Use the online catalog?

iLink is the online catalog for Cowles Library and the Law Library at Drake University. It includes records for all books, e-books, print periodicals, and video materials held at both libraries, along with partial records of U.S. Government publications at both libraries. To search for journal articles, use SuperSearch.

The quick result of your search is a list of titles that match your search words, along with call numbers and availability. If available, it will also give a picture of the book cover and links to enhanced content.

To learn more about the book or other item, click on the “Details” button. There are three sections to the display:

• Item Information – Brief record with a summary and publication information.
• A Look Inside – Displays a summary and reviews of the item. This information is not available for every title.
• Catalog Record – Complete bibliographic record. Look here to find the “Subject Terms,” the Table of Contents, and live links to other books by this author. The city of publication, needed for most citation formats, is found only in the “catalog record” screen.

Call Numbers – Are in the Library of Congress format. However, if the call number begins with XX, such as XX(535548.1), it is on order and has not yet arrived.

Viewing E-Books:

Cowles Library subscribes to a number of E-Book collections. E-Books can be easily identified in iLink by their call number: E-BOOK. To view an E-Book, simply click on the “URL” link that appears in either the results list or the Item Information screen of the detailed record.

Getting More Out of iLink:

More powerful searches can be done using the many options on the main search screen. Based on what you know about the item you are looking for, you might use the Author, Title, Subject, Series, or Periodical Title searches.

Clicking on “Limit Search” from the results list allows you to limit your search to results in a specific Language, Type (e.g., Book, DVD, etc.), and Location.

Saving iLink Information- The “Kept List”:

When looking at the records in iLink, there will be a button on the left labeled “Keep”. Press this button to add the record you are looking at to a list. To see your “Kept List,” click the word “Kept” in the dark blue bar near the top of the Search screen. From the “Kept” screen you may print out or e-mail your list, in either “Brief” or “Detailed” format.

To save a copy to your hard drive or flash drive, click on “View,” then “File” and “Save As.” Browse to the location you wish to save the list, then click “Save.”