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Guide to the Basics

A brief overview of the resources available at the Library of Rush University Medical Center

Tips and Shortcuts

Here are a few tips and shortcuts that may make searching for articles a little faster and easier.

  • Need a specific article or book?  Type the title in the big red search box on the library home page.  The next screen will have options to choose from that potentially match what you typed in.
  • Don't be afraid to use ILLiad, our interlibrary loan service!  It's how you can get articles and books that Rush doesn't subscribe to.  It's a simple request process and usually tkes only a few business days.  You'll get a PDF of the article, or the actual book; and this is  free of charge to Rush associates.  
  • Use quotation marks to keep a phrase together when searching.  For example, searching on   "insulin reaction"   returns  about 50 results in PubMed, while searching on      insulin reaction    returns almost 20,000.  Use this with caution, though.  When you put a phrase in quotes, the database will look for exactly - and only - that phrase.  It won't return anyhing else, including plurals.  
  • Use your Control functions!  This keyboard functionality can be incredibly useful.  By holding down the Control (ctrl) key (or Command key on a Mac) and then hitting a specific letter, you can do a lot of really helpful things.  Here's a helpful guide: https://www.computerhope.com/tips/tip79.htm
    • Control F will find a word or phrase in a database search, a Word doc, a PDF, a webpage, etc.  Just hit the Control key and then the letter F, and a box will pop up.  Type the word you're interested in into the box, and then you'll be shown every instance of where that word shows up in your document.
    • Control Z will undo your last action.  For example, if you have ever accidentally deleted highlighted text, this is a way to undo that.  Just hold down the Control key and hit the letter Z, and the most recent thing you did on your keyboard will be undone.  Command Y will undo your undo, if needed.
    • Control C will copy highlighted text
    • Control V will paste highlighted text
    • Control X will cut highlighted text
    • Control Shift T will re-open a tab that was accidentally closed.  To use this, hold down the Control key, then (don't let up on Control!) also hold down the Shift key, then (while holding down both of these keys!) hit the letter    t      and your most recently closed tab will re-open.
    • Control S will save  your document
    • Control P will print your document
  • If you have a question about something, do an internet search on it.  If you've wondered how to do something, so have a lot of other people, and there's probably guides and videos on how to do just want you need to do.
  • Use your librarians!  We are always glad to be of assistance.  Rush has the ability to Chat with patrons, or you can set up an appointment by using the Ask a Question button.