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Women's and Gender Studies

Subject guide for Women and Gender Studies

Why use books?

Most of the books in the Pollak Library collection are scholarly, and they are excellent resources when you want an overview of the topic. 

  • Chapters within the book will focus on more specific aspects of the topic, and these can be helpful for narrowing your own research. 

Research Tip: Start with a simple search with one or two important terms in your search phrase. Keep adding terms if your results are too broad. For example: 

  • heteronormativity AND American literature
  • transnational motherhood

Searching for Books

There are three ways to find books: 

1. To find books available in our library use the OneSearch bar on the library's homepage and select "Books & Media (CSUF)"

2. If you cannot find what you need in our collection, try expanding your search to all the CSU libraries by selecting "Books & Media (All CSU)" in the OneSearch bar. 

  • If you see an item you want, just click on the "Request from other CSU Libraries" and fill out the request form.
  • Materials from other libraries will be delivered to the Pollak Library for you to pick up, and you can return the items here and we will send them back to their owning library.

3. If you can't find what you need in any of the other CSU libraries, you can try your search in WorldCat 

  • WorldCat is a massive online database that connects you with library collections from around the world. 
  • If you see materials you would like to borrow, complete an Interlibrary Loan request and we will arrange to have the materials borrowed on your behalf.