Start with Keywords

All research begins with the words that you use to think about your topic. These keywords are the natural language you use to describe your topic. Start your search using keywords to begin your search for books, DVDs, and other material in Library OneSearch.

Subject Headings

A subject heading is a phrase librarians assign to an item to describe its contents or subject. The keywords you use to describe your topic may not be the same ones the catalog uses, which is why it's important to move from your keywords to the appropriate subject heading. Start by searching for keywords, but don't stop there!  From the catalog results list, find an item of interest and click on the full record to see the subject headings assigned to that item. Click on the relevant subject heading to retrieve items in the same category.