The catalog is the tool
that allows users to search for books in any of the Miami libraries,
view their circulation records, renew items, and connect to the OhioLINK
Central Catalog. Although mainly used for finding books, the catalog
can be used to locate other types of materials such as audiovisual
resources, electronic texts, and government documents. The catalog
is accessible over the Internet and can be found at the University
Libraries' site (www.lib.muohio.edu). Once there, click on the
"Catalog"
link to see the main search screen.
Select a Search Option
The catalog's
initial search screen displays four default search options:
Keywords
Author
Title
Subject
Heading
Choose a search
option by clicking theradio button (
).
Enter Search Words
Enter search words
in the "Your search:" text box and then click the
"Search Now" button.
View Results
The results screen
will show a list of titles that matched the search query.
The results will include the title, author, and year of publication.
In some cases, the title and/or author may not be visible
if the title of an item is particularly long. The results
screen will only display 12 items at any given time. If more
results are available, click the "Next Page" button
to proceed through the list.
The image to the
right shows results for a keyword search using "music
therapy" as the search words. This search found 167 items.
Viewing the Item Record
To view more information
about one of the items in the list, click on the title which
appears as blue text in the main area of the screen.
The resulting screen
will show the full item record.
Description
of Search Options
Keywords
The keyword
search option is often a useful starting point that
allows users to quickly search the catalog for items
on their topic. It can also be helpful for determining
subject headings for more advanced searches.
Author
The author search option allows users to enter the name
of an author (full or partial) to determine what items
the libraries have by that person/institution.
Title
The title search option enables users who know the
title of an item and want to determine if it is available
through the library.
Subject
Heading
The subject heading option allows users to search
the catalog using Library of Congress Subject Headings.
The Item Record
The item record includes valuable
information about each item and typically includes:
the
author(s)
complete title
publication information
owning location
call number
status
additional descriptive
information that may include elements such as number of pages,
subject headings, additional authors, and table of contents.
Several key pieces of information on the item record are necessary
for obtaining an item:
Location This indicates which library or department owns the
item. Multiple locations will be listed if an item is owned
by more than one library or department.
Call Number This is the Library of Congress Classification number
that has been assigned to the item.
Status The "Available" status indicates that an
item is not currently checked out. A due date will appear in
the status box for those items that are checked out.
