Searching Library Catalogs

This material has been developed to accompany:

"Searching and Researching on the Internet and the World Wide Web, Fourth Edition" ISBN 1-59028-036-9
"The Information Searcher's Guide to Searching and Researching on the Internet & the World Wide Web" ISBN 1-887902-58-9

Searching Library Catalogs

Topics

Overview of the Development of Online Catalogs	Characteristics of Online Library Catalogs
Ways to Find Library Catalogs

Activities

Using Libweb to Find a National Catalog	Using LIBCAT to Find Special Collections
Using webCATS to Find Special Libraries

Overview of the Development of Online Catalogs

For years, libraries kept track of their holdings by putting information about each item on cards. In recent years, libraries have been converting their card catalogs to online catalogs, commonly known as OPACs (online public access catalogs). Each record in a library catalog contains information that is very useful to the librarian and the researcher. For instance, every record has a classification code, or call number, which is determined by whatever classification system the library has chosen to use. Most academic libraries use the Library of Congress classification system, whereas most public libraries use the Dewey decimal classification system.

With the advent of OPACs, libraries have improved their service by allowing users to search their collections much more quickly and thoroughly. When a library's OPAC is available through the Internet, people can search that library's holdings from wherever they are.

Why Search a Remote Library Catalog?

There are many reasons why you might need to search a library catalog remotely. For example, you may be traveling to a college or university library in another part of the country or the world, and you may want to know ahead of time what the library's holdings are on the topic you are interested in. There may be instances where you don't want to travel to the library at all. Perhaps you want to search a larger library collection than the one you have access to in order to know what has been published on a particular topic. You can then have an idea of what you want to request through interlibrary loan at the library you're affiliated with. There may also be situations where you want to search a special collection that is part of a larger library or a special library that collects information on a narrow subject and catalogs its holdings in greater detail than a larger library.

Characteristics of Online Library Catalogs

Library online catalogs provide more than library holdings information for books and journals.
Each library catalog vendor offers different features.
Library catalogs are different from search engines. Unlike Internet search engines, library catalogs do not usually index each word in every work that the library holds. Instead, they index the records of the library's collection.
Each record in a library catalog can be searched by field.
Full-text cataloging is possible. More and more academic libraries are cataloging the full-text version of journals to which they have access via proprietary databases.
Special library collections can be searched.

In any of these situations, if you find a useful holding in a remote library, you can obtain that resource through interlibrary loan from your local library. It is also becoming easier for you to email records to yourself when you do searches in Web-based catalogs. Despite

Ways to Find Library Catalogs

The following sites are the most useful for finding library catalogs on the Web.

Libweb Use Libweb to find all types of libraries. Some require you to use Telnet, and others allow you to use your Web browser. Be aware that the library catalogs for some of the libraries listed here are unavailable for remote use, especially those of foreign libraries. In some cases, the library's home page is all that is included.
LIBCAT LIBCAT gives lots of information on searching library catalogs-Telnet and Web-based alike. Look here to find a list of special collections and the names of libraries in which they are located.
webCATS Use webCATS for finding only Web-based library catalogs. You can also use it to search for libraries by vendor; that search would locate only library catalogs using the type of catalog software with which you are familiar.

Activity Using Libweb to Find a National Catalog

Overview

In this activity, we are going to search the national catalog of the United States-the Library of Congress. We will be searching for materials about the Cuban missile crisis. If you want to find out almost everything that's been published on a certain topic, it's a good idea to start either with a large university library or the Library of Congress. To help us connect to the OPAC, we will go to Libweb. We'll follow these steps:

Go to the home page for Libweb.
Select The Library of Congress.
Find the online catalog and select a mode of searching.
Search for resources on the Cuban missile crisis.
Print or email a catalog record.

(See the book for the details.)

Searching a large library such as the Library of Congress can be a very good way to start finding materials on your topic. After doing such a search, you can try to obtain the items by requesting an interlibrary loan through your own library. The interlibrary loan office will find the materials for you and let you check them out for a period of time. Because the Library of Congress doesn't loan out its materials, the interlibrary loan personnel at your library will try to find the materials at a library that does lend materials. The availability of nonbook items, such as films, videos, and microform will depend on the individual libraries that hold the items. Some lend nonbook items and some do not.

Activity Using LIBCAT to Find Special Collections

Overview

If you are doing research on a particular subject and want to gather virtually everything ever written on that subject, and in any format, a special collection can help you immeasurably. Many academic and public libraries across the country (and the world) maintain special collections on a myriad of subjects. Usually, items in a special collection do not circulate, so visitors can always find what they want on the library shelves. In addition to books, special collections may contain original letters, documents, sound recordings, audiotapes, and so forth. Special collections may also catalog privately published books and individual articles from obscure journals that may not be in libraries near you.

In this activity, we want to find books and reports about the Taliban, the rebel faction that took control of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, in 1996 and imposed strict Islamic law. We want to find out if there is a library somewhere in the United States with a special collection on Afghanistan. Since LIBCAT has a list of special collections that are included in libraries in the United States, we'll start there. We'll follow these steps:

Go to the home page for LIBCAT.
Search the list of special collections for Afghanistan.
Connect to the University of Nebraska's library catalog.
Search by the keyword taliban.
View the full record of a catalog entry.

(See the book for the details.)

Searching for items in a special collection proved to be quite simple. If this had been an actual research project, you would have been wise to print the search results. Then, you could have taken the citations with you when you traveled to the University of Nebraska library. You might also have checked to see if there were any items in the circulating collection at the University of Nebraska that interested you. If so, you could have gone to your area library and submitted an interlibrary loan request for them.

Activity Using webCATS to Find Special Libraries

Overview

In this activity, we'll look for current information on privatization and government finance in Zimbabwe. We know that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank publish a great deal of information on Third World economies, so we hope that either organization has a library. We will follow these steps:

Go to the home page for webCATS.
Find a special library that focuses on the topic.
Search the Joint Bank-Fund Library Network for the subject Zimbabwe.
Email the selected record.

(See the book for the details.)

A special library focuses on a subject in greater detail than an academic or public library, which allows you to find small pieces of information, including journal articles, cataloged individually.

Topics

Overview of the Development of Online Catalogs	Characteristics of Online Library Catalogs
Ways to Find Library Catalogs

Activities

Using Libweb to Find a National Catalog	Using LIBCAT to Find Special Collections
Using webCATS to Find Special Libraries

Visit Searching and Researching on the Internet and the WWW for more information about using the Internet for doing research and finding what you need.

This material has been developed to accompany: