The easiest way to search the HACC library for books and eBooks is to use Summon. You can get started in the search box above. But first, here are some tips!
Thinking about Search Terms:
When searching for books, it's best to keep the search terms fairly broad.
If you want to discover something new, you could start with a very broad search, based on the course title or related words. Here are some ideas:
Human: humans, people, society, civilization, human impacts, anthropocene
Environment: environmental, environmentalism, ecology, nature, wilderness, Earth
Try mixing and matching different terms, one from each list, to get different lists of books to browse. If you want a fictional story, try adding "fiction" as an additional keyword.
Already have a topic in mind? Think about single words or short phrases that would probably be used in the title or summary of a book about that topic. Here are a few examples:
Enter Search Terms
Once you've decided on search terms, enter them in the search box.
Limit your Results to Books
When you enter your first search, Summon will bring back results from all over the library--books, videos, database articles, and more. Use the menu on the left to tell it that you want a book.
Check the box for “Ebook (Full Text Online),” as shown below, or “Book/Ebook,” if you are able to pick up a print book at a HACC campus. (Any book can be sent to any campus–just allow a few days after you make the request.)
Access the Book
Ebooks: Clicking on the book title should take you right to the eBook. If it doesn't, use the "Chat with a HACC Librarian" button on the right side of the Summon results page, and we'll help figure out what went wrong.
Print Books: Clicking on the title takes you to the book's page in the HACC library catalog. From there, you can see where the book is currently located, and use the "Request it!" button if you'd like to pick it up at a different campus. You may need to click the "request it!" button twice!
It should show a pop-up like this:
If you don't see the pop-up the first time you click, the request did not go through. Click the button again, select the campus, and click "Place Hold(s)."
If you want to browse print books, you are welcome to visit any campus library in person. Use this page to check library hours at the campus you want to visit.
Books are housed at all five campuses, but you'll find the biggest selection at Harrisburg, followed by Lancaster.
Try the call numbers beginning with GE (Environmental sciences) and GF (Human ecology), or QH, QK, and QL for the life sciences.
