The card catalog is an alphabetical file of authors, subjects, and titles for material acquired by the University Library before 1978. It is located throughout the corridors on the second and third floors of the main library. The thesis file is located in the Information Desk/Circulation area of the second floor.
The card catalog provides the only subject access to the Library's collection for many items acquired before 1978
The locations given in the card catalog may not be accurate. Once a call number is obtained through the card catalog, do a call number search on the online catalog to find the item's current location.
The online catalog provides subject access to items acquired since 1978
In addition to providing complete bibliographic information, the card multiple cross-references that make it particularly useful if you have incomplete or questionable information. For example, the card catalog has cross-references linking:
pseudonyms to real names
titular names (such as Earl or Duke) to given names
current to previous names of journals
separate titles of a series to the series title
second or other authors to the main author
The card catalog is useful, as well, for locating translations and works by editors or important illustrators. Browsing through a few cards may reveal that the title sought is actually a sub-title or a separate volume of a larger work. The Library's collection is extremely diverse: if you don't find something through the online catalog and the item may have been acquired prior to 1978, try the card catalog!
| q978
B814f |
Brown, Mark Herbert, 1900-
The frontier years: L.A. Huffman, photographer of the plains, by Mark H. Brown and W. R. Felton. New York, Holt [1955] 272 p. illus., ports., maps (on lining papers) 29 cm. Bibliography: p. 259-261. 1. Frontier and pioneer life--The West. 2. Indians of North Amer- ica--The West. 3. The West--Hist.--Pictorial works. 4. Huffman, Laton Alton, 1854-1931. I. Felton, William Reid, 1894- joint author. II. Title. |
[Sample Author Card from the Card Catalog]
The card catalog has a card for the author as well as cards for each of the tracings (the Arabic and Roman numerals at the bottom of the card). The online catalog, however, only provides access to the title and first author for many items found in the card catalog.
First-word articles (a, an, the) in any language are ignored in filing the cards. Certain other common words are also ignored for filing purposes. A list of the ignored words is posted at the end of each group of card catalog cases. Words are alphabetized exactly as spelled without regard to diacritical marks. Thus, ü= u , but æ=ae and so, for example there will be entries under both Encyclopaedia and Encyclopedia. Initialisms and acronyms (e.g., AFL-CIO) are filed at the beginning of each letter of the alphabet. Identical words are file in Author-Subject-Title order:
Music Antonio Zoran, 1909- (Author)
Music (Subject)
Music at Midnight by Muriel Draper (Title)
The first step in subject searching is translate your topic into the terminology of the catalog.
This is usually a straightforward process, but language and perspective change over time, and the
heading used by a library may sometimes be surprising. The University Library used the ninth
edition of the Library of Congress Subject Headings for cataloging books by subject in the card
catalog; a copy of this edition of Subject Headings is located in the main catalog area.
Begin searching under the narrowest term that encompasses your topic; cross-references will
help lead you to the correct heading. The Library uses various approaches of subdividing larger
topics and this may be confusing. Geographical regions may be subjects subdivided into smaller
topics or subjects may be subdivided by geographical region. When a term used in the Subject
Headings is followed by (Indirect) it means that the subject may have geographical subdivisions.
For example, if you were interested in obtaining information on rodeo traditions in Montana, you
would first look in the Subject Headings under "rodeo." The entry reads:
|
Rodeos (Indirect) |
||
| sa | Rodeo clowns
Trick riding Western riding Women in rodeos |
|
| xx | Cowboys
Horse-shows Horse sports Horsemanship Sports Western riding |
|
The "Indirect" indicates that this heading may have subdivisions by geographic region, e.g.,
Rodeos--Montana. Note also the specificity of the "see also" (sa) suggestions. The "xx" entries are
slightly broader headings at the next level of specificity. All of these headings are also
"Indirect" and may have --Montana as a subdivision.
It may be, however, that even these headings are too specific for the Library's collection.
In this case, you might try searching directly under a subdivision of Montana. Some possibilities
are listed under "Montana" in the Subject Headings.
Make note of the exact subject heading given: its form and punctuation pinpoint its location in the card catalog. The following shows the filing order for various subject headings beginning with "Music":
| 1. AUTHOR | Music, Antonio Zoran, 1909- |
| 2.SUBJECTS | Music--Afghanistan
Music--Acoustics and physics Music, Chinese Music and literature Music-halls (hyphenated words equal two words) |
| 3.TITLES | The Music Yearbook |
University LibraryFor comments on this page contact: Reference
Last modified by: Jennifer Emanuel on 9/4/09
