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Check to see if you can log on to our databases off campus.

Search the Catalog
How to perform searches in the COMCat (the library's catalog), print or email item records and access your library account. To access COMCat, go to http://comcat.com.edu/.

Use COMCat to find books, eBooks, pamphlets and media materials in the library. COMCat terminals are located near the Circulation desk. COMCat is accessible from any computer with Internet access, whether on campus or at your home or office. 

The searches available in the COMCat: are Keyword Search, Basic Search, Advanced Search and Course Reserve Search.

Keyword Search
Keyword search is the default search screen you'll see when you first log in to COMCat. It's best for simple, quick searches. This search uses all the fields of a record, such as title, author, subject, tables of contents (if available). So if you enter "gun control" in quotes, you'll retrieve all the books with the phrase gun control in the title, subject, or table of contents.

Top Tip: Search Techniques to use in Keyword Search, and Basic or Advanced when Find Results or Within box selection does not say browse:

• Use quotes to search phrases: "world wide web"
  This makes COMCat retrieve only those results that have all the words you entered in quotes, in the in which you entered them.
• Use + to mark essential terms: +explorer
  The plus tells COMCat that all results must have the term you marked with + in the results
  
• Use * to mark important terms: *internet
  The * tells COMCAt that the terms you marked with * are more important, so they'll be on the top of your result list.
  
• Use ? to truncate: soci?
  The question mark is a technique called truncation that retrieves all words starting with the letters you enter.

Basic Search
You'll be able to find most of what you need through basic search. In Basic Search, you can tell COMCat where you want to search for any terms you enter using the Search in box. For a very specific search, such as searches that use more than one term and more than one field, use Advanced Search.

Find Results In--what's the difference?

1. Full Text Keyword Search (default)
You can do a very quick search by typing in your search term and clicking the Search button. The Keyword Search will search for your term in all parts of a record: title, author, subject, publisher, call number, notes and more.

2. Title
Find an item by its title. A Title Search searches within the title for the term(s) entered. Your result list will include all items with those words you entered within the title field. 

Top Tip: Use Quotes
Using quotes in a title search can be helpful. For instance, if you are looking for a book with the end of the world in the title, using quotes around the words will retrieve only those hits that have the entire phrase as part of the title, such as "America Alone : the end of the world as we know it"; if you don't use quotes in your search you'll get all results that have the words anywhere in the title, such as "End of glory : an interpretation of the origins of World War II".

3. Subject v. Subject Browse
Find an item by its subject.

Subject Keyword
A subject keyword search will search for words within the subject field. To perform a Subject Keyword Search, type in words that describe your subject and click on the Search button. Your result list will include all items with those words within the subject field. 

Subject Browse
Use Subject Browse to find items on a specific subject. When you type in a term you will actually browse a list of Library of Congress subject headings that start with your term. To perform a Subject Browse, simply type in the subject, select Subject Browse, and click on the Search button. Your result list will include all items begin with that subject. 

Top Tip: Author as Subject
When looking for literary criticism or biographical information on an author, it is most efficient to perform a Subject Browse. For instance, if you want literary criticism on Mark Twain, do a subject browse on Twain Mark. As you look down your result list, you will see all subjects with Twain Mark in the subject field. For criticism on Twain's works, click on TWAIN, MARK, 1835-1910--CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION. For biographical information, select TWAIN, MARK, 1835-1910--BIOGRAPHY. Note: the Tip for individual names of authors as authors holds true for searching authors as subjects. 

4. Author Browse
Use Author Browse to find items by a specific author. Author Browse searches only the author field of a record. Authors are the individuals or groups who are responsible for the content of a publication, which may include the writing, editing, and/or compilation of material. Authors may be one individual, several individuals, companies, governments, schools or other groups.

Example: Authors
Mark Twain, U.S. Department of Justice, Texas A&M University. 

Top Tip: Individual Names
When using the name of an individual, the last name is entered first, followed by a space and the first name:

Twain Mark

Alternatively, you may enter:

Twain, Mark
Twain M
Twain
Twa

5. Series
COM Library has in its collection various series of books. Books in a series generally have some unifying theme. For example, COM Library’s Current & Controversial Topics Guide has a list of series books that cover current and controversial topics. One of the series is Opposing Viewpoints. If you wanted to see all the books in the Opposing Viewpoints Series, you would type in Opposing Viewpoints, select Series and click on the Search button.

6. Call Number
Use this to retrieve a list of call numbers. You may use as little as one letter, such as P up to an entire call number, such as PS 1331 A7 1954. When you perform a call number search you will be retrieving a list of items that are on a similar subject, with the similarity being broadest with the least amount of letters/numbers entered, becoming more similar as you enter more. 

Course Reserve Search
Your instructor may place items for your course on reserve in the library. To access this type of search click on Course Reserve where you may search by Instructor, Department or Course to get a list of items placed on reserve. Once you have determined which item you are to read, you may go to COM Library's Circulation Desk to request it. 

Advanced Search
The best time to use advanced search is when you want to search using more than one term in different fields. For instance, if you wanted to see if the library had any books available on Stephen King that covered themes on society, social, or sociology, you'd enter the search Stephen King, select "all of these" OR "as a phrase" within subject and soci? within keyword anywhere.

Print, Email or Save
You can create your own bibliography by printing or emailing a result list, or you can just print/email/save a single record as you view it.

Access Your Library Record
Use the My Account tab to access information about your library record and activity, including items you have checked out, any blocks to your account, and any items you have placed on hold. To access this information you must supply your COM ID number and Last Name in the Patron Login screen. 

Locate Resources
Most books in the COM Library are located in the Main Collection. They are organized by their Library of Congress call numbers. The A-PS call numbers are located on the ground floor of the library, and the PS-Z call numbers are on the Mezzanine (the second floor of the library). How do I find call numbers on the shelf?

The library also has special collection books. See the chart below to ascertain the location of each special collection. When you look one of these books up in the catalog, the result list or individual record will indicate this under Location.

Reference Collection
When you need statistics, definitions or scientific values/tables, reference books are a good place to start. Reference books are kept in a separate collection on the main floor of the library and cannot be checked out.

Reserves
Material placed on reserve by your instructor should be requested at Circulation Services. Some library items are placed on permanent reserve and must also be requested at the circulation desk.

eBooks
Access eBooks, full text electronic versions of printed books. COM Library has access to free eBooks and eBooks available only in COM Library or to COM Library patrons*.

NetLibrary
* Access over 35,000 eBooks in the College of the Mainland Collection, including a special Texana section. eBooks can be viewed online 24/7 in COM Library or off campus. Most eBooks require the free Adobe® Acrobat Reader®.

NetLibrary & COMCat
NetLibrary eBooks are also available through COM Library's catalog. Once you have performed a search in the catalog, you will have a result list. You can identify the eBooks on the list by looking under Location, which will say eBook.

To view the eBook, click on the title of the book and when the eBook's record comes up, click on URL: EBook, Click here to access. If you want to limit to eBooks only in your search use the Quick Limit option and select eBooks.

Want more info on NetLibrary? Try the NetLibrary screencast (takes about 10 minutes).

Google Book Search
Search for books with full text using Google’s beta Google Book search. Google is literally scanning the entire collection of some other world's greatest libraries: Harvard, Oxford, Stanford, University of Michigan and New York Public Library. You may prefer to get more specific with Google's Advanced Book Search.

There are different levels of accessibility for full text books: snippet, sample or full book view. The views for each book are based on the copyright and copyright owner of each book. If out of copyright, full view. If publisher agrees, sample view. If a gray area, snippet view. Right now the best results are older resources and are more likely to be useful for humanities and social sciences. Always check with your instructor to see if they have requirements for how old a source can be for your assignments.

Download Classics
Go to Google Book Search to download full copies of out-of-copyright books to read at your own pace. You're free to choose from a diverse collection of public domain titles -- from well-known classics to obscure gems. Using Google Book Search, you can find books such as:

• Aesop's Fables
• Shakespeare's Hamlet
• Alcott's Little Women

Free eBooks
Free eBooks are accessible to anyone with Internet access.

Access the eBooks page for NetLibrary or free eBooks.

Get Books from Other Libraries
Still Can't Find the Book You Want? COM Library offers several alternatives: TexShare cards and Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

Best Bet: TexShare Cards
The state of Texas has a program designed to help Texas libraries share resources: TexShare. Participating TexShare libraries may extend free reciprocal borrowing privileges to each other's students, faculty and staff. Get a TexShare card at the COM circulation desk. Generally using your TexShare card at other local libraries is much quicker than waiting for an ILL.

To find out more about the TexShare card program and to search the catalogs of other libraries in the area, go to COM Library's Other Libraries & Catalogs page : http:/library.com.edu/books/libs.htm

ILL
COM Library is glad to request books from other libraries; however, the library has no control over how long it may take to get the books, if other libraries will lend them to us, or how long they will lend them to us. Generally, other libraries will lend us their books and it usually takes 2-6 weeks to get them. Get a copy of the ILL Request form in the library or online in PDF format to print out: http://library.com.edu/help/ILL.PDF.

Questions about Books?
For answers to COM Library's most frequently asked questions about books, access Book FAQs.

Questions?

If you still have questions after reading this guide, try some of COM Library's FAQs, or you may ask the Reference Librarian for assistance. The Reference Office is located on the ground floor of the library near the Online Library.

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