Emory University
Georgia & Other Universities
Books in libraries are assigned subject headings - standardized terms that ensure books on the same topic can be found even if you enter different search terms. For example, a search for "United States Civil War" OR "War Between the States" in library search will retrieve records for books having this standard subject heading: United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
When you find a good book on your topic, click on the subject headings assigned to that book in library search to find other titles on that topic. Or, use the subject heading terms in a new search.
You can employ these strategies - and the same subject headings - to search by topic in the WorldCat "mega-catalog" and in most academic library catalogs.
Examples of subject headings [NOTE: omit dashes and other punctuation when typing in catalog search terms]: