1. Library Databases Part 2

2. The online catalog  Outcomes Know the basic structure of a database Know how to search an online library catalog effectively using keyword and subject searches Know how to use Boolean logic in constructing a search query

3. The online library catalog  Is a database  Consists of records, fields and terms  Is based on the earlier card catalog

4. Precursor: card catalog  The card catalog consisted of drawers of cards  Each card was a record  Each record contained fields, such as: Author Title Subject

5. Drawer of records ‏ Katz, Damien. "Error codes or Exceptions? Why is Reliable Software so Hard?" [Weblog] 27 April 2006. Damien Kurtz. 31 October 2007.

6. A single record Image source: University of Alaska, Fairbanks: www.uaf.edu/.../ls101/images/CatBibRec1.jpg

7. Fields in the record:  Author  Title  Place of publication  Physical Description  Subjects

8. That record today In the online catalog at UW LibrariesUW Libraries

9. Now search the SCC catalog  Open the library catalog  Search the Author Field for Naske, Claus M  Select the author from the browse list  Pull up the record by clicking on the author name

10. What fields do you find?  Main author  Other authors  Subjects  Publisher  Location  Notes

11. Some fields are links  These fields lead to other records  The records may be related by author or subject  Linking records by fields helps us to find related information

12. Access Points  The author, title, and subject fields are sometimes referred to as “access points”  They provide access to the record and/or to other records that relate to this record

13. Subject field (Voyager search)  What is written in the subject field? Alaska--History.  This is one access point.  Click on the link  How many adult books are listed in this catalog/database under the same subject? 16

14. Subject field  The subject field contains subject headings  Subject headings are a standardized way of describing the contents a book  Catalogers consider the varied contents of a book when they add subject headings to the subject field; sometimes they will add several different headings to one title  The number of subject headings per record is growing, now that catalogers aren’t limited to a printed card… good or bad?

15. Subject field  When you click on Subject Browse and enter a search term you are asking the database to search and return information from only the subject field  This is an easy and direct way to find other books on the same topic

16. But…  What’s the catch?

17. Keyword searching  A keyword search asks the database to return terms from numerous fields in the record.  A keyword relevance search gives more weight to some fields (subject field) than others (notes).

18. Keyword searching  In Voyager the keyword search on the first simple search page is a Keyword Relevance Search  Try a keyword relevant search: Type: alaska history What do you notice about this kind of search?

19. Question:  Which types of catalog searching (author, subject, etc.) do you think will be most useful to you as you begin your research?  Why?

20. Boolean logic basics  Computer databases “speak” Boolean  We use Boolean operators to construct a search query:  AND, OR, NOT (AND NOT)

21. Boolean Operator AND  AND – narrows the search  In some databases, like Voyager, the AND is implied. You don’t have to type it into the basic search box. In fact, don’t!  In other databases, like the UW Libraries catalog, the AND is required for a successful search.

24. Boolean Operator: OR  OR – broadens the search  Use “or” when entering related terms  Use “or” when you aren’t sure which terms describing the same idea are in a database Ex. punk or emo

25. Boolean operator: NOT  NOT – removes terms from a search You won’t need this operator often Ex. cloning not dolly Sometimes AND NOT

26. Search symbols  Truncation/wildcard Usually an *; sometimes a $ or a ? Broadens the search ethic* = ethical, ethics wom$n = women or woman or womyn

27. Search symbols  Nesting Parentheses: ( ) Use to isolate an OR phrase (or a phrase) Ex. acupuncture and (west* or scien*)

28. Quotation marks  Used to ask the database to search words as a phrase  Ex. “civil liberties”; “japanese internment”; “punk rock”  Sometimes this is accomplished by parentheses: (alzheimers disease)

29. Using symbols & Booleans  “white slave trade” and thailand  “real id” and (privacy or rights)  alzheimers and research  scien* and acupuncture

30. A word to the wise  If the symbols you are using don’t work, check the database help files  If you can’t figure out how to structure your search, check the database help files

31. Guided keyword searching  Different catalogs will call this feature different things – advanced search, more searches, and so on.  This feature allows you to perform Boolean searching more easily (note that the operators AND, OR, NOT are already in place).

32. Assignment 4  Search other library catalogs for titles.  Request any titles you find in our (SCC) system.  Report (upload to Files) Topic Search strategy List and cite correctly two items Describe your search process