The Yale University Library Web site is the primary gateway to all of the Library's electronic resources, as well as information about the rich print and manuscript collections.

ORBIS What's here: An Orbis (Yale Library catalog) quick search box. What can you do here? Search Orbis by title, journal title, author sorted by last name firstname, keyword, ranked keyword, subject, or call number.

		RESEARCH TOOLS: ORBIS AND OTHER LIBRARY CATALOGS What's here: Orbis, Yale's online catalog, and links to Morris (Law Library materials) and the Center for Research Libraries catalog, catalogs for searching multiple libraries,and selected local, regional and worldwide library catalogs. What can you do here? Search for materials held in all the libraries of the Yale Library system, including books, journal titles, newspapers, scores, recordings, maps, visual materials and manuscript and archival material. You can also check your library account, and request book purchases, paging, Eli Express or book renewals. Search Morris, the Law Library catalog, and other catalogs from the "Library Catalogs" link on the menu bar within Orbis.
		RESEARCH TOOLS: DATABASES & ARTICLE SEARCHING What's here: Access to research databases for finding journal articles and other information. You can also locate databases by subject, search across more than one database at a time, and find news resources here. What can you do here? Find citations for articles, full-text articles online, and other types of online reference resources, such as encyclopedias, bibliographies, dictionaries, and directories.
		RESEARCH TOOLS: ONLINE JOURNALS & NEWSPAPERS What's here: Access to full text journals and newspapers, a link to Citation Linker, to find full text when you already know the citation for an article, and Online Journal & Newspaper searching tips. What can you do here? Link to full text scholarly journals and newspaper articles.
		RESEARCH TOOLS: RESEARCH GUIDES BY SUBJECT What's here: Suggested print and online research resources listed by subject. What can you do here? Get started in your research by identifying the major research tools in a subject area.
		RESEARCH TOOLS: CREATE BIBLIOGRAPHIES What's here: Links to documentation for RefWorks and EndNote, two major citation management tools. What can you do here? These tools can help you organize your research and easily create footnotes, citations, and formatted bibliographies.
		RESEARCH TOOLS:OFF-CAMPUS ACCESS What's here: The proxy server allows Yale users to access restricted library resources including databases and online journals from off-campus computers. It uses your NetID to authenticate you as a valid member of the Yale community. What can you do here? Find the information and links you need for configuring your computer to use Yale resources while away from campus.
		LIBRARIES & COLLECTIONS What's here: Links to descriptions of individual Yale libraries and collections; addresses and contact information for each library; hours for all libraries. What can you do here? Find locations of Yale libraries and key service contacts.
		LIBRARY SERVICES What's here: Links to library access services, reference and interlibrary loan services, research workshops & tutorials, and course reserves. What can you do here? Find information about library services and link to online tutorials and library service forms.
		ABOUT THE LIBRARY What's here: Directory of library staff, job opportunities, library policies, information about computers in the library, and more. What can you do here? Find library staff and jobs.
		ASK! A LIBRARIAN : NEWS : IN FOCUS What's here: Ask!Live reference service Submit questions to reference staff live. Pass text messages back and forth. Browse web pages together. What can you do here? Find links and information about live, e-mail, phone, and in person reference services at all Yale libraries. News Current events at the library, with links to more news, events and exhibits. What can you do here? Find links and information about live, e-mail, phone, and in person reference services at all Yale libraries. In Focus Rotating announcements, messages, interesting facts and helpful research tips. What can you do here? Find links and information about live, e-mail, phone, and in person reference services at all Yale libraries.

How do I find full text resources on my topic?

There are several ways to find full text resources on a given topic.

1. The most precise strategy is to use Research Guides by Subject as a starting point. Go to a subject -language and literature, for example- from the subject guide list and from there discover which resources are full text.
2. Another option is to try searches in full text resources such as Academic Search, JSTOR, and Project Muse. A reference librarian is always on-hand to assist with finding and using these resources.
3. Databases & Article Searching also provides databases by subject, and News Resources. Rather than guessing what subject a database contains, use these lists to guide you.

How do I find journal articles?

Journal articles are found by looking in indexes.

1. First, determine what it is you are trying to find. For instance, if you need an article on Ernest Hemingway and his novel A Moveable Feast, you need to find a database that indexes American literature, such as the MLA. From Databases & Article Searching you will find groups of databases listed by subject. From the choices you might click on Language + Lit and search the QuickSet for these databases. (Click on "Language + Lit" to see the pre-selected set of databases for this subject.)
2. After deciding on a set of databases, do a search on your topic, e.g. Hemingway and Moveable Feast. Type in these keywords (Hemingway and Moveable Feast) in the Search for: box. This will bring up citations to journal articles and in some cases the full text.
3. Use the Yale Links icon to link to full text if it is available, or to search the online catalog for print copies, check the online journals list, or to link to Interlibrary Loan if Yale does not own this material. Copy ALL the information in the citation, including author, title, journal name, volume, date, and any notes.
4. To locate the print copy of the journal in the Yale Library, go to Orbis and do a journal title search. Note the library where the journal is located, the call number, and also the volumes Yale has. Make sure the library has the volume and date for the journal you need.
5. For more detail, see How to Find Journal Articles.

Is there any online help for Orbis and the databases?

Yes! There are several places to go when looking for help. For help using Orbis, select Help from the menu bar. In addition, many online tutorials and information pages for databases on Databases & Article Searching have links to help screens. Please don't hesitate to ask a librarian for assistance.

How can I figure out which database to use?

There are three places to go to help you determine which database to use.

1. Research Guides by Subject section is an excellent way to get started. These guides, prepared by the subject specialists in the library, provide you with a starting point for almost any topic.
2. Databases & Article Searching also provides databases by subject, and News Resources. Rather than guessing what subject a database contains, use these lists to guide you.
3. You can always ask a librarian for assistance. Also consult the subject specialist directory, when working on a particular subject.

Is there a way to find out who has cited an author I am working on?

Citation indexes list authors of articles and books that have been cited in other articles. Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Science Citation Index (SCI), and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) are three such indexes; they can be searched separately or together on Web of Science. These indexes can be searched by author, cited author, cited work, and keywords. For more information on citation indexes, see Introduction to Cited Reference Searching.

What is a subject heading and how can I find one?

Subject headings are controlled vocabulary terms chosen by catalogers to describe the subject matter of material in library catalogs. The value of subject headings lies in grouping together works on the same subject, regardless of the language or wording of their titles or their location in the library. Finally, in cases where keyword searches retrieve many unrelated or unwanted titles, subject heading searches can offer a more precise listing of what your need.

Orbis, Morris, Eureka and OCLC's WorldCat contain subject headings listed in the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), the National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), and local lists of Yale-specific subject headings. Copies of LCSH can be found near the Orbis workstations in many campus libraries. Copies of Medical Subject Headings are available in the Medical Library, Kline Science Library, and Sterling Memorial Library.

In Orbis and most other catalogs, subject headings are listed near the end of the bibliographic record. It is important to enter subject searches in exact word order. In Orbis eliminate the dashes when entering the search:

e.g., Subject Search france history bombardment 1940 1945 (note that other types of punctuation may be omitted)

For more information on constructing subject searches, see Subject Help

For more information on constructing subject searches by Medical or Yale Local Subject Headings, see Searching by Keyword Indexes

Should I use punctuation when I am searching Orbis? Databases?

In Title Searching omit intervening commas, periods, apostrophes, and most other punctuation, but hyphens should be retained.

In Orbis, punctuation may be left out of most searches, and should be left out of keyword searches, except in the following cases:

• Include the hyphen and the quotation marks when searching by ISSN, e.g., "0163-075X"
  For more information see Searching by Keyword Indexes
  
• Call number searches require punctuation and spacing. In general, punctuation and spacing of call numbers should be entered as they appear in catalog records.
• In searches for call numbers containing a decimal extension, the . (period) must be included (e.g., TK5103.59)
  In searches for call numbers containing a "double cutter" (that is, more than one letter/number combination appears after the class number), a space must be included before the second letter, (e.g., PS508.W73 W67).
  
For more information see Call Number Help
• Use ? at the end of a search word for truncation: e.g., ecol? will search for ecology, ecological, etc.
  For more information see Keyword Search Help
• Enclose exact search phrases in quotation marks: e.g., "middle ages". Truncation may be included within quoted phrases: e.g., "british theat?" will search for British theater and also British theatre.
  For more information see Keyword Search Help
  
• Use nesting (parentheses) to further refine a Boolean keyword search: e.g., to find materials on Mayan pyramids or temples, enter (temple? or pyramid?) and maya?
  For more information see Boolean Searching Help

Many databases use special punctuation in constructing searches. The "Help" files for the database are the best place to find out when and how to use punctuation. For further help with databases, ask a librarian.