Online Catalogs
Week of September 22, 2008
“Guided” Search
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searches specific fields only
guided searches in the BGSU catalog
include:
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title
author
subject
numbers (call numbers, ISBN, etc.)
BGSU Catalog: Authors
author search includes the entity/entities responsible
for the work:
 personal authors (e.g., Donald Jay Grout)
 corporate authors (e.g., Bowling Green State
University)
 composers, performers, conductors, ensembles, etc.
 primary and added authors (e.g., J. Peter
Burkholder)
BGSU Catalog: Authors
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personal authors' names are entered in
indirect order (e.g., Chopin, Frederic)
an individual’s name will often be qualified by
dates to distinguish that person from
someone else with the same name
corporate authors - that is, organizations,
ensembles, etc. - are entered in direct order
(e.g., Cleveland Symphony).
BGSU Catalog: Titles
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title search includes:
 transcribed titles
 uniform titles
 added titles
 series titles
BGSU Catalog: Titles
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transcribed titles
 the title on the item itself as assigned by
the publisher or author
 identified as “Title” in a catalog record
(“Musik zu Goethes Trauerspiel
"Egmont" : Opus 84”)
BGSU Catalog: Uniform Titles
“Used when a work has appeared under varying
titles, necessitating that a particular title be
chosen to represent the work.”
- Library of Congress
“Libraries use music uniform titles in their catalog
records to uniquely identify and to collocate
similar printed and recorded musical works by a
composer.”
- Matthew Wise
BGSU Catalog: Uniform Titles
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two common instances where a uniform title is
used:
 when a title is a genre, form, or otherwise
indistinctive - symphonies, concertos,
sonatas, etc.
 when a title is in a foreign language Figaro’s Hochzeit = Le Nozze di Figaro = Le
Mariage de Figaro = Marriage of Figaro
BGSU Catalog: Uniform Titles
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usually formed from genre, musical form, or
chamber music combined with opus number,
key, or other distinguishing details
most often expressed in the plural
a plural form without any other qualification is
usually a complete set of the works
(“Symphonies,” for instance, with no key, opus
number, etc., will be all the symphonies by a
given composer)
BGSU Catalog: Uniform Titles
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example:
Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony”
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title on item might be: “Unfinished Symphony,”
“Symphony no. 8,” “Eighth Symphony,” etc.
uniform title is: Symphonies, D. 759, B minor
form, followed by opus/work number, followed by
key
BGSU Catalog: Uniform Titles
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identified as “Unif Title” in a catalog record
(“Egmont. Vocal score”); click on this title to
find other versions of the work
sometimes easier to use in text-based
version of catalog because of what
information that is displayed in browse
BGSU Catalog: Uniform Titles
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for a thorough explanation of uniform
titles, see: Matthew Wise’s “Principles of
Music Uniform Titles”
BGSU Catalog: Titles
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added titles, such as the contents on a
recording; listed under the “More Details” tab
(“Yellow Submarine”)
added titles can also include uniform titles
linked with composers’ names
series titles (“Recent Researches in American
Music”)
BGSU Catalog: Subjects
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subject search uses a controlled vocabulary
based on the Library of Congress Subject
Headings
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a print copy of the subject headings is at the reference
desk in the Music Library; the headings comprise 5
large, red volumes and are ordered alphabetically
a detailed explanation of the headings may be found
at the beginning of the first volume; brief guides are
included at the beginning of the other four volumes
BGSU Catalog: Subjects
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another approach to using subject headings is to
do a word search first; when you find an item
that matches your criteria, look at the subject
headings that have been assigned (listed on the
“Find Similar Items” tab); searching by subject
should yield additional records for similar
materials
BGSU Catalog: Subjects
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a subject search on an individual’s name
will allow you to find information about that
individual, not just by him or her - compare
a search on John Cage (“Cage, John”) as
an author search and as a subject search
BGSU Catalog: Call Number
call number search allows you to search by specific
Library of Congress (LC) or Local call numbers; be
sure to select the appropriate type of search based
on the call number
 for more information about LC call numbers, see
http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html;
choose the M classification from the list
 local call numbers are unique to BGSU; in the music
library, these are used for sound and video
recordings and are based on the size, speed, label
name, and manufacturer's number
BGSU Catalog: Word
word search includes words found in author
fields, title fields, contents notes, subject
headings fields, and added entry fields
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search for complete phrases by enclosing them
in double quotation marks
BGSU Catalog: Word
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to limit your word search to specific fields by
selecting a field from the drop-down menu on
the left
impose a variety of limits to refine search material type, date of publication, language before beginning your search
to limit to sound recordings, choose “Sound
Recordings” under “Material Type” OR, choose a
sub-category under the “Sound Recording”
section
BGSU Catalog: Boolean
Operators
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use Boolean operators to refine your search
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Boolean operators consist of the terms "and,"
"or," and "not"; they are derived from the work
of George Boole, a nineteenth-century
mathematician
Boolean operators specify the relationship
between specific terms used in searching
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BGSU Catalog: Boolean
Operators
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“And” means find both terms entered; this will
narrow search results because only records that
contain both terms will be returned.
“And not” will eliminate from your search the term
that comes next (example, “Stardust AND NOT
Ziggy” will eliminate “Ziggy Stardust” from your
search and increase your chances of finding the
song, “Stardust”)
“Or” means find “term A” or “term B;” this greatly
expands search results (“Or means more”)
BGSU Catalog: Boolean
Operators
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“Near” means that your terms must be within 10
words of one another (try “nowhere man” vs.
“nowhere near man”)
an asterisk (”*”) substitutes for up to 10 characters at
the end of a word (“suite*” will look for “suites,”
“suiten,” “suite”)
most databases assume “and” between words in a
keyword search if you do not specify another
operator
BGSU Catalog: Boolean
Operators
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click on the “Catalog Help” link in the menu
bar at the top of the screen and select the
“Search tips” tab for more details on Boolean
Operators and their function in the catalog
Discussion
At your table, spend 10 minutes coming up with
two particular benefits of a guided search and
two benefits of using a keyword search. Use
specific examples.
Ex: “Turtles” as an author search retrieves results for the
musical group The Turtles (35 items) whereas “Turtles”
as a keyword search retrieves everything with the word
“turtles” in the record (386 items). This is a greater
degree of precision.
BGSU Catalog: Limit & Sort
Search
limiting allows you to impose additional
conditions on your search, e.g., if you have
done an author search for Chopin, you may
limit to words in title, such as "preludes."
 conditions also include material type,
language, publication date, publisher, and
words in the title, author, or subject
 after a Keyword search, this button appears
at the top of the catalog screen as “Modify
Search”
BGSU Catalog: Limit & Sort
Search
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material type: if you are limiting to scores, choose,
“Musical Score," not “Score, Mss"; if you are limiting
to recordings, make sure you choose “Sound
Recording” OR scroll down to the Sound Recording
category and select a specific format (“CD,”
“33rpm”)
if you are doing a Word search, you may impose
limits from the initial search; for other types of
searches, limit after the initial search
BGSU Catalog: Additional
Help
instructions for searching for scores and
recordings may be found on the ML/SRA
website:
 http://libguides.bgsu.edu/findmusic
OhioLINK Central Catalog
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Read http://www.ohiolink.edu/about/what-is-ol.html
for a description of OhioLINK
To search for something in the OhioLINK catalog
from within the BGSU catalog, simply click on the
“Search OhioLINK button at the top of the catalog
screen:
Although the appearance is different, the OhioLINK
Central Catalog uses the same search engine and
searching techniques as the BGSU Libraries
Catalog
OhioLINK Central Catalog
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If BGSU does not own a book or score (and
in limited instances a sound or video
recording), or if BGSU's copy is on loan to
another patron or missing, and a copy is
AVAILABLE in the OhioLINK Central Catalog,
you may request the item online. Follow the
"Request this Item" link and enter the
required information
OhioLINK Central Catalog
for more information about borrowing materials,
see:
 Borrowing, Renewing, and Requesting
 Additional Survival Tips for Music Library
Patrons
WorldCat
WorldCat is the public interface for the OCLC
Union Catalog. The OCLC Union Catalog is,
in some ways, similar to the OhioLINK
Central Catalog, but much larger: libraries
around the world use and contribute to
OCLC's holdings. For a brief description of
WorldCat, visit http://www.oclc.org/worldcat/.
Online help is available when you log into
WorldCat.
WorldCat
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access to the WorldCat database is provided to
BGSU users via a product called OCLC FirstSearch
from off campus, you will need to log in to WorldCat
using your name, your University ID number, and
your PIN
if you have not yet set a PIN, create any password
the first time you log in from off campus; if you forget
your PIN, go to Access Services on the first floor,
and they will reset it for you
WorldCat: Search Tips
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use “Author” to search an individual’s last
name, or full name in indirect order
(“Beethoven, Ludwig Van”)
Use “Corporate and Conference Name” to
search a organization’s name or acronymn
(“MENC”).
“Title” is a keyword search in the title field;
“Title Phrase” is a search for a particular
string of characters in the title field.
WorldCat: Search Tips
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limit by format ahead of time if you want only
certain formats
if you forget to limit when you start your
search, click on the format tabs at the top of
the results to narrow
WorldCat.org
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WorldCat.org uses the same database as
regular WorldCat, but it only displays results
from libraries that subscribe to FirstSearch,
hence it will return fewer results.
free
create an account and log in to enter:
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notes
tables of contents
ratings and critiques