Argument and research: Books

Books can give you the in-depth analysis of your topic

Books...

• can get you a historical perspecitve on your topic to see how it has evolved over time
• often are written by authors who are experts or have taken the time to do research on a particular subject
• help you understand the complexity your topic

When you find a book...

• you do not have to read the whole book! Instead look at the table of contents in the front to find which chapters will be most helpful to you
• look in the back of the book.  Often there is a list of sources that the author consulted when he or she wrote the book.  You might want to use these sources for your research, too!

Image source: Tick icons created by Kiranshastry - Flaticon

Using Ebook Central

E-books in the Ebook Central library database are ALSO included in the library catalog. But if you just want to focus on e-books, you can also search directly in the Ebook Central library database.

Reading call numbers

The TCC Library arranges books by Library of Congress ("LC") call numbers.

Here's an example of a call number in our library catalog:

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For information on how to read Library of Congress call numbers, click below:

Searching the Library Catalog

Once you've found general, background information on your topic, it's time to find more in-depth information. One way is to find books that you can check out at the TCC Library or e-books that you can read online. You can search the library catalog for books by doing a keyword search (e.g., "bilingual education" or "drug abuse") by clicking the link below.

Click the link below to search for books in the library catalog

Search tips:

1. Type in your keywords in the search box and click the "Search" button
2. Take note of the format of the results. You can narrow down to print books or e-books by clicking one of the boxes.
3. Take note of the publication date range. You can narrow down results to a specific data range.
4. Click the title of the book for more detailed info
5. Take note of the format of the book. An e-book will have an "E" icon; a print book will have a book icon.
6. If it's an e-book, then you can click the "Electronic access" link to read the book online.
7. You can also text any book record to yourself.

(click on image to enlarge)