Need Help?
Where to Start Your Book Search
There are two main places to start your search for books. Each has a different specialty and scope.
- URI Libraries Search
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Locate books, videos, online resources and more available through the URI Libraries.
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? HathiTrust is a digital library of more than 17.4 million volumes, digitized from member library collections. Authenticated users may download full-book PDF files of all Public Domain and Creative Commons-licensed volumes. All volumes, including copyrighted works, are searchable. Details at: this link..
- What else should I know? URI faculty, staff, and students can log in to HathiTrust to access enhanced features. To log in, select "University of Rhode Island" from the list of institutions and enter your URI SSO (Single Sign-On) Credentials. Include @uri.edu in your username.
- WorldCat.org This link opens in a new window
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Freely available version of WorldCat, listing books and other materials in member libraries worldwide. Updated daily.
For a broader but less precise search, try the tools below.
- Google Books
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Offers a somewhat random search of books scattered across the country. Some full text searching of books, and some full text viewing of out-of-copyright materials. You may be able to request books viewed via Interlibrary Loan. - Archive.org
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Much like Google Books, this contains scans of a variety of books held in libraries internationally.
Finding Books
Search the URI Libraries Search or WorldCat for likely terms and look closely at your results. You will want to determine whether the results you have found use the exact search terms you used, or whether they use synonyms. If you find synonyms, try subsequent searches using those terms to find additional items.
- URI Libraries Search
This link opens in a new window
Locate books, videos, online resources and more available through the URI Libraries.
- WorldCat.org This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Freely available version of WorldCat, listing books and other materials in member libraries worldwide. Updated daily.
If you find something that looks interesting, and you want to see similar results, click on the Subjects – this will take you to other books on the same topic.
If it's in WorldCat (or a Database), but not available locally...
For these items, you'll need to use Interlibrary Loan, a free service that locates books and articles in other libraries and brings them to URI for you.
For books, delivery can take up to a month, so it's wise to start your research early enough to allow for delivery. Articles take approximately 1 week.
Once you've identified what you need, fill out the appropriate Interlibrary Loan form for what you're requesting. Articles are usually delivered via email. If you requested a book. you'll receive an email when the item is ready for pick up at the Circulation Desk.