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Using Library Search
Logging into Library Search enables you to see all of the resources we have access to, save searches and see your search history. Go to the top right of the Library Search page, and sign in with your IT username and password.
When accessing a resource, you may be prompted to log in again with your IT username and password.
Some resources require additional personal registration. These will be noted in Library Search, and listed on the Logins webpage.
Basic and advanced search
You can search by title, author, keyword, or topic in the Library Search bar. Clicking ‘Advanced Search’ gives you the ability to build a search query, or to apply filters to limit by year of publication or language, for example.
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Using filters
Once you have run a search, you can add filters to narrow down your results. These are located on the left side of the page. You can filter by subject, author, resource type and more.
Filters can also be used to only see results from a particular library, for example Whitechapel or Mile End.
By default, Library Search will only give you results of resources we have full-text access to. If you’d like to see results for resources outside of our collections, you can click ‘Expand my Results’
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Click on the title of the result to get more information and to see access links. If any additional actions are required to access the resource, this will be explained underneath the access links.
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Some resources will show a ‘Download PDF’ or ‘Get PDF’ button in search results, which will result in an instant download of the pdf. Others have the option to View Journal or Issue Contents in BrowZine.
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Books
Print books and e-books can be found on Library search.
You can search by title, author, ISBN or keywords, and filter to see print or e-books.
If you’re searching for a book or chapter that we don’t have access to in Library Search, you can request it using our Get it For Me service.
Click the title to see see all of our copies and check if the book is Available in the Library to ensure that another reader has not borrowed it. Take note of the Location and Shelfmark to find the book on the shelf.
Downloading E-Books
Publishers and copyright owners determine how much of any particular e-book can be downloaded or printed, and you are generally not able to download or print an entire e-book. There also may be restrictions on the number of users allowed to access an e-book at one time.
To download and read VLeBooks you will need Adobe Digital Editions and an AdobeID. Adobe Digital Editions is free to download and to use. If you are using a Library managed device and need assistance with this software, please contact IT Services.
To download full e-books from EBSCOhost you will need to register for a MyEBSCO account. If you want to read online, this is not necessary.
If you would like a more detailed look at the different e-book platforms, you can check the following: Guides to downloading e-books
Note-making and Accessibility
Most e-book platforms allow annotation, highlighting, and accessibility adjustments such as changing the page colour. See the FAQs below for more information:
Annotating and note-making in e-books
For more in-depth information on accessibility in e-book platforms, please contact the Acquisitions team.
If you are an academic staff member planning to use a Library e-book as part of an exam, please contact us to check details of user licenses and access links.
Journals and Databases
Queen Mary Library Services subscribes to thousands of e-journals, databases, and other e-resources for your studies and research. You can browse journals at the title level, and search large databases.
Journals can be searched for by title in the main Library search bar, and also from the Journal search page in the Main menu bar.
Search by title, subject, ISSN or publisher.
Search results will show journal titles available from Library Services alongside the coverage dates and a direct link to the journal.
BrowZine
You can browse for e-journals by title and subject area on BrowZine. BrowZine displays journal titles alongside a cover image in a visual layout. For more information on how to use BrowZine, see this FAQ:
Databases
Databases are collections of material not easily categorised as books or journals. Some Library Databases can be found in Library Search, and the full list can be found in the Database A-Z page. The databases list includes:
- Collections of historical texts and digital archives
- Medical training resources e.g. BMJ Learning and ClinicalKey Question Bank
- Law resources e.g. Westlaw, Trade Law Guide
- Online newspapers
- Multimedia platforms e.g. BoB, Kanopy
- Citation databases e.g. Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus. These collect all publications in a field of study, but they do not guarantee access to the full text.
Newspapers
Archives and current issues of many newspapers are available from A-Z Databases list. In the subject area filter, select 'Newspapers' to view a list.
In Library Search , you can filter search results to newspaper content from the Resource Type filter.
For advice on using and referencing newspapers, you can contact the Academic Skills Team.
Theses
Library Services holds copies of theses awarded by Queen Mary University of London and its historically affiliated institutions.
To search for theses, use Library Search. You can filter search results to repository results by selecting 'Thesis' from the Resource Type filter.
See the Open Research webpages for more info on searching for theses.
Articles
Library Search contains thousands of academic journal articles and articles from other online resources such as conference proceedings, magazines and trade publication periodicals.
You can edit your search term in the search bar, or apply additional filters to refine by date, subject, publisher, language and more.
In general, Library Search will provide an access option to link directly to the article. If a direct link is not possible, Library Search will link to the journal homepage where you will need to navigate to the article within the journal site.
If you’re searching for an article that we don’t have access to in Library Search, you can request it as an Inter-Library Loan using our Get it for Me service.
LibKey Nomad
Libkey Nomad is a browser extension that can help you find Library resources like scholarly journal articles when browsing the web. When you are searching for resources online, the LibKey button will appear if the Library has a subscription to the resource, or if an open access version is available.
For more information on how to download and use LibKey, see these FAQs:
To find an article by DOI (digital object identifier) or PubMed Identifier (PMID) you can also use the LibKey.io DOI tool.