Once you have a little background information on a topic, finding books on the subject is a good next step for getting more in depth information. You may may to look for specific books that you've seen cited in reference sources or elsewhere, or you may want to see what books are available with information on your topic. You can search for books at the Fresno State Library using OneSearch. If we don't have the book, you can try CSU+ to see whether another CSU library has it. If you don't find it there, you can place a request with Interlibrary Loan--they can borrow books from libraries around the world.
If you know what book you are looking for, hopefully you have basic information like the title and the author. To get a copy through the library, try these steps:
OneSearch is the main search engine for finding almost anything at the library, and it is available from the library home page. It searches books, ebooks, scores, recordings, and articles in many of the library's databases, among other things. When searching for books, it's best to use the menu to choose a search for "Books & Media" rather than "Everything @ Fresno State," just to avoid extra items cluttering up your results. Search on the title, or the title and the author's name to start. If the library owns the book or ebook, it should show up.
If the Fresno State Library doesn't have the book, the next place to try is CSU+, which includes books and other items from libraries at many California State University campuses. CSU+ is also searchable through OneSearch. Instead of "Books & Media," choose "CSU+ Books & Media." If you find your book at another CSU library, you will see a link to place a request. Usually books arrive in just a few days.
If you can't find the book at the Fresno State Library or through CSU+, we can try to get a copy through Interlibrary Loan. Log into the ILLiad system with your Fresno State account. The first time you use ILLiad, you will need to enter your contact information. Then you can place a request for the book using whatever information you have. Interlibrary Loan staff will try to obtain a copy and will send an email when it is available.
If you don't have a specific book in mind, but are looking for books related to your topic, you'll still want to start with OneSearch and choose "Books & Media." Try searching using various keywords related to your topic, and click through to any search results that look interesting to get more information on the books. A few things to keep in mind:
OneSearch does not search the full text of books, only the metadata, or the information used to describe the book. This includes the title and author, as well as terms that describe the subject of the book, and sometimes a short summary of the book or the table of contents. Be sure to try out different search terms!
Broaden your search if you don't see books that are specific to your topic. Books on a broader topic that may include information related to your more specific topic. For example, if you are interested in scales in traditional Japanese music and don't find books on that subject, try looking for books on Japanese music that may include information about scales or modes.
Use subject headings to find more books on a subject! In the record for each book, you will see "Subjects." These are standardized terms that librarians use to describe what books are about. These can be helpful in suggesting additional search terms you might try. Also, because they are standardized, they can help you find related books, even if those books use different terminology. Each subject heading is linked to a search for more books with the same subject, so try following those links for any subject headings that are relevant to your topic.
For example, a search on “arranging for orchestra” will turn up a few books, but by looking at the subject headings, you can see that the standardized subject term is "instrumentation and orchestration.” Following the link to search on that subject will give you more results!
If you can't seem to find relevant books in "Books & Media," you can switch to "CSU+ Books & Media," using the same search strategies, to search for books in libraries around the CSU. If you find a book you want to look at, you can place a request.
If you still feel like you're not finding the right book, you can search other catalogs that include information on large numbers of books. Two possibilities are:
You can use information you find in WorldCat, Google Books, or other sources to place a request through Interlibrary Loan.