Jump to content
Eastern New Mexico University
 
 

Handout 4 - Online Catalog + WorldCat and NetLibrary


Golden Library’s online catalog is an index to all of the holdings in the library’s collection. It is searchable by author, title, subject, and keyword. There is no full text (except where a link [electronic resource] to an online government document is provided), because an index is only a form of organization.

  • keyword is the default, but you may search by author, title, subject (select at drop-down menu)
  • author searches should be entered last name first
  • title searches should not include “a/an/and/the” when those words begin the title
  • subject searches give you a specified overview of what is available via controlled vocabulary of Library of Congress (LC) subject headings. If you enter a term and the catalog says there are no holdings, we may actually have information on your topic—try a synonym or search LC Subject Headings to insure that you are using a search term that the catalog recognizes, e.g., books about "movies," "motion pictures," "cinema," and "films" are all entered under the established [LC] subject heading "Motion pictures." In many cases, the catalog will provide a link to the “preferred” term, but not always. You can also try a keyword search.
  • keyword searches look at every word in every record in the catalog; while natural language can be used, this index can produce voluminous amounts of information—much of it may not be useful to your search
    • use Boolean and/or/not to combine terms that will target your search to a manageable amount of useful records
    • use Related Subjects links to narrow your search in a specific area
    • use additional subject headings listed at the end of useful screens to further target your search or expand it in a specific subject area

To search the catalog, go to Golden Library Catalog and enter a search term. Next, click on any highlighted title links in your search results to see a record and citation screen.

  • search results for "Iraq War" are displayed
  • sample record and citation screen is displayed.
    • Location (ENMPO General)—means it is in the General stacks on the second floor, at our library
    • Call Number—tells you exactly where the item is shelved (which row and shelf)
    • Status—this tells whether the item is actually available. It should say "Check Shelves" for the item to be on the shelf. A date displayed mean that the item is checked out and won't be back until the due date. Library Use Only or Under Glass means that the item in non-circulating—you can look at it in the library, but it cannot be checked out. Damaged, missing or lost also tell you that the item is unavailable.
    • If you click on a subject heading link (Journalism - Political Aspects - United States, shown in the record above), it will take you to more items within the same subject category
    • Clicking on the author link will take you to additional works by the same author
Records are added to the catalog every day, each time we add a new book, journal issue or government document to the collection. Government documents are loaded into the catalog in groups and they usually come up first when you are doing a search.
  • to limit to a specific type of material or exclude a format, enter your search term and click the Search button
  • click on the "Modify Search" button or the "Limit/Sort Search" button (depends on whether you're doing a keyword or subject search) at the top of the screen
  • click on a material type at the Material Type drop-down menu
  • you can also limit by language or date, if desired
  • click the Submit button, then make sure it says "LIBROS ENMU Portales" collection at the top of the screen (sometimes it accidentally goes to Entire Consortium, instead)
In addition to viewing Golden Library's collection, you may also view the collections of other libraries in NM, or all libraries in NM who belong to the LIBROS consortium.
  • under the Other Catalogs heading on the opening screen, click the Libros Collections drop-down menu and select another library or the entire consortium
  • if you find something interesting, it will only be available here if you see ENMPO in the location code of the record screen; any item that does not display ENMPO will have to be requested via ILL
WorldCat database
Use WorldCat to search for books, videos, CDs/DVDs, etc. Click the W at Databases by Name on the Periodical Databases page, and then the database name link. After you perform a search in WorldCat, check the library's catalog to see if we own the title and it is available. If so, and you are a Portales campus student, stop by the library with the call number and retrieve your material. If we do not own the title, or if you are taking your classes at a distance, place an ILL request and we will send it to you.

NetLibrary database
Use NetLibrary to search for full-text electronic books. You can view any available books, but you cannot print or copy and paste content. Electronic books are best consulted when you need to look something up (use the table of contents or the index, if available), unless you actually like to read entire texts online. Click the N at Databases by Name on the Periodical Databases page, and then the database name link. Click on Advanced Search and enter your author or title, etc. Click on a title selection, and then "View this eBook." Click the table of contents links on the left, or scroll through the pages using the Next button on the upper right.