International Institute of Social Studies
International Institute of Social Studies

Tips for accessing resources

The EUR Libraries provide access to a wide range of hard copy literature, e-books, e-journals and databases. Below the ISS Library shares tips on the most common issues ISS students and staff face while trying to access these resources.

Not an ISS student or staff? Check out the more general FAQs of the Erasmus University Library.

The following information is required to find an article in a journal: title, author, journal title, the year of publication, edition and page numbers. This is the literature reference to an article. You can enter (part of) this information in sEURch, the search engine of the library catalogue (i.e. our articles, books, etc.).

The sEURch tool can be accessed through the large search bar on our website. Enter a few words from the title and possibly the author’s surname in the bar (below Search our collection via sEURch). If the article appears in the overview of the search results, then you are usually able to continue to a the digital full text of the article by clicking the yellow button. You might be required to log in with your ERNA-account first.

Watch the video: How to find a journal article in our search engine sEURch for more details.

In case a journal is available on hardcopy, direct your request to the Service desk in the ISS Library.

Search for a book in our catalogue by using sEURch. First, type a search term, title or author in the search bar on our website, below Search our collection via sEURch. 

You can filter the search results by selecting only books. In the filtered results, you will see Print book or eBook in the information pane of each title. Optionally you can click on Explore all editions & formats near the book title to see a complete survey of available editions. Click on the title of the edition with Erasmus University Rotterdam. To access an eBook or borrow a print book, you need to log in when prompted:

  • Click on Login with ERNA account
  • Select Erasmus University Rotterdam (first time only)
  • Enter your ERNA-ID (username and password)
  • Click on Log in

Under Check Availability you will find the library location for print books and a request number. For example:

ISS The Hague Open Stacks (for loan) 53336 - Available

To borrow a book, do the following:

  • Click on the orange Place hold button
  • Click on Yes, share this data (first time only)
  • Check the I want it from box
  • Choose the pickup location of your choice at I want to pick up at
  • Click on Submit
  • Click on View Requests to check your requests

You will be notified by email when your book is available for collection. If you chose ISS The Hague as your pick-up location, your book will be available in the pick-up carousel near the Library Services Desk. Take the book from the pick-up carousel and check it out yourself using your EUR student card or library card. Otherwise the book will be ready for collection at one of the other locations, as selected in sEURch. 

Requested books will be available for collection for seven days. Check the opening times before you collect your book(s).

If the book is available online (eBook), you can click to the full text of the book via the button View eBook or click on the title of the book and see all available online options under Access Online. 

Borrowing, reserving and renewing: more information

EUR staff and students also have off-campus access to e-journals, e-books, online articles and files for which the library has acquired a license:

  • Via the library website: log in with your ERNA-account when prompted.
  • Via Google Scholar: enable off-campus access by setting up Library Links in your Google Scholar and you will immediately see if you have access through the FULL TEXT @ EUR link behind a publication.
  • Any other way: for example in Google, or via a direct link. Install the Lean Library browser extension and the process of accessing publications will be simplified.

More information and explanation on our website

The Library's information skills modules are a collection of short texts, videos and exercises that help you learn how to search, find and manage scholarly information and data in an efficient way. The modules in the Explore and Search guide are a great starting point for learning HOW to search. You can either go through the entire guide or just the modules that explain the concepts and skills that you need to review.

The Library's guides per discipline are written by the Liaison Librarians of each faculty and include recommended sources per discipline. These guides give an overview of WHERE to search, and include databases, reference works, and more. Development Studies has its own guide, but other guides (such as Economics or Law) can be useful for students and staff working on interdisciplinary research. 

If you can't find an article, chapter or book that was shared with you as a reference, it can be due to a number of reasons:

  • The title has changed after publication. Editors can slightly change the title of articles or books. The author might still share the original working title while it has been added to databases and catalogues under the new title. Search by author name, year, and some keywords instead of searching for the entire title. In sEURch you can do this by clicking Advanced search.
  • The database that holds the item is not included in sEURch. Our search engine, sEURch, does not automatically search in all our databases. Under the Advanced search option you can see which databases are included in your search, and add more databases. Some database owners do not allow us to include their materials in sEURch. Then Google Scholar is a good alternative search engine. Read more about accessing our licensed resources when you find them on other websites.
  • The sharer has made a mistake with the title, year, author, or reference type. Referencing is a precise skill and human error can happen easily. Sometimes the sharer of the reference is not readily available to correct the mistake. Try removing terms from your search, such as the reference type (e.g. article, chapter, book) or the year in the Advanced search option in sEURch. If you suspect an error in the title, search for keywords, author and year instead. If you suspect several mistakes you can experiment with different search indexes (e.g. the name of the journal, keywords, author, year) and search terms. Contact the library if you are still unable to find the reference.

You can access eBooks by clicking the View eBook button in sEURch. On rare occasions, you might run into some issues after clicking the button.

  • You can't access the eBook. There are three main reasons why this happens.
    • The eBook has a limited amount of simultaneous users and this limit has been reached. The maximum amount of simultaneous users (or amount of copies) is mentioned on the eBook platform.
    • The eBook is hosted on multiple platforms and the View eBook button leads to a platform that doesn't host the book for our Library. To check this, click on the title of the book in your sEURch results and see all hosting platforms under Access Online. Select another available platform from the list.
    • sEURch can wrongly indicate that we have the title in our catalogue. Either borrow the hard copy book instead, borrow the book (or have chapters scanned) through Interlibrary loan, or contact the library to make a purchase suggestion.
  • You can't save, print, or copy (parts of) the eBook. eBooks are often available under restrictions. These can include a maximum number of pages available for printing, saving or copying, or a limit on the amount of days you can read the eBook offline (after downloading). The exact restrictions can be found on the information page of the book on the hosting platform. You might have to scroll down the page to find this information in smaller print. 

Feel free to contact ISS library with any question on how to access the library resources and searching for scholarly literature!

Find more common issues on searching and borrowing publications on the University Library's website (campus Woudestein).

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