Library Resources and Methods of Research

The Online Catalog

A library catalog is basically a huge list or index. It is a guide to the arrangement of materials in a library according to whatever system it uses. The library catalog primarily indexes books, but it will also include other kinds of materials, such as government documents, musical scores, theses and dissertations, periodical titles, microforms, and sound recordings.

Catalogs can take many forms: books, file cabinets, and computer databases. Card catalogs, which worked efficiently for more than a hundred and fifty years and will likely continue in some libraries for many more, have been replaced in most college libraries and many high school and public libraries by online catalogs. Online catalogs made their appearance first in large academic libraries about a quarter of a century ago. The Ithaca College Library switched to an online catalog in 1994. It switched from one online catalog to another in January 2002, so upper class students may find some significant differences in searching for materials using the new system.

Different Ways to Search the Online Catalog

The online catalog has both simple and advanced search modes.

Simple Search

image of simple search screen
There are two things you need to do to start a simple search. Notice in the search box above that there is a search box listed after the words "Find This:" and a second box after "Find Results In:" with seven options: 

    Keyword
    Title
    Journal Title
    Author
    Author/Composer -- sorted by title
    Subject
    Call Number

To do a simple search, type in a name, word or phrase in the Find This box, select the field you want to search among the Find Results In choices, and press the SEARCH button, or hit the ENTER key.

Advanced Search

image of simple search screen
Advanced searching is very similar to simple searching, but you can search for three different names, phrases, or concepts, all from different fields all at the same time. Advanced searching allows you to take full advantage of Boolean logic.

Results

After you have done a simple or advanced search, one of three things will occur.

  1. No records.
    If no records match your search statement, the next screen will advise you "Your search resulted in no hits!" Don't give up too soon, however.
    The first thing to do, is try again. Check your spelling, or make sure that if you haven't done the wrong type of search by mistake.
    If that doesn't work, adapt your search, try different words, or try a different search option.
  2. More than one record will be found.
    A list of records that match your search will next appear. This is good news, but it also means your work is not over.
    Summary information about each record will appear, and this may be enough information for you to locate a book, but to see a complete record for one book, you must sort through the list and select it.
    If there are only a few records, sorting through the list can be easily done. However, many searches will produce hundreds of records, too many to appear on one screen.
    Your choice, when you have found a long list of unrelated items, is to revise your search, or to pick through the list. Once you are found an item in a list that looks interesting, you can select it to see a full record.
  3. One record will be found.
    If the one record matches what you were looking for, you've made it. On the display will be the essential bibliographic information about the record and a statement about the library's holdings. Bibliographic information will include such things as authors, titles, place of publication, publisher, and date. Holdings information includes location in the library, call number, and availability (whether or not it has been charged out).

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This page maintained by: Library Webmaster, Ithaca College Library.
Author: John R. Henderson
Last modified: September 1, 2002