Using the Library catalogue

You can search Curtin Library for books, journal articles, conference papers, videos, theses and many other useful resources. Use the search box on the Library homepage or select the magnifying glass icon to access more functionality.

To begin searching, enter your search terms in the search box. You can search for:

• Broad keywords from your topic, e.g. climate change net zero emissions
• The title of an article or book, e.g. Binan goonj
• An author’s name, e.g. Stan Grant

Once you have entered your terms, hit Enter on your keyboard or click the search button.

Filter results

Your initial search results list may be quite large. Use the filters on the right side of the search results page to narrow the search. Some useful filters include:

• Available Online (under Availability) limits results to items which are available electronically
• Peer-reviewed Articles (under Availability) limits to articles from peer-reviewed journals
• Resource Type allows you to limit to particular types of materials (e.g. articles, books, newspapers, videos)
• Creation Date allows you to refine your search results to a particular date range.

You can retain your selected filters for more searches. Select Remember all filters or hover over an active filter until you see Make this filter persistent throughout the session then click. A padlock icon will appear. To remove the filter, click on the padlock or select Reset filters. This function can be applied to multiple filters but will only last for the current session.

Access resources

Many of the Library’s resources can be accessed online. Click on the Available Online link or the item title to open the full item record, then click on the database link(s) under Availability to open the item. If you have previously logged in, it will open to the resource directly.

Physical items that are in the Library collection will include the details of the campus library and location of the resource. See Request items for information on accessing these resources.

Boolean search

You can combine search terms in the catalogue by entering Boolean operators (AND, OR) in capital letters between the terms.

• AND narrows your search, returning results that contain both of your terms, e.g. climate change AND industrial nations
• OR broadens your search, returning results that contain either of your terms, e.g. climate change OR global warming

Advanced search

Advanced search allows you to create a more targeted search. To access, click on the Advanced Search link next to the search box in the catalogue.

Advanced search allows you to specify the fields in the item record where you would like to search for your terms: Any field, Title, Author/Creator or Subject. You can also specify:

• contains for a keyword search
• is (exact) when you are searching for an exact phrase
• starts with/Title when you know the exact title

You can further limit your search by Publication Date and Material Type.

Combine your search terms with Boolean operators (AND, OR) by selecting from the dropdown options.