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Course & Subject Guides

Historical Inquiry and Methods - Greensburg Campus

This guide is to assist students in the Historical Inquiry and Methods class, or similar classes, at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.

Searching PittCat

Signing into PittCat gives you access to the most results. The sign in option is in the upper right hand corner of your screen. 

To begin a search, enter a term in the “search anything” box. You can select Books, Articles, and More to search for items across the entire library system including journal articles, images, ebooks, and more. Use the Library Catalog option to search for items available both electronically and physically in our libraries such as books, videos, music scores and more. The Course Reserves option will help you find materials put on reserve by instructors for a specific course.

The Results Screen shows you a list of items with basic information--click on a title to get a more detailed overview of the item you’ve selected. This detailed view gives you much more information about the item. You can see where the item is located and ways to email or print the record as well as how to cite. You may also see an abstract for the item or a table of contents if available.

You can Refine Your Results by using the menu on the left. For instance, if you want a physical copy of a book, you can choose "Held by library" under Show Only. If you want a digital or e-book copy, choose "Available online." 

If Full-Text Content is available, you can get the full-text by clicking on the item title or the "available online" link underneath the description.

You can add Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) into the Simple Search (the default search box) by adding them in all caps.

PittCat Basic Search

Searching Techniques

Phrase Searching - PittCat allows for phrase searching with the use of “  “. For example, the search "climate change" will find items with the phrase climate change in them.

Wildcard and Truncation – You can use wildcards (* and ?) symbols to search PittCat.

Advanced Searching - Check the Advanced Search for more tips and techniques to enhance your search, including Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT). Note: Boolean Operators must be entered in all uppercase/capital letters.

Borrowing from Other Places

Use Get It to request materials that you would like to borrow either physically or digitally from any ULS location. The materials will be delivered to the location you select.

Use 'Request' to receive print materials from any Pitt library or ULS - Thomas Blvd.

To make a request:

  1. Sign into your account in PittCat
  2. Find the item you want and click on the title
  3. Sign-in and follow the prompts under Get It to request your item 
  4. Follow the on-screen options to request your item
  5. You will be notified via your Pitt email address when the item is available

For more information, see our Get It page. Please contact us so we can work with you to try and get the material you need.

You may request a digital copy of an article or book chapter from any materials found in the University Library System by using Get It. Please note that this does not include materials in the Health Sciences Library System or Law. We’ll digitize the pages and email them to you (within copyright adherence).

Use 'Digitization' to receive a scanned book chapter or an article from print material.

To make a request:

  1. Sign into your account in PittCat
  2. Find the item you want and click on the title
  3. Look for the Get It, Request options for the title.
  4. Follow the on-screen options to request your item
  5. You will receive an email with the attached digitized copy.

Additional questions? Please contact us so we can work with you to try and get the material you need.

Pitt Libraries partner with multiple institutions locally, nationally, and internationally through Resource Sharing to bring resources to you! A one-time user registration is required before using the form. You will not need to re-enter personal information every time you make a request.

  1. If you find a resource in PittCat that is not available to borrow, you can still place a request for it by following the link to request a scan or the physical item. Note: You must be logged into PittCat to initiate the request.
  2. If you cannot find your desired resource in PittCat, you can still request it directly through the Resource Sharing Form.

If you ever need help placing a request, please contact ResourceSharing@library.pitt.edu.

Help with Get It