The quickest way to find books is by searching the catalog on the main library website.

Finding Books in the Library Catalog

1. From the UW-Madison Libraries homepage, choose “Catalog” from the drop-down menu.
2. Enter a book title, author name, or other subject keywords into the search box and press “Enter” on your keyboard.
3. From the results page, you can select a book title to see its full record, which provides more information about the book, as well as where to find the book.

Advanced Search

• If you want to have more control over search results, you can try an “Advanced Search” within the library catalog
  • On the UW-Madison Libraries homepage, the “Advanced Search” option is in the left-hand corner under the Catalog search box.
  • The options within the advanced catalog search window allow you to limit searches by:
    • Subject
    • Call number
    • Publication Year
    • And more…
• There is a “Format” list to your right on the advanced search page screen. It is underlined in blue. This list will give you options for limiting the format of media sources returned with your search results.
• Above the “Format” option, on your right, there is the option to select “Locations,” including specific UW-Madison Libraries and other UW campuses’ libraries. You can limit searches to a specific library or libraries by clicking on “Locations,” clicking on a UW campus, and then clicking on a library.

NOTE: Books about Italy and Italians are located primarily in Memorial Library, while many books about the United States and Italian-Americans are located in the Wisconsin Historical Society. Books from both collections are available via the Pickup by Appointment service.

Library Catalog records include subjects, or tags from an official list. They describe what the books or other items are about. Clicking on subjects or using them as keywords in searches can help you find similar books.

These subject headings might be useful to you for this class:

Art, Italian / Italian-American art

Authors, Italian / Italian-American authors

Italian-American artists

Italians -- United States

Italians in literature / Italian Americans in literature

Italians in motion pictures / Italian Americans in motion pictures

Italian literature / American literature -- Italian-American authors

Italy -- Emigration and immigration

Italy -- History --  (can be appended with the following specific time periods: 1492-1870, 1815-1870, 1870-1914, 1914-1922, 1922-1945)

Italy -- History -- 17th century (18th century, etc.)

Italy -- Foreign relations -- United States

United States -- Foreign relations -- Italy

World War, 1939-1945 -- Italian Americans

All the preceding historical headings can be appended with the subheading "Fiction."

Both the heading Italians and Italian Americans can be appended by subheadings:

-- Correspondence

-- Diaries

-- Economic conditions

-- Fiction

-- Intellectual life

-- Interviews

-- Social life and customs

-- Travel