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Search for Books: Books at SMU Libraries

Discover Books in Our Libraries

SMU Libraries has print and electronic books. Use Library Search to search for books by title, topic, keywords, author, and more. Look for the filter for books on the left side of your results screen.

Search by Title or Topic

  1. Search for an exact title in quotation marks or search for general keywords related to your topic. You can also search title words plus the author's last name.
  2. Under Resource Type, select “Books”.

Search by Subject

Subjects are terms assigned to a source that accurately match the overall content. Searching by subject is highly recommended for finding books.

  1. Select a book relevant to your topic in your search results.
  2. In the item record, scroll down to "Subject".
  3. All of the blue subjects are links - click on one to start a new search with that subject term.

highlight of a record in library search, showing the Subjects section

Limit to E-Books

  1. Refine your results to items "Available Online".
  2. You may need to select "Apply Filters" as well.

screenshot of filters available in Library Search, for Available ONline Only

Search for Course Reserves

Instructors can put books on course reserve for their classes, which allows you to check out books for use inside the library for a limited period of time.

Use advanced search and choose “Search for Course Reserves” at the top of the page to find books that have been placed on reserve. You can search by instructor name, course code, or book title.

Course reserves are located at the main desk of each library. You cannot place holds on course reserves.