How to Use NIU's Online Library Catalog

Northern Illinois University

UNIV 105

Introduction• You can use library catalogs to find books,

DVDs, journals, music and a whole lot more• Cultural diversity can be found in many library

resources• Today we will use NIU's online library catalog to

find books about blacks in industrial engineering

The Website• Log on to this site: www.ulib.niu.edu

The Website• You can use NIU's online library catalog to

search for books by keyword, title, author or subject by using a drop-down menu

• In this case, we will search for books about blacks in industrial engineering by keyword

• Enter relevant term(s) in search box and click FIND (next to drop-down menu)

• Results are sorted by relevance (default)• Relevant terms: blacks, industrial engineering

Search Results• 50 items found in local catalog

Search Results• Results for this search include 49 books and 41

electronic resources (in general cannot assume these two formats are mutually exclusive)

• The first result is an e-book published in 2011• Click on the title (Environmental encyclopedia)

for more information about this resource (such as author and publisher)

• Compare your findings to the image on the next slide

Individual Entry

Entries• Individual entries contain several sections

– Location and availability– Table of contents (if entry is for a book)– Option to request item

• Entries also contain call numbers– Call numbers begin with a letter (varies from A to Z)– Sample e-book call number: Internet. GE10 .38 2010

• Books whose current status is Available can be checked out from the library

Keyword or subject?• Keywords can be in a title, abstract, subject, etc.

– Usually yields a large number of results– May retrieve irrelevant sources

• Subject refers to a given item's main topic• Controlled vocabulary takes care of synonyms

– ADD = attention deficit disorder

• Boolean operators can be used when searching library catalogs

Boolean Searches• AND (default) means both of two terms must appear

– Example: "global warming" AND "New Zealand"

• OR means at least one term must appear– Example: "atomic energy" OR "nuclear energy"

• NOT means you don't want a certain term– Example: "mouse" NOT "computer"

• These operators can be combined

NIU Libraries• Books available in NIU's main library collection are

in Founders Memorial Library– Call numbers A-E are on 2nd floor

– Call numbers F-P are on 3rd floor

– Call numbers Q-Z are on 4th floor

• Some books are in special collections– Government Publications Collection on 2nd floor

– Rare Books & Special Collections on 4th floor

• Law Library is in Swen Parson Hall

• Music Library is in the Music Building

Summary• You can use online library catalogs to find

almost any library material you want• You can search by keyword, title, author or

subject• If a book is not available in NIU's library system,

you can request it from another library by clicking on All i-Share Libraries

Your Turn• Use NIU's online library catalog to search for the

following (first by keyword, then by subject):– Hispanic Nobel Prize winners– Women in business marketing– Blacks in college sports

• What did you find?

Resources• University Libraries (NIU): http://www.ulib.niu.edu• Keyword vs. subject (online video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLClln7icdk• Finding a book in the catalog (online video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHHn5zI1W8Y• Requesting books through i-Share (online video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yBx5z48UzQ

Any questions?