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Introduction 5
Examining
Catalog
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Catalog as Reference Source

The catalog can be your most effective reference tool.

The Library Catalog

     No matter how many resources you examine every day, you just can't know all of them! The catalog is an organized list of the library's collection and helps you find resources in different ways. It's both a good beginning to your strategy and a resource in itself. It is useful in several ways. 

• Use the catalog to find books which will have sections on your topic, even though the book is not cataloged under that topic. For example, when a patron asks for information on German Shepherds, and the catalog shows nothing under that specific breed of dog, you would then look up "dogs" and check the general books on the subject for chapters on German Shepherds.

• Sometimes it takes very creative use of the catalog to find a book which will help on more obscure topics. For example, something on old egg beaters might be found in books on kitchen implements, general antiques, metal tools, folk designs, or histories of technology, among others. It is good practice to check first under the most specific heading you can think of. If you don't find what you need, broaden your search.

• Use entries for other books on the same subject to help you find the correct subject headings to use. For example, if you don't know the subject heading, you may do a keyword search. If the term you used isn't in a subject heading but appears in the title of a book, from that catalog record you can get the correct subject headings to use.

• Use the catalog to quickly locate miscellaneous information such as authors' names and dates. Or use call numbers from sources that you found in your search to determine a good place to start browsing the shelves.

New Connections: Web and OPAC

     Remember the card catalog? Accessing records for library resources is easier online, but you're still tied to the machine! Locating terminals throughout the library is one solution. A more recent concept is roving access, using laptops or PDAs and wireless networks.

     Another catalog challenge is connecting the library collection to Web resources. One method to bring all resources together is to use Dewey (or whatever classification system your library uses) to organize links to recommended Web resources, at the reference workstation and on the Web. Dewey can be used to organize Web links for users, reinforcing the connection between catalog subject headings and categories of related Web resources.

     "The Pew Internet & American Life Project's January 2005 survey found that 87 percent of searchers had a successful experience, yet only 17 percent of respondents said they always found the information they needed. Further, 62 percent of users couldn't make a distinction between sponsored and unpaid results. All these findings accentuate the need for librarians to make Internet resources available through their web guides and OPACs."

[Library Journal, "Best Reference Sources 2004," Web Sites, Cynthia Etkin, 4/15/2005.]

Major Point: The catalog is a good place to start your search and can help you find books, subject headings, or author names and dates.

1. Locate an encyclopedia of science and/or technology in the catalog.

2. Locate a handbook of chemistry and/or physics in the catalog.

3. Look in your catalog for books about Ohio. Look closely at the catalog records for 2 or 3 of these items. What can you learn about dates for the authors? What can you learn about other subject headings to help you find more resources?

Answers

Types of reference tools

Find resources around the world in WorldCat!

Search catalogs around the world with WorldCat, “the world's largest network of library content and services,” with more than a billion items from OCLC libraries. Users can add a Worldcat search box to Web sites and search from browser toolbars. Locate resources in local libraries or libraries around the world.

Catalogs help you find books, subject headings, and author names and dates. It's an index to the library and a good place to start a search.

The catalog gives locations for books on the shelf and other resources in the library.

"Today's PDAs Can Put an OPAC in the Palm of Your Hand," by Theresa Ross Embrey, Computers in Libraries. v22, no3 March 2002. p. 14-22.

Library resources are classified so that they will be organized on shelves. Some libraries also organize online resources for users with the DDC. For example, the Webrary® is a service of the Morton Grove Public Library. "Webrary Links pages consist of links to the most useful reference and informational web sites, organized by subject according to Dewey Decimal System call numbers."

Check specific terms, synonyms, & broader terms in the catalog to use the catalog effectively:

Look up the most specific term first. Example: Daylight Savings Time. Try "daylight."
Then try a synonym. Example: Whose picture is on a $20 bill? If there is no entry under "paper money," try "currency."
Then broaden the search term. Example: If you are looking for the speed of a lion and find nothing under "lion," broaden to "animals."

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