Library Search

The quickest way to begin your search for library resources is to use Library Search - you can search across all types of academic resources, including the library catalogue, ebooks, licensed journals, institutional repositories, newspapers and freely available academic content on the Web. It uses a technique called "Web-scale discovery" to allow you to enter your search into one search box and get results from this wide range of sources.

Library Search is available alongside our Catalogue and Cross-Search services, and the many other subject based resources available. Library Search provides a convenient way to start your research investigations from the LLC website, and from within My Dundee. We are continuing to develop this service, add resources, and enhance the links to full text - your feedback can help us improve it even more. provide feedback.

What are the main features?

One single search box, to search across all content
Quick - results are returned instantly
Full text filter - only show results where full text electronic access is available
"Did you mean?" feature offers alternative spellings and suggestions
Location information - can ask to see only the results from Law or DoJ for example
Bibliographic export - can export into EndNote and other popular citation managers
Availability - availability information is shown directly with the results
Full search - can search for results out with our own collection

How do I use it?

Type in your search terms and click "Search Library"- just like Google! However, all the results will be from quality academic sources. You can then refine your results using the filters on the left of the page:

Refine your search - choose only full text items, only peer-reviewed articles, to exclude results from newspapers, or to search for material beyond what we have access to in this library.
Content type - narrow your search to just one content type (such as books, or journals) or click more options to include and exclude different content types from your results
Subject terms - narrow your search to specific terms by ticking the boxes, or click "more options" to include and exclude different subject terms from your results
Publication date - use the slider or fill in the boxes to narrow your results to certain date ranges
Library location - tick the boxes to see results from a particular library location - useful if you just want books from the library site that you are at!
Language - results may be returned in different languages - use these options to narrow your results to a specific language

Frequently Asked Questions

If you would like more information on searching academic resources or using this new search service, please get in touch with your LLC Liaison contact in the first instance. Common questions that you may have are answered below:

How do I search for only books?

You can narrow your search results to find just books by ticking the box next to "Books" under "Content Type" on the filters on the left. You can narrow this down further to look for books in a specific library site by ticking an option under "Locations" too.

I can't find a specific book or article

Try clicking "Advanced Search" next to the search box at the top, and filling in the more specific fields there. We are working to add more resources all the time but remember if you cannot find it in Library Search, you can still use the Catalogue, Cross-Search, and other resources. Your LLC Liaison contact will be able to help you find specific resources for your subject too.

Why do I not always get the full text?

Clicking the title of a full text result takes you to the website of the publisher of that article, and they can vary greatly in appearance and operation. Sometimes you may be given details of the article again, and will have to click on links to full text PDF or HTML versions to open them. Unfortunately, sometimes you may be taken to a search page, or to the webpage for the whole journal and not the article. You can try to locate the article from there, or click on the "other options for obtaining content" from the Link To banner at the top of the page.

Why is everything not full text?

We currently cannot license all journals in an electronic format. The LLC license as wide a range of material as possible, and some of this is available electronically. If an electronic article that we license is found in your search results, it will show up as full text. If a journal article is not shown as full text in your results, then it is referring to the print version.

Why do I get prompted for a log in?

Sometimes extra authentication is needed to let you access an article that we have subscribed to. This will be more common when you are off campus. You are required to authenticate yourself, using your usual username and password, then you can continue as normal.

Can I save my results?

You can save results as you go, but these will only be stored for that one session. Before you finish, you can print or email your saved items, or you can export to EndNote or other bibliographic managers. Click on the "Saved Items" folder at the bottom of the page for options. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for your searches.

Can I export to Endnote?

Yes, save any items you like by clicking on the "save this item" at the top right of your chosen search result. This will save it to the "Saved Items" folder at the bottom - click on this at any time for export options.