Browsing the Catalog

When you browse the library catalog, you can type just the first few letters or numbers of your search term-an author's name, a subject, a series name, a title, or a call number. The results list shows the portion of the catalog index that begins with the text you have typed. You can scroll through the index to see more headings or listings. You may also find useful links to related headings or listings. When you select a heading or listing in the index, you see information about the titles associated with the heading or listing.

Browse the catalog

Follow these steps to browse the catalog.

1. Select Search on the menu bar, and select Browse in the search submenu.
2. In the Search for list, select an index option (Title, Author, Subject, Series, or Call Number).

Note:
Call number options may differ depending on the library to which you are currently connected. LC (Library of Congress) and Dewey options display the corresponding call number index drawn from the bibliographic records of the catalog. LC call numbers begin with one or two alphabetic characters (letters). Dewey call numbers begin with numbers. Omit any prefix, such as Ref. Call Number displays the call number index of the individual items on the library shelves, so your results are like a virtual shelf list for the local branch. This option is available only when you are connected to a branch, not the library system.

3. In the that begins with box, type the first few letters or numbers of the the title, author's last name, the subject word, the series name, or the call number.
4. If you want to change the number of headings or listings to display on a page, click Search options and select a number.
5. Click Go.

   The results list displays the catalog headings or listings, and the number of titles associated with each heading or listing.

6. Navigate the index using one of these methods:
   • Click <<Previous 10 Headings or Next 10 Headings>> to browse through the index.
   • Title listings may show different types of material for the same title, such as Book, DVD, and Videotape. You can click a type of material to see the titles of that type.

Tip:
Cross-references are very useful when you browse the subject index. You can easily go to related subjects by clicking the cross-reference links.

• The headings may include cross-reference links that refer you to related headings. Click a cross-reference link to go to the portion of the index that includes the related heading.

7. Click a heading or listing to display the associated titles.

   To return to the headings list, click Go Back to Browse Results at the top or bottom of the page.

Related Information

• View more information about the titles - See "Viewing Title Information".
• Add a title to a title list - See "Working with Title Lists".
• Request or purchase a title - See "Obtaining Materials".
• Shelf list - You can develop a virtual shelf list of the call numbers for items that interest you in a selected library. Do a browse search of the call number index for the library, select titles from the results, and add them to a title list. Include local availability information in the title list to list the call numbers. See "Working with Title Lists" for more information.