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The online Library Catalog gives you information about the materials the Library owns including books, journals, videos, CDs, microfilm,
posters, etc.
| Searching By: | Use This Method: | Watch Out For: |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Use this search if you are looking for books or plays or other materials authored or written by someone. | Do not use this search if you are looking for books about a playwright (use a subject search) or if you are looking for the author of an article (the Library Catalog does not index journals the way a print or online index or database does). |
| Title | Use this search if you are looking for the title of a book or video or other item. | If you are looking for the title or author of a magazine article, use the online indexes.
If you are looking for the title of a play, a keyword search finds plays that only appear in anthologies or collections.
The card catalogue in the Drama Library lists plays that don't show up in the online library catalog, including plays in magazines. |
| Keyword Search (the most flexible) |
You can:
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Occasionally this search has problems and gets no results.
If that happens try a different search or combination of terms.
Multiple words with no boolean connectors get searched as a phrase. |
Subject Heading Search | Use LC Subject Headings or you may get no results. | Sometimes the catalog will tell you what the correct LC subject heading is if you type in an incorrect one.
For example, look at the results of a search for
world war ii. The first result gives you the correct LC subject heading.
Subject headings may be further subdivided by nationality, place, religion, genre, time period, form, etc. |
| Call Number and Other Numbers Search | Other numbers include LC call numbers, Dewey call numbers, SuDocs numbers, ISBNs, microfilm, video, and other non-standard
call numbers.
Call numbers are a way to browse the Library's collection in a particular area. |
Browsing is a great way to find additional resources. |
Additional Keyword Search Tips
| Strategy #1 | Strategy #2 |
|---|---|
| history AND costume | history (with) costume |
| furniture AND history | history AND interior decoration |
| great britain AND costume | england AND costume |
| tennessee williams AND (criticism OR biography) | williams, tennessee AND (criticism OR biography) |
Additional Subject Heading Search Tips
Subject heading terms are established by the Library of Congress. A subject search allows you to browse in the vacinity of the words you typed
To determine the appropriate term, you can:
You may ignore punctuation and capitalization when performing subject heading searches in the online catalog. However, word order is important when you search by subject.
Subjects with a lot written on them have subdivisions. Below are some of the subdivisions designers use are :
Searching by time period:
Searching by geographical area:
| Subject | Subdivision (Narrows Subject) |
Further Subdivision |
|---|---|---|
| COSTUME | -- EUROPE -- GREAT BRITAIN -- HISTORY -- UNITED STATES |
-- -- 19th CENTURY -- -- 20th CENTURY |
| FURNITURE | -- HISTORY | -- -- 20th century |
| GREAT BRITAIN | -- SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS | -- -- 18th CENTURY |
| INTERIOR DECORATION | -- ENGLAND -- HISTORY -- U.S. |
-- -- 20th CENTURY |
| NEW YORK | -- DESCRIPTION AND TRAVEL | |
| SHAKESPEARE WILLIAM 1564 1616 | -- HAMLET | -- BIBLIOGRAPHY |
| SHEPARD SAM | -- CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION | |
| SOUTH AFRICA | -- DESCRIPTION AND TRAVEL -- HISTORY Instead of using --HISTORY, you can narrow your terms (NT) to the name
of a specific war or rebellion, e.g., NT ZULU WAR, 1879 |
-- -- To 1800 -- -- 1801-1900 -- -- 1901-1950 -- --To 1836 -- --Frontier Wars, 1811-1878 |
Sample Searches using keyword and subject searches
Compare results using different search strategies.
| Search Term | Strategy |
|---|---|
| Don't use: Theater
Asia | Instead use: Theater Japan Theater China Theater India |
| A subject search of Ritual provides many sources on non-theatrical customs | A Keyword search combined with a variate spelling of theatre, theater, theatrical, e.g., ritual and theat* is a better search |
| A Keyword Search of ritual and theat* with library location Drama | Don't have time to walk around campus? Page the book or limit your search to the Drama Library |
| theater religious aspects | is a subject search, which gives you ritual and theater |
| Keyword search using rites and ceremonies with Drama Library location | gives you ritual, coronations, funeral rites Want to broaden your search? Take out the library location of "Drama" |
| Subject search: MASKS BIBLIOGRAPHY | Bibliographies provide a list of books on a subject. This is a good breakdown to use on any subject.} |
| Subject search: Masks Psychological Aspects Cross Cultural Studies or Religious Aspects of masks |
covers why a society uses mask Browse in the subject area and you'll encounter other topics of interest |
| Masks Sculpture | Mask making covers how and why masks are constructed as they are |
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