How to Use the Library

Located on the library home page, DISCOVERY is the library’s tool that searches for books, journal articles, videos, and e-resources at once.

Basic Search

DISCOVERY searches all of the Gellert Library's physical holdings and two popular, powerful databases, so it's a great starting point for any research session. Simply enter your search terms in the search box on the homepage. The search results will include material relevant to your topic in various formats. With DISCOVERY you can locate library items, directly access electronic resources, and refine your search results by applying filters.

Filtering Results

Use the left hand column of the search results page to filter results by format, scholarly/peer-reviewed status, year of publication, and more.

You can search the collections of the Gellert Library as well as the collections of many other libraries worldwide. By default, DISCOVERY searches only materials held in print or digitally by NDNU. If you can't find what you need on your first search, try the option to "Search Libraries Worldwide" and find materials you can request via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

DISCOVERY's Advanced Search is an ideal second step in any research session. This option allows you to narrow your search by keyword, title, author, subject, or ISBN/ISSN/OCLC Number, as well as to limit results by library, format, publication date, content, audience, or language. With Advanced Search, you can both expand and limit your search to find as many relevant results as possible, without gathering results that aren't relevant.

Search More Databases

By default, DISCOVERY only searches NDNU's catalog of print and e-books and two general databases. Using Advanced Search, you can select additional library databases, including subject-specific databases, to be searched. Check out our A-Z list of databases for a description of each database.

Use the database selection tool on the right side of the Advanced Search screen to add or subtract databases to be searched. Remember to hit "Save Changes" at the top before performing your search.

Search Term Options

Add as many search terms as you would like in the boxes on the advanced search page. You can add more lines if necessary. With the "operator" option you can even make sure that certain search terms are excluded from your results.

Format Options

Below the search boxes there are options to limit your search results by format, labeled "Search Tools." Here you can select to view only peer-reviewed articles, only materials in a certain format (books, ebooks, articles, etc.), limit by publication year, or search beyond NDNU's collection. Once you've performed a search, you can also filter the results accordingly on the search results page.