Tools to find resources within the library:
Getting started with research? Here are a few helpful suggestions:
- Start with a reference work, such as a dictionary or an encyclopedia, to get a basic understanding of your subject and a preliminary bibliography for your research topic.
- Find books. Use our online catalog and map to locate books. Don’t forget you can use a book’s bibliography to find more sources for your research. See below for more searching tips.
- Utilize our journals, which contain peer-reviewed articles that may succinctly discuss your research topic. We have many publications in the Journals Room and online access to many more journals through online databases such as JSTOR and the BAS Library. JSTOR contains journals from all disciplines within the humanities. Click here for a guide to using our journal collection.
- Free Bible Software. The STEPBible by Tyndale offers free Bible software. This amazing resource provides translations, definitions and much more. Click here to access the STEPBible.
- Digital Theological Library 2: DTL2 is a theological digital library of religious and theological studies. Contact one of our librarians for access to this resource.
- Want to use our resources outside the library? Scan the pages and take them with you on a flash drive. You can buy an LTL flash drive for $5. More information about copiers and scanners here.
- Save your books for your next visit. We will set them aside for a few days until you’re back. Place them on our “Reserved for Research” cart. Just fill out an orange “Reserved” form and leave it with your books. Books may be held on the cart for up to two weeks.
- Need a book that we don’t have? Click here to request a book be purchased for the library. We will consider your request and if accepted, let you know when the book is in the library.
Library Catalog Searching Tips:
- Try searching the author’s last name with a key word or two from the title.
- Accuracy: Search for the book on Google or Amazon to be sure you are spelling everything correctly. Our library catalog search will not give you any results if any word is misspelled.
- Broad: For general searches, use broad terms. It might be helpful to consult Wikipedia for relevant key words related to your research area.
Email Us Your Research Questions: Click here to email our head librarian, Sharon Cofran, with a research question.