Library of Congress Online Catalog: Help Pages

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  SEARCHING:
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  Keyword Searches:
  - Keyword
  - Title Keyword
  - Author/Creator
  - Subject Keyword
  - Name/Title
  - Series/Uniform Title
  Other Searches:
  - Expert Search
  - Title Begins With
  - Author/Creator Browse
  - Subject Browse
  - Call No. Browse (LC)
  - Call No. Browse (Other)
  - Number Search
  - Author Sorted by Title
  Guided Search


  Limiting Searches
  Search History
  Boolean Searching

  INDEX CODES:
  for Guided Searches
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  SEARCH RESULTS:
  Brief Record
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  Headings List
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  Titles List (Keyword)
  References/Scope Notes
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  OTHER TOPICS:
  Headings List Types
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Author/Creator Browse (enter last name first)

Browse the online catalog for the names of Personal authors and creators (includes editors, performers, photographers, artists, etc.) as well as Group authors and creators (includes corporate entities, government bodies, conferences, etc.). If you are looking for materials about someone (real or fictional), or about a government body, company, or organization, use a Subject Keyword or Subject Browse search.

Author/Creator Browse retrieves materials by the name of a person or group acting as the
author or creator of a work.
Author/Creator Browse (enter last name first)

NOTE:
Search limits are not available.
Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are not available.

Author/Creator Browse Examples:

Name type . . . Search Example . . .
personal name steinbeck john
compound last name de la mare walter
government agency united states congressional budget office
organization battelle memorial institute
company american telephone and telegraph
conference conference on teaching creative writing

Search Tips:

  • Omit initial articles (a, an, the, das, el, la, etc.) in any language.
  • Always omit initial punctuation in any language (e.g., quotation marks, ). Also, omit intervening commas, periods, apostrophes, and most other punctuation. Exception: hyphens should always be retained.
  • Searches are automatically truncated and retrieve catalog records beginning with the words, word roots or phrases entered. Do not use the question mark (?) for truncation.
  • Personal author/creator
    • Enter the author/creator's last name followed by the first name: mitchell margaret
    • If the spelling of the last name is uncertain, enter as much as you know: dosto (omit first names, titles of nobility, etc.)
    • Retain the hyphen in a hyphenated name: evans-pritchard
    • For names with connectives (van, von, der), follow the conventions of the person's country or language: gogh vincent van
  • Group authors/creators (government agencies, organizations, conferences)
    • As with individual authors, search enough of the name to distinguish it
    • In most instances, department is often abbreviated to dept; search using both forms to ensure that all relevant records are retrieved
    • Search hierarchical names in full descending order: united states dept of defense
    • Search both acronyms and full names to retrieve all relevant catalog records. Search opec as well as organization of petroleum exporting countries
    • Proceedings of conferences, meetings, etc. can be found by searching on the full name of the conference: international symposium on x-ray microscopy

References and Scope Notes:

In search results, some retrieved headings will not link directly to catalog records, but will supply the user with links to related headings or scope notes (marked with the [ More Info ] icon) as illustrated in the screen below. Click the [ More Info ] icon to identify the correct heading or scope note with the associated catalog records then click the link to display the record. 

More detailed information on References and Scope Notes is available.

Alternative Search Options:

If you do not know the exact order of the personal or group name, try an Author/Creator Keyword search. Keyword searches allow the user to enter any known words from the name of the person or group in any order.

In addition, try an Expert Search or a Guided Search and type in whatever information you know. For example, if you do not know the specific name of a conference, try an Expert Search using what you do know (e.g., part of the name of the conference, location, and date: peace AND conference AND paris AND 1920).

Use the browser's [Back] button to resume searching.

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June 25, 2008