Databases are like specialty search engines that focus on a specific subject area and contain academic sources like scholarly articles and books. Typically databases are subscription-only resources and require library access to use. Bell Library has 399 different databases, but here are a few selected for you to try out!
Google Scholar is a version of Google that searches academic and scholarly content like books and scholarly articles. Unlike most databases, it is free to use on the internet, and has lots of full-text articles included.
Google Scholar also allows you to search and explore papers that have cited other papers.
Where Do I Start Searching for Information?
Look at your assignment instructions. Does your teacher want you to use a source like an encyclopedia? Or maybe you are allowed to use credible websites? If you don't know where to start, you can also ask your teacher which resources they want you to use.
This section will talk about finding library books, using library databases (both here at the TAMU-CC library and also other libraries), and also using Google Scholar.
Want to try it out? See if you can find this book:
Try finding an article in Explora Elementary and Credo Reference about cats.
Use Quick Search to find books. Quick Search is one of the first things you'll see on the library's website:
You'll need the book's call number to locate it on the shelf. The books are located on the 2nd floor in the shelves. There's also a Juvenile section on the 2nd floor with books for K-12 readers.
