Using one of the databases listed under the Databases tab, go to Advanced Search, this is the best way to search in these or other databases. An advanced search allows you to control your search terms and do a better, more controlled and in-depth search. Search by the author or subject or geographical term you find best. Combining them using the terms offered, AND, OR, and NOT, can narrow or widen your search depending upon the results you get.

Key in a search term or two, or an author’s name and click on the search button. If you get too many hits, try adding a keyword (maybe words from the title of a specific work) that might narrow your subject down. 

If you’re searching a citation database like Anthropology Plus, (I know that this isn’t strictly a Philosophy database, but sometimes it’s worth a look) you’ll need to see if the library subscribes to the journal the article you want is in. Open up another window to our homepage and click on our Journals link (icon to the right). Type in the title of the journal, click on the Search button and then click on the links (if any) listed below.

If we do not subscribe to the journal you’re looking for, use ILLiad to request the article.

For more information on ILLiad, and to set up your account, click here. Once your account is set up, you can automatically populate the article request form from EBSCO databases – just click on the button. From other databases, or from citations you find in printed sources, type in the information.

If you know the title of the book or the author's name (last name, first name), try searching those in our catalog - Felix and ConnectNY.

If you're looking to see what we have in a particular subject area, choose either a Keyword or an Advanced Keyword search. Key in one or two search terms that describe what you're looking for. As you look down the resulting list of titles, choose one that looks like it is about the subject you're researching.

As you look at the record that describes the book you picked, scroll down until you come to the subject headings assigned to that book. Every book (except some works of fiction) is assigned one or more subject headings in a controlled vocabulary developed by the Library of Congress. Each of these headings is a link. If you click on the subject heading that best describes your research, you'll get a list of all the subject headings used in our catalog that alphabetically surround the one you clicked on. The one you chose will be in the middle of this list. You can either click on that subject heading, or you can take a look at similar subjects. Whatever you decide to click on, you'll get a list of the titles of the books that have been described by that particular subject heading. Click on the title that you want to get the information that you need (location, call number, status) to find the book in the library.

Note any appropriate subject headings, they can be used for searches in other databases, like WorldCatand Project MUSE.

When you find a book in the catalog that you want to see, make note of its location. Books whose locations include the word Bard are here in the main library, Stevenson. We share our catalog with the Center for Curatorial Studies Library which is open to Bard students, but does not lend its books, and the library at the Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture. To use the Bard Graduate Center’s library, which is located in New York City, please contact the Reader Services Librarian at (212) 501-3035 or reference@bgc.bard.edu.

 
If a book is not available in our library, or if the subject you’re researching is not adequately covered by the holdings in our library, the next place to look is in the ConnectNY catalog.

Search ConnectNY as you would our catalog. When you find a book you want: make sure the status is “Available” then click “Request this Item” choose Bard from the drop down box then key in your last name and barcode number.

The book will be delivered in two to six business days and may be picked up from  Reserves Desk on the third floor of Stevenson. You’ll be notified by e-mail. The borrowing period for these books is three weeks with one three week renewal. ConnectNY books should be returned to the Reserves Desk.

 
If a book is not in our catalog or in ConnectNY, you may request it through ILLiad, our InterLibrary Loan service.

The database that serves ILLiad is called WorldCat. WorldCat is a catalog of thousands of library catalogs, including all the major research libraries. Repeat the searches you performed in our catalog and ConnectNY. If you find a book you want to read, use our ILLiad system to request it.

For more information on ILLiad, and to set up your account, click here. Once your account is set up, you can automatically populate the book request form from WorldCat – just click on the button.

 
You might also try….

More and more, finding books in our collection means finding e-books, complete digital texts available online. Thousands of pages of text are available to you through subscription via the library. Here is a selection of important critical resources in philosophy:

Philosophy E-Books from Cambridge Histories Online
Philosophy E-Books from Cambridge Collections Online

The Reference Collection of the library contains encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks pertaining to particular subject areas, sometimes very particular subject areas. This section is organized by call numbers that mirror the call numbers in the general collection, so if you have a book in hand about a particular subject, you can go the section of the Reference Collection with a similar call number and see consult the reference works on that subject.

The Reference Collection starts on the shelves by the Rugby Field on the first floor of Stevenson and continues into Kellogg. Here is a selection from more than 200 reference works in philosophy:

Routledge History of Philosophy
Ref.B21 R68

Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Philosophers           
Ref. B104. B56

Companion to Phenomeology and Existentialism           
Ref. B829.5 C557 (2006)

Encyclopedia of Post-Modernism
Ref. B831.2 E63 (2001)

Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers
Ref. B851. D53 (2005)

The multi-volume Critical Assessments series on individual philosophers from Plato to Heidegger, also in this section, are a terrific source of both older and contemporary reviews of major topics and thinkers. You’ll find them in this range in the philosophy reference section: Ref. B395.P5185 1998  to  Ref. B3279.H49 M2854 1992.

(Thanks to the librarians of Washington University and the Library of Congress for this outline)

B Philosophy (General)

• B1–8 Periodicals
• B41–52 General Reference Works
• B53–67"Theory. Method. Scope. relations"
• B69–4695 History & Systems
• B69–105 General Works
• B108–118 Ancient
• B121–161"Orient"
• B165–491 Greece
• B505–626 Greco-Roman Philosophy
• B630–708 Alexandrian and Early Christian Philosophy
• B720–765 Medieval Philosophy
• B770–785 Renaissance Philosophy
• B790–4695 Modern Philosophy
• B791–804 General Works
• B808–843 Special Topics
• B851–945 United States
• B981–995 Canada
• B1001–1084 Latin America
• B1111–England
• B1801–2430 France
• B2521–3396 Germany & Austria
• B3501–3515 Modern Greece
• B3551–3656 Italy
• B3801–4175 The Netherlands & Belgium
• B4201–4279 Russia
• B4301–4495 Scandinavia
• B4511–4598 Spain & Portugal
• B4625–4651 Switzerland
• B4681–4695 Other European Countries

BC Logic

• B9 Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
• BC11–39 History
• BC25–39 By period
• BC60–99 General Works
• BC171–199 Special Topics

BD Speculative Philosophy

• BD10–41 General Philosophical Works
• BD95–131 Metaphysics
• BD143–237 Epistemology
• BD300–450 Ontology
• BD193–701 Cosmology
• BD620–655 Space, time, matter & motion

BH Aesthetics

• BH39–41 Theory. scope. relations
• BH61–63 Study & teaching
• BH81–221 History & Systems
• BH301 Special Subjects A–Z

BJ Ethics

• BJ1–8 Periodicals
• BJ37–60 Relations to other topics
• BJ63 Dictionaries & encyclopedias
• BJ71–982 History
• BJ101–982 By region and period
• BJ990–1185 General works & textbooks
• BJ1188–1295 Religious ethics
• BJ1395 Feminist ethics
• BJ1400–1500 Special topics
• BJ1518–1697 Individual ethics
• BD1533 Virtues
• BD1534–1535 Vices
• BD1545–1691 Practical & applied ethics
• BJ1725 Ethics of social groups, including professional ethics
• BJ1801–2195 Etiquette

Here is a selection of general philosophy web sites. Often, comprehensive sites on individual philosophers can found simply by using Google. A Google search of Jacques Derrida, for example, will include texts, commentaries, and interviews on Youtube.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Perseus Digital Library - Classical Greek and Roman Texts and Commentary.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Philosophy Talk - from Stanford University (great site for audio discussions from Aristotle to Derrida).

NoodleBib is an excellent online utility for both generating a Chicago Style bibliography and footnotes and for organizing your research. Zotero is a similar database that downloadable from Firefox and has the added advantage of pulling the bibliographic data straight from the source into your research folder.

Style Guides:

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
LB2369 .G53 2009 (in the Reference Section and in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

Concise Rules of APA Style
BF76.7 .C66 2005

Rules for Writers by Diana Hacker
PE1408.H277 2008

The Chicago Manual of Style
LB2369 .T8 2007  (in the Reference Section and in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations : Chicago Style for Students and Researchers by Kate Turabian
LB2369 .T8 2007  (in the Reference Section and in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

Cite right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles -- MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More by Charles Lipson
PN171.F56 L55 2006  (in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)