What the Catalog Does
What the Catalog Does Not Do
Simple Searches
Results Screen
Holdings Tab/Screen
Online Links
Bibliographic Tab/Screen
Journals
Types of Simple Searches
Advanced Searches
Special Features Using Limits, etc.
Renew Books, Check Your Record, Place a Hold
Finding Videos, Feature Films & Maps in Our Catalog
Course Reserve
Locations & Call Numbers
This guide provides an overview of our library's online catalog. Additional help is available from the Help button on the screen once you have selected Library Catalog. Also, our Glossary of Library Terms guide explains some of the terms used in the catalog. Library guides are near the Information Desk and on our home page.
♦Where is it? Our catalog is on our home page, and freely available to anyone with an Internet connection.
The library's catalog lists most of the resources we have in the library and tells you where they are and the format they're in (microfiche, paper, CD, online, etc.). Think of the catalog as an index to the contents of the library. You can search for items by topic (subject and keyword searches), title, author and call number, and do simple, advanced and Boolean searches. Our glossary links to a University of Albany online tutorial on Boolean searches.
Some books and journals are available online from the catalog's "Linked Resources" tab. URL at the right of a list of search results indicates an online resource. Note that sometimes the link leads, not to the full text of the item online, but to helpful information, such as a table of contents, or a journal publisher's web site (which allows you to search the publication for citations or references to articles). Sometimes you need to go through the Proxy Connection to access online material from the Linked Resources tab. Use your UNH network log-in.
1) The Library Catalog does NOT list journal articles. You cannot search for authors or titles of articles. To find articles, use print or electronic indexes or bibliographies to get citations or references to journal articles. Then check the Journals at the MKP Library link on our home page to see if we have the journal issue you need. See our guide on Finding Articles for more detail.
2) The Library Catalog does NOT list commercial databases. Get to these from links on our home page. You will need to use the Proxy Connection: log in using your current UNH network log-in.
♦And note: If you don't find what you need, you can request books and articles from journals we don't have here via Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Come to the Information Desk to fill in a form, or fill in an online ILL form.
♦Note: Renew books by clicking on the Patron button at the top of the screen. Help is also available at the top of any search screen. You can find explanations of search types on the lower half of this screen.
Under Library Catalog, click on the Simple Search link to begin your search. Below is a sample search for nutrition as a title.
When using our library catalog you will do two things:
Choose the type of search (title, author, subject, keyword, etc.) in the Find Results in box and Enter words to search in the Find This box. Click in each of the boxes to make your choices. Then hit Search. The catalog is not case sensitive (i.e., it doesn't matter whether or not you use capital letters).
You can truncate a search term. This means that you can type in part of the word and get all words that begin with those letters (e.g., Cat? will search for cat, cats, catastrophe, catastrophes, catalog, catalogue, catalogs, catalogues, etc.). This is useful when you don't know which form of a word is used, or the full spelling of a word. When searching for titles, you can omit initial articles (the, a, and an at the beginning of the title). See the lower half of the Simple Search screen for more detail on how to search, call us at 203-932-7189, email us, or come to the Information Desk.
Results Screen
See below for the results of our search:
We get an alphabetical list by title of all the items containing the word nutrition. Each record is numbered. We see:
1) Library Location.
2) Call number. Books have call numbers, by which they are shelved. (Note: You will see nothing for journals in the Journals Collection since they do not circulate. They are shelved alphabetically by title, ignoring initial articles at the beginning of titles.)
3) Status, which tells whether an item has been charged (borrowed) or not charged. No item data appears for journals, since they can't be borrowed. For borrowed (or charged) items, the holdings screen shows the due date.
♦URL in the rightmost column indicates an online resource.
The Sort by option sorts results by relevance, author, title, or date. Publish date descending lists newest items first. Use the Previous and Next buttons to move through the list page by page.
♦Note that search options from the search screen are on a line above the results list, so you can change or limit your search without starting over.
From the Results list, click on any live link in the record you want in order to get to the Holdings Screen.
Holdings Tab/Screen
♦Note that this shows you what you saw in the Results List: Author, Title, Location, Call number and Status. We have used the following title as an example: Public Laws.
From the Holdings Screen, click on "Linked Resources" to get to the publication online. You may have to wait a minute or two for the site or item to load.
The Linked Resources tag may be in the middle of the Holdings Record screen, just under call number, as shown above, or you may have to use the Linked Resources label at the top of the screen, as shown in the next example, below.
Title: Public Laws
Location: Reference Collection - Entry Level Stacks
Call Number: KF50
Linked Resources: Public Laws Online
Or you may have to use the Linked Resources tab at the top of the screen, as shown below:
Sometimes the link offers you the option of text or PDF:
Linked Resources: Text Version
Linked Resources: PDF version
A PDF (portable document format) looks like a photocopy, but takes longer to download and print, and requires Adobe software.
Tips regarding Linked Resources:
- Sometimes the Linked Resources link leads not to the online publication, but to a table of contents, or, for journals, a publisher's web site that allows you to search the publication online for citations or references to articles. If you're asked for a password, access the catalog from the proxy connection.
- Click on the Table of Contents tab to see if there is a list of the chapters in a book.This feature is useful for anthologies.
From the Holdings screen, click on the Bibliographic tab for more about the item.
Bibliographic Tab/Screen
This view gives you more information about the item, including subject headings that can lead you to additional material. You can click directly on any of the other subject or author links to get to a list of items on that topic or by that author.
This tab may include:
♦For journals: Information on where the journal is indexed, and title changes.
♦For films: Plot summaries and running time.
♦For books: Information on size, number of pages, or whether there is an index, as shown below:
The best way to search for journals is to use the Journals at the MKP Library link on our home page. Our library catalog lists journals we have in paper, microform and some online, but does not list the journals available in databases.
♦A note about Library Catalog holdings screens for journals. You will see volumes and date ranges to let you know which issues we have. You also see the format (paper, microfiche or microfilm) or a Linked Resources tab for online availability of a journal.
Paper is considered the typical format, and so for paper holdings, you will see only the volume and date range. When the format is microfiche or microfilm, this will be spelled out. Check the Linked Resources label for online access. Remember also to check the Journals at the MKP Library link on our home page for additional online journals. An example follows:
♦What does this mean?
- Volumes 179-current (1995-current) are in paper. Note the dash (-) after the volume and date. This means that we still receive the journal, and the Currently Received line tells you the most recent issue we have.
- Volumes 34-108 (1922-1959) are on microfilm.
- Volumes 109-178 (1960-1994) are on microfiche.
If we no longer get the journal, a date at the end of the volume and date range tells you when we stopped receiving it. Notes in the catalog also let you know if issues are missing, etc. All periodical issues that we keep in print are on the library's lower level on the bookshelves. Microfilm and microfiche periodicals are alphabetized by title and kept in labeled drawers in the microform room, also on the lower level.
♦Keyword Relevance. Looks for the words you enter in the title, subject headings and any notes. This may only return one or two relevant hits out of thousands, but these relevant hits will be at the top of the list, and you can look at the bibliographic tab on any relevant hits to find subject headings. Click directly on the heading link for a list of other materials on that topic. The number beside an entry tells you how many books we have with that heading; click on the link again for an alphabetical list of those items.
Use this type of search to look for titles of chapters within books in case they are listed in a contents note.
Use quotation marks (" ") for phrases, a plus sign (+) for necessary terms, or an asterisk (*) for important terms. You can truncate by using a question mark (?). For example, type in Diar? for diary, diaries, diarrhea etc.
♦Left Anchored Title. The best option to use for books, journals, videos, etc. -- if you know the title. You will get a list of all titles that begin with the words you typed. There is no need to type the, a and an at the beginning of titles. For journals with a common title, use the Quick Limit option and Serials in English.
♦Title Keyword. Use this if you do not remember the exact title. It is also another way of doing a search on a topic, since titles often describe what the book/video is about.
♦Author. Type the last name in first, and then the first name: Atwood, Margaret. For uncommon names, the last name will be enough (e.g., trump or auletta). It doesn't matter whether or not you use capital letters.
For Margaret Atwood, see the results below. Click on the Info link, which directs you to use Atwood, Margaret Eleanor, 1939-, or click on entry no. 2 for a list of her books in our library. The number 8 beside her name indicates that there are eight books by her in our library. We also see that the next authors in the subject list are Atwood, Virginia A. and Atwood, William G., 1932-
After clicking on entry number 2, we see an alphabetical list of books by Margaret Atwood. (Only part of the list is pictured below.)
♦Subject Browse. This option allows you to search by topic. As with the author search, look at any grey Note or Info links for explanations or alternate terms to use.
We chose "occupational safety and health." There is nothing for this term, but clicking on the Info link brings us to the next screen where we click directly on the terms we are directed to.
Clicking on Industrial safety shows us that there are 53 items in our collection with that heading, as well as another note further explaining the use of the term.
Clicking on Industrial safety would lead us to a list of the 53 items, arranged by title
Clicking on the Note button leads you to the following explanation:
- Search also: Subdivisions: Safety appliances and Safety measures under subjects. For example: Cotton machinery-- Safety appliances; Construction industry--Safety measures. (When doing this kind of search with a subdivision, you can type in the dashes -- but you don't have to.)
♦Call number browse. This allows you to browse titles online -- the equivalent of looking over the shelves. The Library of Congress system, which we use here, classifies items by topic, so books in a particular call number area should be on the same topic. Since each book can only have one call number (even if one book covers many topics), subject headings and notes about the book in the catalog allow you to search by topic and keyword, so that you may find books on the same topic in other call number areas.
♦Journal Title Keyword. Useful if you can't remember the title of the journal. The Journal Title Keyword search is also a way of doing a topic search, since journal titles are usually descriptive. Note, however, that the Journals at the MKP Library link on our home page is the most complete index to the journals we have.
♦Boolean Keyword. You can use keywords (they will be taken from the title, any notes, or subject headings), combine them using AND, OR and NOT, and group words together in brackets. (See more under Advanced Searches, below.)
Advanced Searches, also called Builder Searches, are useful for combining more than one type of search (such as a keyword and a subject search), and for using Boolean connectors AND, OR and NOT between search types. The University of Albany has a site that explains Boolean searching.
The advanced search mode makes it a little easier to do Boolean searches, which can also be done in the "Simple Search" mode, but require you to use quotation marks, type connectors like AND and OR, and use parentheses to group terms together.
In the Builder Search screen, the drop down boxes can be used as follows:
Select all of these instead of typing AND between each word you type.
Select any of these instead of typing OR between each word you type in that box.
Select as a phrase instead of placing quotation marks around the phrase you are searching for (such as "University of New Haven").
If you are combining searches, and use more than one line, make selections from the drop down boxes, and use the radio buttons AND, OR or NOT, according to your needs.
For journals, use the Journals at the MKP Library link on our home page.
See our guides on Finding UNH Theses, Dissertations and Student Projects and the Ruth Kleinfeld Wolf Memorial Collection for other examples of advanced searches to find particular types of materials in the library.
Special Features Using Limits; Sorting; Printing/Emailing/Downloading Results
♦Limiting a Search. Look for the Quick Limit box; this feature lets you limit your search to videorecordings or Serials in English, for example. Use the Limits box toward the bottom of the screen in a search form. This lets you limit your search to types of material (such as maps & videos), language, or locations in the library.
♦Sort by publish date descending to get a list with the most recent items listed first. Keyword searches are sorted by relevance (i.e., which items in the results list have most of the terms you used).
♦Printing/Emailing/Downloading. If you want to print, email or download your results list, select the records that you want by checking off the box beside the record. (See the box beside #10 in the example, below.) Follow the instructions at the bottom of the screen.
♦Note regarding instructions below: You must click on the Retain Selected button after each page, before going to 3 or 4.
1. If you've made selections on more than one page, choose Selected all Pages.
2. Select the format you want. Brief Record gives you the title and call number. Full Record includes notes. EndNote Citation allows you to download to EndNote software.
3. To print or save to disk, follow steps 1-2. Then click on the Format for Print/Save button. You should see your list on the screen, and you can print it directly from your browser.
4. To email, follow steps 1-2 outlined above. Then type in your email address in the box indicated on the screen and click on Email.
Renewing Books; Checking your Record; Placing Holds
You can renew a book online if you do this at least one day before the book is due and nobody else has placed a hold on it.
You can also check your record to see if you have any books out and when they're due. Click on the Patron button at the top or bottom of any catalog screen, or the Renew Books & View Your Record link on our home page.
When the status in the catalog says Charged, someone else has borrowed the item. If you would like to place a hold on a book that has been checked out to someone, you can do this yourself from the record in the Library Catalog that shows that the item has been charged. Click on the Request tab toward the top of the screen. Log in using the 16-digit number on your UNH ID card and your last name. You will be given the option to place a hold -- choose that option, and then click on the Submit button. Then log out. You can also come to the Circulation Desk or phone (203) 932-7197 if you want to place a hold.
Finding Videos, Feature Films, Maps in our Catalog
♦Videos. Check out our Videos in the UNH Library guide for instructions on how to find various kinds of films.
♦Maps. Click on the Limits icon at the bottom of the search screen and limit to maps. Not all of our maps are listed in the catalog, and many are available online. Ask for assistance at the Information Desk.
Check to see if a book has been put on course reserve by your professor. Select the Course Reserve tab in our catalog. You can search by course, professor's name, or department. Ask for course reserve items at the Circulation Desk.
Library Locations Listed in the Catalog
♦Circulation Stacks - Entry & 2 Upper Levels. The shelves on the upper two levels of the library (where books that may be borrowed are kept).
♦Course Reserve - Ask at Circulation Desk. Items put aside by professors for specific course use.
♦U.S. Government Documents - Ask at Information Desk. These are kept in several locations in the library, so come to the Information Desk to fill in a request form and someone will retrieve the Document for you. Many government documents are online and accessible from any Internet terminal without a request form by clicking on the Linked Resources tab from the catalog record.
♦Juvenile Literature Collection - Upper Level after Zs. Juvenile materials for various reading levels.
♦Microform Collection - Ask at Circulation Desk. On the lower level. All microfilm and microfiche (except government documents fiche) are kept here. Microfilm and microfiche readers are also here. Ask someone at the Circulation Desk to help you retrieve the microform and show you how to use the equipment.
♦Journals Collection - Lower Level. Periodicals are shelved alphabetically by title. Ignore the, a and and at the beginning of titles.
♦Permanent Reserve - Ask at Circulation Desk. Items permanently kept on reserve. Borrowing periods vary.
♦Reference Collection - Entry Level. Reference shelves are on the entry level stacks. Notes in the catalog record let you know if the item is a kept near the Information Desk.
Call Number Locations in the Library
- Reference A-Z: Entry Level
- Circulating A-E183: Intermediate Level
- Circulating E183-HV9104: Upper Level (right)
- Circulating HV9104-ZA (includes Education Curriculum and Juvenile Literature): Upper level (left); JUV books are shelved after the Zs.
Look for call number ranges on the doors leading to the stacks (bookshelves), and on the labels at the top of the bookshelves.
Online Help for catalog searches is available from the Help button at the top or bottom of any catalog screen. In-person help is available at the Information Desk.
This and other guides (including a glossary of library lingo that explains terms used in the catalog, and a general guide to the library) are available on our home page. Look for the Library Guides link.
Any Questions? Ask at the Information Desk, call us at (203) 932-7189, or email us.
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