Online catalogs generally consist of records of the library's holdings (books, journals, dissertations, manuscripts, etc.), as opposed to the holdings themselves. A record can include any of the following information: author, title, publisher, date and place of publication, journal title, subject, and keywords.

You might be tempted to dismiss catalogs since they don't provide instant gratification - immediate, full-text access to all available resources. However, you can access many of the holdings either via online academic databases or in the library itself - all it takes is a little detective work!

Other libraries offer access to their catalogs as well. WebCATS (http://www.libdex.com/) is an index of over 18,000 libraries' catalogs. You can browse them by geographical location or search the index by keyword. Each entry provides a direct link to the library's online holdings.

2. Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Some libraries partner up with others and form groups called consortia. These consortia provide access to one another's holdings - this is where ILL comes in. When you search your library's catalog, most likely you're simultaneously searching the catalogs of your library's consortia as well. These libraries include not only university libraries, but also public, school, government, corporate, and institutional libraries. If you find a resource that isn't available at your "home" library, you can either borrow it or obtain a copy from the library that houses it.

Many libraries offer this service online, but if you have any questions or are unable to locate an online form, it can be done at your library's reference desk as well. If you aren't affiliated with a library (or if you need a resource that belongs to a library that your own library isn't associated with), you might be able to borrow or order it for a fee.

3. Academic Databases

Academic databases are privately owned or proprietary databases that charge users a fee to search their holdings or retrieve full-text documents. While members of the public can pay to use these services online, students have ready access to dozens of proprietary databases that their libraries subscribe to. These academic databases can cover a wide range of subjects, from business to the humanities, and offer everything from citations and abstracts to full-text documents. A single company may produce several different databases, and different databases may include some of the same materials (including journals, articles, or even smaller or more specific databases).