English 101 - Arguing a Position: Find Books

Use OneSearch, the Library's catalog, to search for books on your topic. Enter the main keywords for your topic and review your search results. You can use the "Refine Your Results" section on the left to narrow your results. 

For print books, click on the title to review the book's summary or table of contents, if they are available, to be sure it will work for your assignment.

Print or write down the title and author along with location information: library, shelving location, and call number. If you need help finding an item on the shelf using the call number, check out our Understanding Call Numbers page. Or ask a librarian for help!

Note the current status (Available, Not Available, On Loan, etc.). You can request items that are checked out or available at a different campus to be held for pickup at your preferred campus library. Sign in to your library account from OneSearch using your mymsjc username and password to place a request, or ask a staff member for help.

For eBooks, click the title or Available Online link to review the book and access it.

The MSJC Libraries own or subscribe to over 200,000 eBooks. They can be found in OneSearch along with print books. After entering your search terms in OneSearch, limit your results to eBooks by selecting format (Books) and availability (Available Online).

Each eBook collection can also be accessed directly through the Libraries' eBook Collections List.

EBSCO eBooks are recommended as a good starting point with the largest collection of eBooks on the widest range of subjects.

Need to find background information or a definition of a term/concept? The following online reference sources are a good place to start your research.

• Credo Reference
• Gale eBooks

You can request items to be delivered between the Libraries if you find a book that is not available at the campus you use. Library staff can place the request for you, or use the steps below to place the request yourself from the library catalog.

1. From your search results page, click on the title of the book to get to the full record page. 
2. In the Get It section, click in the yellow bar "Please sign in to check if there are any request options" to sign in to your library account using your mymsjc username and password.
3. Click on the Request option and fill in any necessary information.
4. You will be notified through your student email in 2-3 days when the book is available for pick up.

If you don't find what you need at MSJC, you can search other libraries and request items through our interlibrary loan service. Try UCR's catalog since it is nearby and anything you request may arrive more quickly if it is available.

Use the MSJC Interlibrary Loan Request form to request materials. Please be aware that some libraries charge borrowing fees. We will contact you for approval of any borrowing fees before requesting the items for you.