BU Libraries Search is a gateway to books (both print and ebooks); peer-reviewed articles; government documents and media.
What you need to know:
Sign In after your first search. This allows you to keep a record of your search strategies and results using My Favorites - simply click the image by each record you want to save (saved items = )
BULS searches for books, articles, and other formats such as government documents, dissertations, short news articles and images. The results list will be a combination of formats sorted by relevance. Each result indicates that it is available either in print or online -- or sometimes, both. = print
BULS does not search most newspapers (such as the New York Times); BUT we have other databases that cover newspapers and more.
To refine searches use quote marks to retrieve phrases ("gettysburg address") or consider looking for keywords only in the title (as opposed to looking in the full record.)
Need articles in "peer-reviewed journals"? No problem!
The databases listed here cover the highest-quality scholarly journals in the field; you will not have to filter out thousands of lesser quality items.
BU Library Search focuses on material we own, while these databases identify articles in journals we may not own – but material you can easily obtain (for free!) through Interlibrary Loan.
The button takes you to ILL online request forms. The first time you use the service you'll need to add some personal info. If an item is locally available, turnaround time is approximately three working days. (This is a free service to BU students, so use it early and often!)
BLC Cards. A Boston Library Consortium Card allows the bearer to borrow—in person—circulating material from a member library, just as you would from a BU library. Boston University faculty, staff, and students on the Charles River Campus may obtain a Consortium Card by filling out an application form.
BU's Krasker Library has films and videos available for viewing on site?
Search BULSearch and limit to Resource Type "Audio Visual".
We also subscribe to the streaming video service Kanopy - Here's a sample (you'll be prompted to Sign In)
Finding journal articles
America: History & Life (AHL)Covers the history and culture of the U.S. and Canada from prehistory to present times; indexes journal articles, book titles and chapters, reviews from numerous multilingual sources; all abstracts in English. Date coverage: 1949-present
Social Sciences Full TextSocial Sciences Full Text provides access to hundreds of English language journals in the social sciences. About two-thirds of the journals are peer-reviewed. Date coverage: 1983 - present.
Sociological AbstractsSociological Abstracts indexes and abstracts the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews. It also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Forty percent of the content is published outside of North America. Date coverage: 1952 - present.
Web of ScienceWeb of Science is one of the core general science databases covering all aspects of scientific literature. It also has a number of tools that make it a unique resource for finding scholarly literature. Item records come with links both to the works cited by the paper in question and the future works that cite that paper. Web of Science also allows the user to set up email alerts for specific authors or topics, provides researcher profiles, and allows the user to search conference proceedings.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (WPSA)Indexes and abstracts international relations, political science, and foreign affairs literature. May include references to dissertations, books, or scholarly articles. Some full text included; links provided to BU content. Date coverage: 1975 - present.
Databases with related content:
Alternative Press IndexIdentifies articles in over 300 alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines. The index links to full text articles available through BU subscriptions, but does not provide full text content. Date coverage: 1991 - present.
Google ScholarGoogle Scholar provides access to academic literature from many disciplines. The sources include articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions and come from diverse places including academic publishers, online repositories and other websites.
HAPI (Hispanic American Periodicals Index)The Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI) provides citations to the contents of scholarly journals published around the world on Latin America and the Caribbean. Coverage ranges from political, economic, and social issues to the arts and humanities. Date coverage: 1970 - present.
JSTORThis database provides full text access to the back issues of core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Book reviews are included as well as journal articles. Abstracts are available for some of the articles. Date coverage: earliest issues of each journal up to the most current five years for most publications and to the present for some.