1. Searching  KOSMOS

KOSMOS is the online catalog for Keio University's library collections. It is freely accessible. Most of our collections are included in the catalog. It enables you to search library materials by title, author's name, publisher, etc.

※ Read KOSMOS Help for more details and tips.

2. How the Books Are Arranged

Books on the shelves are arranged in call number order. A call number is a set of numbers and characters that is given to a library material for the purpose of locating in the library. It is printed on the spine label  (e.g., The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi; the call number: B@289.1@F1@6).

Call numbers include NDC numbers that classify materials into subject fields, and books on the same subjects are arranged together. Note the materials purchased from the faculty budget are applied to other classification rule, and the call numbers for those items look quite different from the above.

 *Journals do not have call numbers. They are arranged in alphabetical order by title. For Japanese journals, romanize the titles to figure out the order; e.g., 文芸春秋 is romanized as 'Bungeishunju,' and is found on the shelf including the journal titles starting from 'bu'.

3. Location of the Library Materials

The location is assigned according to the type, publication year and subject of the library material. It is shown on the KOSMOS record of each item. Check the floor map for the exact location.

1. Choosing Databases

The Database NAVI helps you find databases suitable for your purposes and needs. Keio University currently subscribes to hundreds of databases, and it is important for you to choose ones that are appropriate for your research. The NAVI includes various types of databases. Some databases index, abstract, and provide full-text access to journal articles. Others provide newspaper articles, statistics, fact data, etc.

The Database NAVI is equipped with filters that enable you to search databases on specific disciplines, or narrow down your choices by database types. It also shows you if a database is capable of remote access. 

*CiNii Arcticles, the largest bibliographic database in Japan, is partially accessible via KOSMOS. Try searching using 'Article' scope then you will get some results from CiNii Articles regardless of the University's holdings.

2. Interpreting Search Results and Availability of Journal Articles

A search result gives you the article's bibliographic information which consists of article title, author or editor, journal title, volume and issues, pages, etc. The information is necessary to identify and locate the article.

The example below is a screenshot of a search result from EBSCOhost. Here are how to interpret the information: The article title is "Fukuzawa Yukichi and religion"; the author is Takashi Koizumi; the article is found on the p.109 of the Volume 4, Issue 2 of the journal "Asian Philosophy"; the issue has been published in October, 1994, and the article is 10 pages long. In order to figure out if Keio University subscribes to the journal title, click the banner of Keio University which is actually a link to KOSMOS.

Searching Journal Articles Manually: Take Advantage of Bibliographies

The bibliography or list of references, which appears after the body of an article, is a good choice for searching and collecting articles manually. The bibliography includes cited sources used for writing the article. It means that the bibliography includes academic works that are highly relevant to the article. Pick up one of the cited works, and look up its bibliography. Now you can find another set of relevant works. By repeating the procedure, you can identify even more sources.

Reference management softwares such as Mendeley and EndNote are available. Log in to Mendeley via Keio University's network, and your account will be upgraded to the Institutional Edition automatically. For EndNote, reach out to the Information Technology Center to borrow installation media for free. Your accounts for Mendeley Institutional Edition and EndNote are effective during your affiliation at Keio University.