Use OneSearch to search for books on a particular topic relating to the theater, starting with a general "All Fields" search to see what you can find. When finding print books, make sure to note the book's Dewey Decimal number in order to find where the book is located in the stacks.  A handy description of the Library building's floors and call number locations can be found on the page: "Navigating Our Building". Theater books in Myrin Library are located either in:

• The Main Stacks on the third floor.
• The Folio Section on the second floor, if the books are oversized.

The call number for most books about acting and theater performance begins with the Dewey Decimal number 792. Drama literature including plays, playwright biographies and critical writings about plays will be found in the 800's, arranged according to the geographic location of the playwrights. For example, American plays are found in the 812's section, British plays are found in the 822's section, French plays are found in the 842's section, and Spanish plays are found in the 862's section.  

If you are not having much luck with a keyword search, you can use a subject search by selecting the "Subject" drop-down from the main search box on the Library homepage:

Here are some examples of subjects you can use when searching for books relating to the theater.  

• Acting
• Actors
• Comedy 
• Costume history
• Costume United States history
• Drama
• Playwriting
• Stage lighting
• Stage props design and construction
• Theater design and construction
• Theater history
• Theater United States history
• Theater United States reviews

While you are searching in OneSearch, you may see a combination of print books and e-books side by side in your search results.  If you'd like to see just one format or the other, you can use the Format filter in the left margin to fine-tune your results. 

If you discover an interesting title that we don't have access to either in print or online, you can submit an Interlibrary Loan request and we will borrow the book for you from another library.

Citing your sources properly -- yes, even the images you use and the performances you watch, as well as any interviews you might conduct -- is important and required.

Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) citation resources are the best ones out there on the web. Generally, Dance courses require that you use either MLA or Chicago style. Detailed information on both styles is available here.

Librarians can help with citations, too!