How Do I...
...find a book?

To find a book look in IRIS, the Rutgers University Libraries' online catalog.

When you bring up IRIS, it is automatically set to do a WORDS anywhere search.

"WORDS anywhere" looks for words found anywhere within a title; within the subject headings; within the list of author names; etc.

WORDS anywhere:: "college students" :

• Working with Asian American college students [Title]
• Laws of the College of New Jersey : pertaining to students[Title]
• Minority college students--United States. [Subject Heading]
• Rutgers College. Off-Campus Students' Association.[Author]

However, if you are looking for a specific title, or a specific author's name, or a specific subject heading within IRIS, you will usually want to use the pull-down menu to change your search type from "WORDS anywhere" to "TITLE begins with," or "AUTHOR (last name first)," or "SUBJECT begins with."

A "begins with" search looks for your search terms as a phrase beginning with the first word entered in an alphabetical list of authors, titles, subjects or other headings.

So if you are looking for a book entitled Not Quite Burned Out But Crispy Around the Edges, just

1. enter "not quite burned out" as your search terms
2. from the pull-down menu select "TITLE begins with"
3. click on Search

You will then be presented with a list of titles; the title closest to the phrase that you entered should be toward the top of the list.

Click on the link to go to the record for that title.

Where is it?

To find out where a book is located in the Rutgers University Libraries, look for the following information toward the bottom of the IRIS record:

• Library Name/Campus = the name of the library that owns a copy of the book/the campus on which that library is located.
• Sub-location = the place in that library where the book is shelved.
• Status = indicates whether or not the book is on the shelf.
• Call Number = the place on the shelf where the book should be. Don't forget to note the entire call number.