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Literature searching

A guide to finding articles, books and other materials on your subject, and managing the useful references you find.

Finding out if the Library has the items you need

Most databases will only give you references to publications and not the full text. When you are looking at your search results on most databases, look out for the 'Search for item at Reading' button or a link with the same name:

Search for Item at Reading button

Click on it and you will see straight away if the item you found is available online from one of our sources. Where possible you will be taken directly to the full-text (you may be prompted to log in with your University username and password). If the item is not available you will see the Item Finder screen (shown below) giving you the option to search the Library catalogue for a print copy, plus other ways to get hold of the item.

Item Finder screen showing that an item is not available online and presenting an option to search the catalogue for a print copy.

Search for item at Reading button not available?

Where the 'Search for item at Reading' link is not available try searching on Enterprise (books) and Summon (articles). Just paste the item title into the relevant search box below to check if we have it.

Search the Enterprise catalogue for a book

Search Summon for journal articles

What if it isn't available in the Library?

If an item is not available at Reading you can:

  • Apply for an inter-library loan, for which we may contact the British Library or other major academic library to get the item you need. This is a free service but there are restrictions on the number of requests you can make, so you might need to decide which items are most important. If you are requesting a specific article or chapter you will usually be sent a PDF via email within a few days.
  • Visit another library that has the item you need.

Find out more via the links below: