Using the Online Catalog to Locate Books

Description

The Milner Library Catalog includes resources owned both by U-High and Milner libraries. You may also use this catalog to search other university libraries.

Accessing the catalog

To access the catalog, go to:

http://library.ilcso.illinois.edu/isu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?PAGE=bbSearch&DB=local

You may also access the catalog through U-High's Library Web page.

• Go to: http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/
• Click on the "L" icon in the top right corner next to the search box. This will take you to the library home page.
• Click on the "Online Catalogs" link

Using the catalog

Limiting or expanding your search:

• To limit your search to books & materials owned only by the U-High Library, click on "More Limits and under "Location," choose University High School Library and click "Set Limits."
• To search all of Milner's catalog (including U-High), do not set any limits; the default setting is for Milner
• To search all of the I-Share libraries, which includes most of Illinois's university libraries, click on the "I-Share Catalog" button at the bottom of the screen.

Searching

• To search for materials, type your keywords into one of the "search for" boxes. You may use as many boxes as you like; you do not have to use them all
• If you are searching Milner's catalog, try to be more specific, since they have more resources

• To refine your search, you may use the Boolean indicators below the search boxes. "Boolean" searches are searches that use the words "and," "or" or "not." The Boolean indicators default to "and," which is what you will usually use.
• Use the "Search by" box to indicate what kind of search you'd like to do. If you know the title of the book you need, you may choose to do a title search. You may also search by author, subject, and a variety of other classes. The default for searching is "any words," which means the catalog will search for your keywords anywhere in the catalog record of the book.

Finding Your Materials

When you have found a resource you'd like to look at, click on the title of the resource to get a more detailed record.

• Note that many records include a summary of the book to help you determine if it is the resource you need/want
• If you are looking for other books like this one, you may click on the subject categories to see more books in that category.

Location and Call #s

The call number for the book is located at the bottom of the record.

• If the book is located at U-High, nonfiction books will have a Dewey Decimal number. All U-High nonfiction is organized by this system. For a list of the Dewey classifications (to figure out what the numbers mean), go here: http://www.tnrdlib.bc.ca/dewey.html or see a library staff member for help.
• Fiction books at U-High are labeled "Fiction" and are shelved alphabetically by the author's last name.
• Books at Milner and other university libraries use the Library of Congress classification systerm instead of the Dewey Decimal system. For more info on the Library of Congress system, click here: http://www.info.library.yorku.ca/yorkline/lc/lc.html
• Also make note of the location of books at Milner Library; the catalog will indicate the floor or area where the book is shelved.
• If you ever need help locating a book in either library, don't hesitate to ask a library staff member. They are there to help!

Comments/Tips

• Quick Search vs. Advanced Search - The catalog defaults to the Advanced Search function. To access the Quick Search screen, click on the "Quick Search" tab.
• To search course reserves, click on the "Course Reserves" tab. Reserves are materials instructors have requested be held in the library with limited check-out priveledges.