To search for paper Books by KEYWORD in the Michael Schwartz Library's collection:

(1) Go to the SCHOLAR Online Catalog.

(2) Click on the Advanced Search button.

(3) Type your keywords into the search box(es). For example: school choice AND vouchers.

(4) Under "Limit Your Search Here," select BOOK as the Material Type.

(5) Click on Search.

The Michael Schwartz Library provides access to BOOKS in the traditional paper/print format. The Library also provides access to E-BOOKS, which may be viewed full text online on your computer, laptop, or tablet.

Paper books are arranged on the shelves of the Michael Schwartz Library by Library of Congress call number. To find a book on the shelf, you need to know its location, call number, and status.

Education books are classified beginning with the letter "L" and are located on the 4th floor of the Library. Psychology books are classified under the letters "BF" and are located on the 2nd floor of the Library. See Understanding Call Numbers for more help.

To borrow books from the Michael Schwartz Library, you must present your CSU I.D. (Viking Card). Books are checked out at the User Services Center on the 1st floor of the Library. Most paper books are loaned out to graduate students for 3 months and to undergraduate students for 4 weeks, but there are exceptions. Please see the Borrowing Books & Other Materials page for information.

If you are searching for books, then use the following resources to find them:

SCHOLAR Online Catalog (CSU Libraries only)

OhioLINK Library Catalog (CSU Libraries + Ohio college and university libraries)

eBook Collections (Some are freely available; others are available only to current CSU faculty, staff, and students because the Michael Schwartz Library pays for them.)

The boxes below contain more information about each resource.

SCHOLAR is the online catalog of the CSU Libraries. For every item that the Michael Schwartz Library or the Law Library owns, a summary or description is created and is added into SCHOLAR.

Use SCHOLAR to search for BOOKS and for other items, like DVDs, videos, CDs, eBooks, government documents, and the TITLES of journals, magazines, and newspapers available in the CSU Libraries' collections.

You can search for items a number of ways, including by Title, Author, Keyword, or Subject.

Use the search box below for a basic search, or go to the SCHOLAR Online Catalog. You can use the Advanced Search screen for more complex searches -- combine keywords, apply limits, sort results.

The Michael Schwartz Library is a member of OhioLINK, which is a consortium of 88 university and college libraries in Ohio.

The OhioLINK Library Catalog is the online catalog of the member libraries. As a CSU student, you can borrow books and materials from OhioLINK member libraries.

If a book or other item you need is not available at the CSU Libraries, then search in the OhioLINK Library Catalog to check if it is available from another location.

You can search for items several ways, including by Keyword, Title, Author, and Subject. An Advanced Search is also available.

You can request items from other libraries to be sent to the Michael Schwartz Library or any other OhioLINK library member for pickup. Just click on the green Request button, and then enter and submit the required information. It usually takes 3-5 working days for an item to arrive via OhioLINK. You will receive an email informing you when an item has arrived, or you can login to My Account to view the status of a requested item.

The loan period is 3 weeks for most books. They can be renewed up to 6 times unless a hold has been placed by another OhioLINK borrower. Media items such as CD's or DVD's have a loan period of 1 week and are not renewable. Please see the OhioLINK Materials section of the Borrowing Books & Other Materials page for more information.

The Michael Schwartz Library provides access to eBooks (Electronic Books). The full listing of eBook collections can be found on the Virtual Reference Desk: Electronic Books page.

Some of these collections, like Google Books, are available to everyone for free on the Internet.

Other eBook collections, like the OhioLINK Electronic Book Center, are available only to CSU faculty, staff, and students because the Library pays for them. Most of the eBooks that the Library has purchased are cataloged and added into the SCHOLAR Online Catalog. You can search for eBooks in SCHOLAR. See the handout below for instructions on Finding eBooks in SCHOLAR.

You also can search separate eBook collections by keyword to find books on a topic. Since the Michael Schwartz Library has purchased access to the content of many of these eBook collections, they are restricted to current CSU faculty, staff, and students. To access the eBook collections that CSU pays for from off-campus, you will have to "authenticate" first. This means that you must verify that you a current CSU student by selecting Cleveland State University from the list of institutions, and then entering your Name, CSU I.D. No., and Library PIN. The following eBook collections are especially recommended for your research needs: