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Universiteitsbibliotheek – LibGuides

Search strategy

Where to look for books

In most scientific search engines and databases you will also find books and (sometimes) chapters from books in addition to articles. You do often have to look for it much more specifically.
In your database, choose to filter by document type, e.g. books and (if possible) also by e-books or print books (or book chapters).

Commonly used search engines for books include:

  • WorldCatUU (see also the Libguide WorldCat), for books in the collection of the Utrecht University Library.
  • Google Scholar (see also the Libguide Google Scholar), Tip: use the option Library Search (settings > library links > Open WorldCat - Library Search) to check for availability at the Utrecht University Library. In Scholar itself click on the double arrows.
  • Scopus (see also the Libguide Scopus).
  • Books in subject specific databases.
  • Specifically for (not only scientific) books there is of course Google Books (see the next tab in this box for more information). Please also take a look at the options mentioned under the Full text books tab.

If you have any questions about e-books? Please visit the e-books webpage at the Utrecht University Library website.

Google Books is the most well known full text database with millions of scanned books, both scientific and non-scientific. Please note that Google Books does not always display the entire text of all books or even the part that you need. Use Google Books for:

  • finding books about subjects, because Google Books lets you search the full text of the books;
  • reading entire books, provided they are free of copyright;
  • reading parts of newer books. Books with copyright will often be partially available. Sometimes you might find the chapter you need.

Search Google Books (.nl)
Search Google Books (.com)

There are clear differences between the .nl and.com version:

  • Ranking: the Dutch version puts books in the Dutch language higher in the results list, and the other way around! This is especially the case in searching for proper names that are equal in both languages.
  • Subject terms: in the .com version you can also search by subject/keywords, 
  • Bookshop links: the Dutch version also contains links to Dutch bookshops.
  • Google eBooks: the Dutch version has the option to restrict to "Google eBooks". We advise you to always select" any books".

Searching Google Books is similar to searching in Google. You will find extensive information on searching and tools on the Help page. Or click on advanced search to find more search options

Search tips:

  • Enter your search terms at With all of the words
  • Change the word order, this gives different results
  • Once you have found a book, try Related books for more results
  • In Google Books you can save 'free books' as PDFs or save your books in My Library (if you have a Google account). Here you can make notes, mark books as have read/to read and make lists you can share.

Get hold of a book found in Google Books:

Click (if available on the page) under Get this book in print on the link Find in a library. You will be directed to WorldCat.org. In this worldwide catalogue you can see if the book is available in the collection of Utrecht University Library or in other libraries around the world.

If you are searching on a particular topic, performing a search in the full text of books can be very convenient. With millions of scanned books Google Books is the best known full text database

Other useful search engines:

Articles published as chapters in books (edited volumes, readers) are not always easy to find.
The easiest way is, of course, to find the (e-)book the chapter is published in. 

In many search systems you can also search for book chapters by using filters and limits.
Usually the system will offer you filters after you have performed a search, but sometimes it is also possible to add limits beforehand (Tip: take a look at the Advanced Search options).

For example

  • WorldCat: filter on document type 'Chapter';
  • Scopus: filters (limits) on document type 'Book Chapter(s)';
  • Subject specific databases: filter on publication type, often: 'Chapter' or 'Book Chapter'.
  • With Google Books you often search the full text of books. In this way you might find out if or that an article or chapter is in a particular book.

Take your time to look for possible filters (or 'limits') for document types in other multi disciplinary search systems like Scopus or in subject related search systems (often called: 'Chapter' or 'Book Chapter').

Below a few tips for searching for book reviews:

  • Visit the page Search engines at the Utrecht University Library and limit/filter on publication type: ' (Book) Reviews'
  • Book reviews in newspapers can be found in Nexis Uni
  • Or if you want to find book reviews from Dutch newspapers before 1995, visit Delpher
  • You can also try to search a book by its title in combination with the word 'review' or 'book review'