It is possible to do a quick and dirty, one box keyword search of the contents of the MSU Libraries' web site, starting at the left side of the Libraries' home page. The results will be sorted into several categories to follow up on: articles from journals, books/media from our online catalog, databases, library research guides like this one, other. To do a more traditional search, read on.
Below the general search box, click on Books and Media to search for physical, paper/cloth bound books, paper/cloth bound copies of journals, physical media, such as DVDs, or individually cataloged electronic items.
In Books and Media, click on the down arrow on the right side of the form where it says "Catalog." Choose the type of search you want to do. In the box to the right put in your search terms. Enter author's name either last name, first name or first name last name. Omit initial articles in book titles; include them as they occur within the book title itself. To search by L.C. subject heading, it may be better to use the Browse Alphabetically Browse by Subject lower down in the list than Catalog: Subject, because those results will show the surrounding subject headings and number of hits retrieved. After you receive your results, notice that you can filter them in various ways, by using the facets along the left side of the page.
Advanced search allows for combination of more than one search aspect, such as author and title, subject and keyword, or several lines of keywords, etc. You can also confine your results to particular parts of our Collections, by using the Location area on lower right side of screen.
Below the general search box, click on E Books and Journals to search for journals in electronic form or individual electronic books that will have been received by the Library in a package. You may need to check both Books and Media and E Books and Journals to find your electronic book.
Subject headings come from Library of Congress List of Subject Headings, a set of fat red books in the Reference collection 1 East, Z 696.... Subject headings are standardized words and phrases assigned to each book when it is cataloged; they describe a book or electronic resource's contents intellectually, whether those words actually appear in the title or not. If you find a good book by doing an "Any Field" (keyword) search, notice its subject headings within the catalog record. Clicking on those headings may take you to more books on that subject. Here are some useful L.C. subject headings for topics related to the Holy Grail. Search for these in Books and Media, Browse Alphabetically Browse by Subject.
Action and adventure films
Action and adventure television programs
Alchemy
Arthur, King
Arthur, King—in literature
Arthur, King—in motion pictures
Arthur, King--legends
Arthurian legends
Arthurian romances
Bran, son of Llyr
Brown, Dan
Chivalry in literature
Chretien, de Troyes, active 12th c.
Comparative literature—themes, motives
English language—Middle English (1100-1500)
Fisher King (motion picture)
French poetry—to 1500
Galahad (legendary character)
Grail—legends—history and criticism
Grail—romances—history and criticism
Grail in motion pictures
Historical television programs
Idylls of the King
Indiana Jones films
Joseph, of Arimathea, Saint
Knights and knighthood in literature
Lancelot (prose cycle)
Last Supper
Literature, medieval—history and criticism
Mabinogion
Malory, Thomas, Sir, active 15th c. Morte d’Arthur
Medievalism
Medievalism in motion pictures
Middle Ages--legends
Middle Ages in motion pictures
Merlin (legendary character)
Mordred (legendary character)
Mythology, Celtic
Mythology, Welsh, in literature
Perceval (legendary character)
Robert, de Boron, active 13th c.
Romances, English—history and criticism
Rosecrucians
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882
Quests (expeditions) in literature
Quests (expeditions) in motion pictures
Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892
Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883. Parsifal
Welsh literature—1100-1400—history and criticism
Wolfram, Von Eschenbach, active 12th c.