Skip to Main Content

OneSearch: Using the Library Discovery Platform

This guide provides instruction for accessing library print and online collection materials through the OneSearch discovery tool.

What Is OneSearch?

OneSearch platform icon

OneSearch is a discovery tool that allows you to search through almost everything the El Camino College library owns or has access to through one simple platform, including physical and online collection materials. It searches many of the library databases and is a great tool to use when you are still exploring a topic or have an exact title of an item in mind.

When searching OneSearch, there are many different resource types you can find, including those listed below.

  • Print and E-Books
  • Newspaper Articles
  • Magazines Articles
  • Scholarly & Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
  • Streaming Videos & DVDs
  • Datasets
  • & More!

Use the tabs on the left-hand side of this guide to learn more about search strategies and features of the OneSearch platform.

Pros & Cons of OneSearch

Though OneSearch is a powerful tool for discovering library resources, it does have certain limitations. There are instances when it is not the best resource to use, like:

  • when you need to use highly controlled vocabulary, e.g. database-specific subject terms;
  • when you are searching for historical newspaper articles;
  • when you are looking for country, company and industry reports, typically found in business databases; and
  • when you are looking for legal research, specifically legal journal titles, case reports and legislation.

Here are the pros and cons of OneSearch:  

PROS:

  • Great starting place for your research
  • Searches a wide variety of resources all at once
  • Easy to navigate & use
  • Use  your personal account to save search queries & resource lists
  • Mimics the design of most library databases. If you get good at using OneSearch you will have an understanding of using most databases.

CONS:

  • Can return a large number of results, which can be overwhelming
  • May not produce accurate results if the spelling of a title or keyword is incorrect
  • OneSearch is a general tool - meaning it covers a wide variety of subjects - and may not be the strongest for any particular one. 
    • If you need to focus your search to particular topic, it may be better to use a subject-specific database directly.
  • Despite being named "OneSearch," it does not actually search all library collections
    • Some databases cannot be searched using OneSearch and some are only partially searchable

What is NOT included?

OneSearch searches most but not all things for which the ECC Library has access. Full-text content from the following databases may not be currently activated in OneSearch and should be searched separately.  All library databases can be found using the Databases A-Z directory.

  • AccessScience 

  • American Historical Periodicals from the American Antiquarian Society 

  • Archives of Sexuality & Gender 

  • Archives Unbound 

  • ARTstor 

  • Books in Print 

  • Chilton Library 

  • CountryWatch 

  • Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) 

  • El Camino College Student Media Digital Archive 

  • Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center 

  • Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia 

  • Issues and Controversies 

  • Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts 

  • Mango Languages 

  • Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers 

  • Oxford English Dictionary Online (OED) 

  • Peterson’s Test Prep 

  • Publicly Available Content Database 

  • Statistical Abstract of the United States 

  • Swank Digital Campus 

  • The Times Digital Archive 

  • Today’s Science 

  • Womens Studies Archive