Interlibrary Loan (ILL), is a service that allows Sarah Lawrence to borrow materials from other libraries. If you need something we do not already own, you can request it through ILL and we will try to borrow it from another library.
Through ILL you can request:
Subject Terms/Headings are assigned by catalogers and are more precise than keywords. They function similarly to hashtags on social media. When you search by subject, you'll get all the items "tagged" with that exact phrase.
How to search by Subject:
From the homepage, select "Advanced Search"
Select "Subject" from the drop-down menu, then type the kind of item you're looking for. For instance, "Catalogues raisonneĢs.".
You can use the Subject search to find all types of items, like "exhibition catalog". It also works for primary sources. Just type in the material you're looking for, like, "letters", "speeches" or "diaries".
Librarian Tip: You can search the catalog for a variety of items (articles, books, DVDs, and more). Looking for a specific article? Just search for the title of it in the catalog, just like you would for a book or DVD.
| Keywords | Subjects |
| Natural language words that describe your topic | Pre-defined "controlled vocabulary" that describe what an item is about |
| More flexible search - looks for anywhere the words appear in the record | Less flexible search - only the subject fields will be searched |
| Broader search, but may yield irrelevant results | Targeted search; results are usually more relevant to the topic, but may miss some variations |
Keyword searching is how we normally start a search. Pull out important words or phrases from your topic.
Subject Terms and/or Headings are pre-defined terms that are used to describe the content of an item. These terms are a controlled vocabulary and function similarly to hashtags on social media.
We are indebted to the MIT What are subject headings and keywords? box for some concepts displayed here.
In the Catalog, subject headings are displayed under "Description" in the record of an item. Click on the arrow to the left of "Description" and then scroll down to the section called "Subjects."
In the Databases, subject headings may be listed as Descriptors, Subjectsand/or Subject Headings and are typically located in the Abstract and/or Details of an article.
There are a multitude of Subject Terms you might want to use depending on your topic, but here is a selection of theatre and performance related terms from the catalog*:
* Theatre VS Theater: While the MFA Theatre program uses "theatre" (the British spelling of the word), the Library of Congress Subject Headings used by our catalog uses the American spelling of the word, "theater". This will impact your search results and is important to be mindful of when using the library.
1. Isolate keywords from your topic.
2. Narrow your search results to include both of your keywords using AND.
librarian AND “active learning” AND “information literacy”
3. Continue building onto your search and expand your options using OR to find similar terms.
librarian AND “active learning” AND “information literacy” AND (student OR researcher)
Combining search terms with AND:
For Example
A search for librarian yields 172,745 results
A search for “active learning” yields 16,358 results
A search for "active learning" AND librarian yields 1,243 results
Combining search terms with OR:
For Example
A search for student yields 3,698,871 results
A search for researcher yields 1,425,100 results
A search for student OR researcher yields 4,690,553 results
For Example
A search for college yields 3,378,136 results
A search for college NOT “high school” yields 2,916,582 results
Use Quotation Marks to:
This shows the search engine that you want the terms to be found together. The search will look for exactly what you place in the quotation marks, so be sure there are no mistakes.
For Example
A search for information literacy yields 147,695 results
A search for "information literacy" yields 13,038 results
Use Truncation to:
Search engines match your terms to results; they will not automatically find an alternate version of it. Truncation tells the search to match the root of your term and gives it freedom to find whatever endings it can.
For Example
A search for Librarian yields 172,775 results
A search for Librar* yields 1,887,533 results
1. denoting a system of algebraic notation used to represent logical propositions, especially in computing and electronics.
What does that mean for you?
If you are having a hard time finding what you need, use the Boolean Operators outlined here to more efficiently search databases.
No matter where you are searching - the catalog, Google Scholar, a database you will want to use Boolearn Operators to refine your search to your specifications.
We are indebted to the Butler University Library's And/Or/Not box for some of the content displayed here.