The H.C. Hofheimer II Library Home Page
The H.C. Hofheimer Library homepage (URL: https://www.vwu.edu/library/) is your portal to a universe of information.
Through this website you can:
- Find books in our library, or in thousands of libraries worldwide
- Use databases to get around paywalls and access scholarly journals and newspapers
- Schedule an appointment for research help with a librarian
- Browse our media collections, University Archives, and Digital Collections
- Access Course Reserves and research guides like this one
Key features of the library homepage
The Library Catalog
Tips and Tricks for Navigating the Library Catalog
Two searches: a keyword search with boolean operators, and a search using search codes and parenthesis
Quotation Marks
Put phrases in quotation marks to search for the entire phrase.
Searching for native american will find results with the word "native" or the word "american."
Searching for "native american" will find results about Native Americans.
Boolean Operators
Boolean (BOO-LEE-IN) operators are another useful way to refine your search.
Put the word AND (in ALL-CAPS) between two keywords and your search will pull up only results that have *both* keywords.
Put the word OR (in ALL-CAPS) between two keywords and your search will pull up results that have either one keyword, or the other, or both.
Searching by Location
If you only want to search the Reference section, you can do a search such as the following.
Your Topic Keyword AND b8:reference
For example: Desegregation AND b8:reference
Other searchable sections include: MEDIA, CIRCULATION, and CHILDREN.
Filters / Limiters
Once you are on the results page, you can limit a search by checking the filter boxes on the left hand side.
Some ways to filter include:
- language
- format (e.g. DVD)
- date published
- author and subject
- fiction or nonfiction
You can also check the box for Libraries Worldwide to search larger networks of libraries.
Subject Headings and Linked Data
