Library of Congress Online Catalog: Help Pages

  Online Catalog Home

  About the Catalog
  FAQs - What's New
  Known Problems

  UNICODE:
  Displaying Non-Roman
  Characters

  SEARCHING:
  Basic Search Overview
  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
  for Expert Searches

  SEARCH RESULTS:
  Brief Record
  Subjects/Content
  Full Record
  MARC Tags


  Headings List
  Titles List
  Titles List (Keyword)
  References/Scope Notes
  Save, Print, Email

  OTHER TOPICS:
  Headings List Types
  Material Types
  Database Selection
  Icons, Buttons & Tabs
  Requesting Materials
  Session Time-Outs

Icons, Buttons, and Tabs

Icons, navigation buttons, and display tabs appear at various stages of searching and retrieval in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.


Title Banner

The Library of Congress Online Catalog banner displays on the top of most screens. Select the banner to return to the Library of Congress Online Catalog home page at any time:

Image of the Library of Congress Online Catalog Title Banner


Top Button Bar

While using the catalog, a button bar consistently displays at the top of the screen (underneath the Library of Congress Online Catalog banner). Selectable items in that bar will display in dark letters with no colored border. Some buttons will display with greyed-out letters and are not selectable. And on occasion, some buttons will appear with a colored border, indicating that the function is currently in use.

Other Databases Selection enables the user to specify which of the Library of Congress databases to search: Library of Congress Online Catalog (the default), Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS), National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLSBPH) {coming soon}.
Search Select this button to begin a new search for the last search method used. The default search method is Basic Search.
Headings List Displays the Headings List from the most recent Subject or Name search when using the Basic Search method.
Titles List Displays the list of records retrieved in response to the most recent search.
Search History Displays a table of all searches performed in the Online Catalog; the display does not, however, include any limits that may have been originally applied to a search. From the Search History screen, old searches can be redone or edited.
Displays context-sensitive help screens related to any activity being performed in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.
Start Over Returns the user to the opening screen for the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Selecting this icon will clear the Search History; select only to end the search session or restart the Online Catalog.

Search Screens

Set Search Limits Displays the Set Search Limits screen for restricting most searches by: Date, Language, Type, Location, and/or Place of Publication.
Clear Search Limits Selecting this button clears all previously set search limits. Search limit selections remain in effect for all applicable searches until they are cleared.
Previous Displays the previous list for a Headings List or Titles List, or the previous catalog record while viewing an individual catalog record.
Next Displays the next list for a Headings List or Titles List, or the next catalog record while viewing an individual catalog record.
Begin Search Select this button to execute a search on the words or phrases entered in any search box.
Clear Search Select this button to clear any words or phrases from the search box.

Multiple Record Displays

More Info From a Headings List, select this icon to display references for a subject or name heading (includes narrower, see and see also references) or scope notes for a subject or name heading.
Relevance Star Ranging from a series of five to one-half, this icon indicates the level of relevance the catalog records has to words or "exact phrase" entered in the Keyword search. Five icons indicate the most relevant items, and a one-half icon indicates the least relevant.

Single Record Displays

Brief Record Provides a brief view of the current catalog record, including the call number. Select another tab for an alternate view.
Subjects/Content Displays subject headings, notes (biographical/historical, table of contents, etc.), the LC Classification and Call Number for the current catalog record, as well as a link to online versions (if any) of the material described by the record.
Full Display Displays the fullest labelled selection of fields for the current catalog record, including the call number. Select another tab for an alternate view.
MARC Tags Displays full MARC tags for the current catalog record, as well as the Call Number. Select another tab for an alternate view.
Print/Save Select this button to display a single record or selected set of records in the browser window for printing or saving to disk.
Email Select this button to email a single record or selected set of records to an existing email account (enter the correct email account address in the window to the right of this button).

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

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- catalog.loc.gov  
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- www.loc.gov  
June 25, 2008