Discover is the library's main search tool. You can use it to search across a wide range of materials including: books, ebooks, journal articles, conference proceedings, newspapers, magazines, technical reports, standards, theses and dissertations. You can link to full text materials at the click of a button and can seamlessly export results to reference management software such as RefWorks . Where the content isn’t immediately available, we’ll help you connect with it - often within hours.
I get an error when I try to connect to the full text of an article - what should I do?
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Please let us know by contacting your librarian , providing as much detail as possible. You may also be able to access the article by searching our journal browsing tool BrowZine for the publication title and navigating to the article by year, volume, issue and page number.
I’m looking for a GCU dissertation or thesis – what’s the best way to find these?
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Please refer to our dedicated Theses page for more information on finding dissertations and theses.
I searched for an entire citation in Discover but got no results – what’s wrong?
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This approach won’t return helpful results. Instead, try searching for the title of the resource combined with the author’s surname.
How do I find a book?
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If you’re looking for a specific book, search Discover using the author and title. You can refine your search and make the results more relevant by selecting Books under the Resource Type menu. Click the title to find out the number of copies, location, shelf mark, and availability of the book.
Some titles will be available as both print and ebooks. If there is a green Full text Available link, you can click this to read the ebook.
If the book you need isn’t immediately available, click Get it for me and we’ll connect you with it as quickly as possible.
If the book you're looking for is not showing up clearly in the search results, try using Advanced Search with the author and title for better results.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for at all, fill out a Resource Request Form with as much detail as possible — we’ll do our best to connect you with it.
How do I find journal articles?
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If you’re looking for a specific journal article, search Discover using the author and keywords from the title. You can refine your search and make the results more relevant by selecting Articles under the Resource Type menu.
Alternatively, you may also be able to find the article by searching our journal browsing tool BrowZine for the publication title and navigating to the article by year, volume, issue and page number.
Some of our databases aren’t fully covered by Discover, so in some cases it’s better to search the database directly, for example Westlaw, LexisLibrary and EBSCO databases like CINAHL.
If the article isn’t immediately available click Get it for me and we’ll connect you with it - often within hours. If you can’t find what you’re looking for at all, fill out a Resource Request Form with as much detail as possible - we’ll do our best to quickly connect you with it.
What can I do if the item I’m looking for isn’t available from GCU?
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Sometimes the item you need isn’t immediately available - but that doesn’t mean you can’t get it. We’ll connect you with the resource as quickly as possible so you can keep reading, researching, or writing without delay. Search Discover to find the item and then click Get it for me – we’ll connect you with it as quickly as possible. If you can’t find what you’re looking for at all, fill out a Resource Request Form with as much detail as possible - we’ll do our best to quickly connect you with it.
How does Discover rank my results?
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This guide details the relevance ranking in use in Discover. Please note that this guide refers to Primo which is the generic name for Discover.
You can also opt to sort your results by date, author or title using the Sort by drop down menu.
How can I search for a module reading list?
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You can usually find your reading list in GCULearn .
You can also find it by selecting the Resource lists navigation tile on the library home page . You can then search by list title, course title, course code or course instructors.
The book I need is out on loan – what should I do?
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Use the Request option under Get It to join the queue for the next available copy. Please specify from which campus you would like to collect the book. If you’re off campus you’ll have to sign in to Discover using your domain username and password.
Remember, many of our books are available electronically so you may still be able to read the book even if all of the physical copies are out on loan.
Do I need to sign in to use Discover?
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You can get more out of Discover by signing in. This allows you to save useful search results, see your search history and view information about your Library account. It also gives you access to full availability details and the option to connect with content that isn’t immediately available. Click the Sign In button on the top-right-hand menu, select ‘Domain Login (all GCU students and staff)’ and enter your GCU username and password.
I'm getting too many results – how can I improve my searches?
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There are a number of techniques you can use to improve your search results, for example:
Add more keywords to make your search more specific Use the options on the right hand side of the screen to refine your results. For example, you can limit your search by resource type (such as book or article) or creation date. Selecting Available in the Library restricts your search to physical items available in the Library and Full Text Online will return electronic items available on or off campus.
