Find books from the Library's homepage (http://www.library.umass.edu)
For a known title or author, use the Quick Search box on the top left of the homepage.
For a more complicated search, choose Books (library catalog), then
Use one book to find others
When you find one useful book, look at the Subject(s) in its catalog record; if you see a Subject that looks good, click it to see other titles on the same subject.
Books from other libraries
"Research is formalized curiosity."
--Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)
Try specific terms first, then try more general ones.
Precision gives fewer items (or none!), and you may miss books that might have a chapter on what you want to learn about.
Use both scientific and common names for organisms, connected with or, as above.
Try using truncation (forest* will find forest, forests and forestry) and variant spellings so you won't miss important titles.
See the box above for other Search Tips.