ORIENTATION TO LIBRARY RESOURCES
Over the course of the next four weeks, you will become acquainted with basic library resources and
three excellent databases that will aid you as you start looking for more information related to topics
that you may be researching. This lesson revolves around the library catalog. The catalog is a resource
that you will use to see what the library owns in terms. You will probably use the catalog to find
background information in books or older journal articles. For current research, you’ll want to use one
of the databases that we subscribe to, but that will be in another lesson. For now, let’s go over using the
library catalog. Please feel free to email me (Rebecca Miller, millerrk@lsu.edu) if you have any
questions about anything described below.
LSU Libraries Catalog & Website
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What is it?
The catalog identifies materials in LSU Libraries such as: books, newspapers, journals, magazines,
government publications, electronic indexes and databases, electronic books, electronic journals,
videos, music scores, cassettes, CD-ROMS, maps and other cataloged items. Collections include
materials from: Middleton (main library), Hill (Special Collections), Chemistry, Design Resource Center,
and also the Cartographic Information Center (maps) and the Veterinary Medicine Library. It also
includes items from some locations that are not part of the LSU Libraries, like the video library in Himes
Hall.
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How can I access the catalog?
A link can be found on LSU Libraries home page (www.lib.lsu.edu). Basic Searching is available directly
from the home page, or you may click on "Advanced Search" for more options. The following directions
refer to the "Advanced Search" screen.
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What is the best way to use the catalog?
Basic Searching Tips:
When searching for a specific author, title or subject, select which to search by, and type your topic in
the box. Click "Search." You may wish to use the "Browse" feature, linked at right of the search boxes.
"Browse" searches the name, title, or phrase as a whole instead of as individual keywords. There is no
need to capitalize words when using the online catalog.
Author, Title, Subject Searching:
Author searching (retrieves list of books LSU Libraries owns by an author) - select "author" from
the drop down choices, type the name of the author (the order of the first and last names does not
matter on the Advanced Search, because it is a keyword search), and click on "Search."
Title (retrieves the book only if LSU Libraries owns a copy) - Selecting a "Browse" search from the
Catalog Searches will allow you to look at a list of titles. After selecting Browse, type title of the work
(definite articles like “A”, “An”, and “The” are ignored. Click on "Title."
Note: If the title is very lengthy, just type the first four or five words, which should get you close enough.
Keyword Searching:
The Advanced Search is a keyword search by default. For example, if you select "Title" and perform an
Advanced Search on "Tale of Two Cities," you will retrieve results which include any books with those
words in the title, or even with those words in the title of a chapter. This is useful if you are searching
for a title of a short story which may be in a collection, but using browse as described above is
sometimes better if you know the exact title you want.
Use "Keywords Anywhere" when you do not know the exact title, subject, or name of an item, or when
you want some flexibility in your search strategy. "Keywords Anywhere" is used to find individual words
anywhere in a record. On the Basic Search pages, the radio buttons must be set to "Keyword" to
perform a "Keywords Anywhere" search.
When using “keyword search,” it is helpful to know a few tricks:
Boolean operators - Boolean operators include AND, OR, and NOT and are used to join keywords or
phrases together for a search. Booleans can only be used in a keyword search.
Truncation - A truncation device allows you to search for various word endings (religion, religions,
religious) in a keyword. The truncation device in our online catalog is the dollar sign ($). For
example, to find the various word endings for religion, type the root of the word and add the dollar sign
(relig$). This will find religion, religions and religious. Truncation in the Basic Search works when the
radio buttons "Keywords" or "Browse" are selected.
Periodical Title Searching (Journals, Magazines or Newspapers):
To find out if LSU Libraries own a particular periodical, you must search the catalog. Choose "Periodical
Title" as your search type, and enter the full name of the periodical (no abbreviations). Alternatively, you
may click on "Browse" and chose "Periodical Title" which may give you a narrower list.
If LSU Libraries owns the journal, the title will appear in a list. It is not enough to determine if LSU
Libraries owns the journal title. You must also determine:
1.) the volumes, issues and dates that the library has,
2.) which library it is located in and
3.) what format it appears in (paper, microfilm,
microfiche, or online.)
On-Line Journals: Many of LSU Libraries' journal subscriptions are now available full-text on-line.
If LSU Libraries receives an online subscription to a journal, a url will appear in the catalog record.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When determining what volumes are owned, look at the "Summary Holdings," not
the list of individual issues below it. The list of issues only includes those issues which have barcodes;
not all of our journals are barcoded. When in doubt, ask a librarian!
Access to online journals is usually restricted to LSU students, faculty, and staff. You may log on to most
of them from off campus by entering your 17 digit Tiger Card id number and your PIN, which you will
also need to access your Library Account. We’ll go over information related to your account in the next
section!
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My Account
The ability to look at your account is a great feature of our system. You can see what books
you have checked out or on hold, and renew your books online.
To view your account, click on "My Account” OR you can click on “Review/Renew My Materials.” The
following screen gives you five options: "Renew My Materials," "Review My Account," “Ask a Librarian,”
"Change My PIN," and "Email My PIN."
The first three options will require you to log on with your LSU ID and your PIN. Your ID is 17 digits,
found on your Tiger Card. If you have not set up a PIN, or do not remember your PIN, you will need to
select the “Email My PIN” option. An email will arrive to your LSU email account with a PIN that you will
eventually need to change to something you select.
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Other Important Website Features:
Although this lesson has focused on the catalog, you’ll notice that, at the top of our homepage
(http://www.lib.lsu.edu/), we also link directly to a list of our “Indexes & Databases,” among other
things. We’ll get into the Indexes & Databases during our next lesson. Also, notice the “Ask a Librarian”
link that pops up on the far left side when you mouse over “HELP” within the purple bar. You can email,
call, or chat with us (even if you don’t have AIM—check it out)! It’s that easy 