Find Books: Using Books for Research
Researching with Books
If you are looking for an in-depth discussion of a topic, your best source may be a book, or a chapter from a book. Books can help you to gain a broader perspective on your topic, and place it in an historical and/or social context.
The libraries of Atlantic Cape contain thousands of print and e-book titles.
Using Scholarly Books
What's Inside?
Scholarly books contain in-depth, authoritative information with extensive accounts of research, historical data and views by experts on the subject.
- Use the Table of Contents for a general idea of the topics covered.
- Books will contain a bibliography of materials used by the author, which may provide a guide to additional relevant sources on the subject.
- The index will list the specific subjects, events, dates and other detailed terms related to the contents of the book. The index is also a good place to see subject terms and keywords that might be helpful to refine your search.
- In some instances, books take considerable time to write and publish, so they are not always the best source for a current topic.
Is This Book Scholarly?
Like scholarly articles, scholarly books will include information about the author's background and academic affiliations. Look for this information in the introduction, forward, or a section about the author.
Scholarly works always include citation or footnotes in the text, and information about sources. Trap alert: non-scholarly, or pseudo-scholarly books may also include source documentation. If you are not sure, ask a librarian.
A book that is substantial, but not a work of academic scholarship, may still be a good source for a research project. Learn a little about the reputation of the author, if you are not sure. You can google the author(s) to find out more about their expertise.
If your topic is one that lends itself to sensationalism or distortion, you may find it useful to limit your search to items in the college collections.
Books as Literature
The Atlantic Cape libraries have solid collections in the field of literature. Whether for research and study, or for general reading, you will find many literary works in the libraries print and ebook collections. the collections include
- novels and other works of fiction
- short stories
- graphic novels
- essays
- poetry
- drama
- children's literature
- criticism
You'll find out literature collections in the P call number range. Check them out.
Books for Practical Research
Books are good for other types of learning, too. In the library, you will find
- Study guides and how-to guides
- Instructional and procedural manuals
- Career assistance
- Statistical resources
- Style guides
- Art work
- Cookbooks
Books are for Fun, Too
Check out our leisure reading collections, and borrow books from the public library collections for light reading and entertainment.