Searching the Catalog at the Earl K. Long Library

What You Will Learn » Known item searches How to do a proper title search How to do a proper author search » Basic unknown item searches Keyword searches » Understanding what you find

Known vs. Unknown Items Known items are specific items that a person is looking for, such as Particular titles Particular authors Unknown items are more general searches, such as information on Buddhism. These searches are often keyword or subject searches. For now, you’ll only concern yourself with very basic keyword searches. You will be expected to perform known item searches on your own. Unknown searches, however, will often need to be referred to a librarian.

You are probably familiar with the library homepage:

Title Searches When searching for a particular title, it is important to remember some important things. 1.Drop the initial article (the, a, an) 2.Spelling counts…A LOT! Now let’s start with a search for The Great Gatsby.

Notice that we dropped “the” from the title. Since we are searching for a title, we select the title option. Since we know that is the exact title, we will choose the exact option.

Notice that we found 6 items.

Notice we still have the same options and text here… Except this time, we’ll try browse. This is really handy if you aren’t sure of the exact title, but have an idea of what the title starts with.

Notice the difference between this page and the first one. You can click on any of the links above to see more records. It’s not as exact as the “exact” search, but it is still pretty organized.

Notice we still have the same options and text here… Except this time, we’ll try keyword. This is good if you only know a couple of words of the title, but you are unsure of their order, etc.

Notice that we found 17 items this time…9 more than the exact search.

Title Searching So now you know how to do a title search. Let’s review… Choose “exact” when you know what the title is. Choose “browse” when you know the beginning of the title. Choose “keyword” when you know a few words in the title, but aren’t sure of the exact title. Notice that “exact” searches retrieve less records than “keyword” searches.

Author Search Author searches can be the easiest way to find a particular book, but it can also be the easiest search to mess up. Often, users don’t know how to properly spell an author’s last name. When that happens, be prepared to search a few different possible spellings until the hit the right one. Always remember to search for an author by the last name first, followed by a comma and the first name. For example, J.K. Rowling would be “Rowling, J.K.” Now let’s start with a search for Stephen King.

Notice the way the name is entered: last name, first name Since we are searching for an author, we select the author option. Since we think we know the exact name of the author, we will choose the exact option.

This looks like what we want…

Notice the similar call numbers. If the user wants to browse books by Stephen King, you can direct them to the general call number of PS 3561.I483.

Notice we still have the same options and text here… Except this time, we’ll try browse. This is really handy if you aren’t sure of the exact title.

Notice the same results are retrieved...

Notice we still have the same options and text here… Except this time, we’ll try keyword. This is good if you only know a couple of words of the title, but you are unsure of their order, etc.

Notice that this search takes you directly to the records… Also notice that this search retrieves records that may not be what the user is looking for…

Author Searching Now you know how to search for an item by author. Let’s review… Search for the author: last name, first name “Browse” and “exact” options retrieve the same information “Keyword” may bring up items that have nothing to do with what the user wants.

Keyword Searching Keyword is the most general way to search, and it is the way most users search. Keyword searching will retrieve the most records. However, it will also retrieve the largest number of irrelevant items, too. Let’s try a search for the term Google.

Choose Keyword. Choose words or phrase…

Notice that the keyword search brought up 47 items. Not all of these items, however, will be what you want.

Keyword Searching This type of searching can be a really great place to start when helping the user do research. You will learn more about searching the catalog as you continue your training.

Understanding the Catalog Each item in the library has a record. This is what we search for in the catalog. Of course, the record gives you the title, author, and publishing information of an item, but it can do so much more! It can also give you the call number, location, and format of the item. This is what you will really need when you are helping users find what they want. Let’s use Gone with the Wind as an example.

Since we know the exact title of the book, we will choose the exact option. Since we are searching for a title, we select the title option.

The item appears to be available and can be found in the regular book shelves under the call number: PS 3525.I972 G6

Important Information Make sure that you give the user the location AND the call number. One without the other is useless. You’ll see why in the next few slides. Think of them together as an address. There are two parts of the address: 1.The number (2000) 2.The location (Lakeshore Drive) If I tell you that I’m having a party, knowing that the number of the house is 2000 won’t help you unless you know what street. Knowing the street without the number won’t help, either…if you start at the beginning of Lakeshore Dr., it would take you dozens of blocks to reach the right house.

Since we are searching for a title, we select the title option. Since we know the exact title of the book, we will choose the exact option. Now let’s do a search for the Encyclopedia of American folklife.

The item appears to be available and can be found in the Reference section under the call number: GR 105.E Remember, items in reference are for use IN the library. Contact a librarian if someone insists on checking this item out.

Since we are searching for a title, we select the title option. Since we know the exact title of the book, we will choose the exact option. Let’s search for a book: Tapping the Government Grapevine.

This is an e-book. This means the user can view online, often from home! These are the different clues that this is an online resource.

To access the book, click on URL.

When you click on the URL link in the catalog, the book will pop up in another window…one like this one. You’ll learn more about e-books later in your training.

Since we are searching for a title, we select the title option. Since we know the exact title of the book, we will choose the exact option. Let’s see what a title that isn’t available looks like…

This is the title we are looking for…

The item is checked out…so there is no sense in sending the user to the call number. Instead, show them how to place a hold or ILL the item. Click here to place a hold.

This is what the place hold form looks like.

Since we are searching for a title, we select the title option. Since we know the exact title of the book, we will choose the exact option. Let’s see what a title we don’t own looks like…

Notice that “Library Blogging” falls between “Library binding manual” and “Library book catalog” in the alphabet.

What if a book isn’t in the catalog? It’s good idea to verify that a book isn’t available by following up with A second title search, using the keyword option If the user knows the author, try an author search If both fail to bring up what the user wants, let the user know he/she can ILL it. You will learn more about ILL in future training sessions.

Conclusion This concludes the introduction to the catalog. As you continue your training, you will learn more about the catalog and how to use it to help users more effectively. Created by Sonnet Brown, Federal Documents/Reference Librarian 16 June 2009