by clicking on the tabs above the search box or you can search all resources, which will search books, journals and all our other resources such as DVD's and streamed videos.
The default for Library Search will show you results for all resources. If you want to limit your results to just one format or material type, you can do this by using the tick boxes on the left-hand side of the screen. You can also limit your results by year, content type, location, topic, author and more.
If you can view the content online it will have a button which will say something like View eBook, View full text or Access Online, depending on what resource you are accessing.
If the item is a print format, it will have all the information you need to find the item on the shelves, including location, loan type and call number. If there are multiple issues of the same book, Library Search will only show you the most recent; if you want to see the details for previous editions, you can click on Other editions and formats.
The Advanced Search page will give you options to select specific databases and use multiple search boxes to do a more detailed search - ideal when you are looking for journal articles. You can select which databases you want to search (remember to click on save changes) and select where you want to search for your keywords - for example in the title or an authors name. You can also choose how to combine your keywords using Boolean searching (AND, OR, and NOT).
Library Search is provided by WorldCat, which provides holdings details for many libraries around the world, so you can see whether a book is available in another library. This is useful if you want to visit a different library as part of the SCONUL Access scheme.
At the bottom of each record there is an Other Availability and Holdings heading; if you click on the Other Libraries Worldwide button it will show you where that item is held.
If a book or journal article is not available at Birmingham Newman, you can easily request an Inter Library Loan by clicking on the button under the Access Options section on the item record.
Last reviewed: 16 August 2023
