Library Search for Books
Use the Libraries' ADVANCED SEARCH to find books on your topic in the WMU collection.
If you already know the title or author, use the pull-down arrow to select Title or Author.
When looking for books by topic, enter your keyword(s) into the search boxes.
SEARCH TIP: If you are using a phrase in your search, be sure and put it in quotation marks, e.g., "harlem renaissance"
SEARCH TIP: Use an asterisk * to pick up variant endings of a word, e.g., educat* will retrieve education, educator, educational, etc.
Internet Archive: Texts
The Digital Archive's Digital Book Collections contains over 5 million digitized books and other materials from over 1,500 libraries worldwide.
Explore Beyond WMU Libraries
Use MelCat and WorldCat to identify pertinent resources "out there" that are not owned by the WMU Libraries. You can request items directly through MelCat and through Interlibrary Loan from WorldCat. We will borrow the book(s) from another library and the service is FREE to you.
- MeLCat This link opens in a new window
The Michigan eLibrary catalog and resource sharing system. Search for books and other materials in many Michigan libraries. You will need your WIN in order to request materials.
- WorldCat This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive catalog of books and other materials in libraries around the world. Contains millions of records in hundreds of languages. Items located through WorldCat must be requested through Interlibrary Loan unless they are also listed in the WMU libraries catalog. (Library Search)
Nonbook materials include (among other publication formats) journals and magazines, manuscripts, maps, electronic resources, websites, computer programs, musical scores, films, slides, sound recordings, conference proceedings, and videotapes and discs.
Oxford Bibliographies Online
Use this database to find the best books and journal articles on topics in ancient history, the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Renaissance, and the Atlantic world.
- Oxford Bibliography: Medieval Studies This link opens in a new windowProvides annotated bibliographies on interdisciplinary topics in European and Mediterranean civilization from the 4th to the 15th centuries. The resources described include methodology from many disciplines, including history, literature, art, archaeology, religion and gender studies.
HathiTrust Digital Library
The HathiTrust is a partnership of major research institutions and libraries working to ensure that cultural records are preserved. Some items are full-text online and others are in print form; check our online catalog to see if we own them.
About Library of Congress Call Numbers
The WMU Libraries uses the Library of Congress (LC) classification for its books. Because of its peculiarities, you can rarely search in just ONE place for books on your topic. Use the catalog to identify books, and if you see a pattern emerging in call numbers, then you can go browse in that area in the stacks. Most American history is classified in the Es and Fs, located on the second floor of Waldo Library.
Meet Your Librarian
