Catalogs and Search Tools
Understand our tools and when to use them.
Search tools
- NUsearch searches the Libraries' vast collection of books, journals, articles and multimedia.
- Databases A-Z provides links to all library databases. Databases can be searched by title, subject or type.
- Journals A-Z provides links to all library electronic journals.
- WorldCat searches collections from thousands of libraries. Items may be requested via interlibrary loan and delivered to Northwestern.
- Online Reference Materials links to dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference sources.
- Archival and Manuscripts Collection portal search individual collections for for archival and primary source materials.
- Digital Collections contains the Libraries' digital image, audio and video collections of primary sources from our distinctive collections.
- Research Guides are lists of subject-specific sources, curated by our Subject Librarians.
Successful searching suggestions
- Finding articles and books: To access articles and books, you will need to search library databases or the library catalog (NUSearch).
- Finding primary sources: To find primary sources, such as manuscripts, diaries, court cases, maps, data sets and experiment results, you may need to use specific databases and search tools.
- Understanding call numbers: An item's call number tells us where the book is located in the library. Learn how to read the various types of call numbers used by the University Libraries.