Friday, August 26, 2011

Help: Online libraries and other resources....???


I have to stop buying so many Catholic books.  I buy them because you can't just go to the city library and find these gems.  But, I'm running out of space. 

I am able to find some things online.  What is great about that is the ability to do a search using a keyword and get a list of places it is mentioned.  When you have a book in hand, you can thumb your way to China and still not find what you are looking for. 

Often when I do searches I run into Google Books.  I've never really looked into them beyond finding a quote. Sometimes, only a portion is uploaded (I suppose they want money for access to the full version).  Are there other sites that do this?

Other questions I have concern real libraries.  For example, there are things I want to look for in the New Catholic Encyclopedia.  I don't want to store such a collectio in my home.  Perhaps the city or county library have it.  Do libraries have ways to see what books they have?  What else can you tell me about doing searches for local libraries online, if that is an option?

Now, let's say that no one local has the New Catholic Encyclopedia, or the place that has it is not convenient.  Are there services where, if you know what topics you want, they will copy and send the relevant pages? Do I have to go somewhere for that, or can I do it from home?  Do I need to know the page numbers or would I just provide a topic?  

Any other insight you can use to help me to navigate the vast resources would be appreciated.  I am a regular user of NewAdvent.org, which has the Summa, the old Catholic Encyclopedia, the Fathers, and so much more.

I"m looking for other helpful resources for topics in Catholicism.  While I am open to CD-Roms, I have bad experience with them.  I got some once, then when the next version of Windows came out, they wouldn't work any more.  I'd probably prefer to get a data stick with info on it. 

I'd like to find more resources without draining my bank account.

OK - Educate me!


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