Here are the results of a standard Google search, which includes all Google sources, including books. Websites usually predominate, and, depending on the search and the type of information you’re looking for, they may not give you the best results. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
You can click on More either at the top of the screen or in the left sidebar and choose to limit your search results to Google Books. (Sometimes the answer you need is right in the snippet on the search results page.) Elizabeth B. Thomsen
Google Books includes a random assortment of magazines, many of which aren’t covered in other databases. I find the regionals and popular culture titles, including New York Magazine, Billboard and Jet. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
I find Jet and Ebony especially useful for information about African American individuals and for a different perspective on social issues. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
Google Books is a useful resource if you’re trying to find out more about the origin of a particular word or expression and how it has been used over the years. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
The advanced search screen gives you lots of option for limiting by language, author, publication date and more. In this case, I wanted to see examples of how the expression “you cannot touch pitch and not be defiled” was used in the novels of Anthony Trollope. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
Here are search results limited by book author. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
You can also limit a search to predefined ranges like 19 th Century or a custom range. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
Google has a My Library feature that allows anyone with a free Google account to maintain a book collection called My Library. This collection can be divided into Bookshelves. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
There’s an option to limit a search to My Library. This can be useful even for books that are only available in Snippet or Limited Preview if you have access to the actual books. It’s a way of building a super-index to a group of books on a particular topic or that you’re using for a project. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
Unfortunately, you can’t currently restrict a search to a particular bookshelf. In this example, I am doing a search on the word “Rye” and getting hits from many different types of books on my different bookshelves. (What I really wanted to do was to limit this search to my Salem bookshelf, and find references to the theory that the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria was brought about by ergot poisoning from rye. Elizabeth B. Thomsen
