T
he Online Card Catalog
is a database of all
items in the collection of the
Haines Borough Cooperative
Libraries which consists of the
Haines Borough Public Library,
the Sheldon Museum and
Cultural Center, the Haines
Borough High School, and the
Haines Elementary Media
Center. You can access the
catalog from the Internet by
going to the website
haineslibrary.org and clicking
on Card Catalog.
Boolean Logic
Refine your search by selecting and, and not, or. For
example, let’s say you want a book of fiction on the
Civil War. You would enter Civil War in key words;
select AND, enter FIC in Call Number; select AND
NOT, and enter J FIC in Call Number. This will bring
up all books of fiction on the Civil War. As you can
see in the screenshot below, there are 41 items of
fiction on the Civil War in the collection.
Welcome to the
Haines Borough
Cooperative Libraries’
Online Card Catalog
Help
The online card catalog comes with an
online help feature. Click on the Help
button at the bottom of the screen. A
directory of options appears to guide
you. There is even a section on Search
Strategies.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a
federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership
and a lifetime of learning, supports the operating
expenses of this project.
The Dragonfly Project
Chilkoot Indian Association Tribal Government
and Haines Borough Public Library
Technology Awareness Program
Hai ne s Boroug h P ub l ic Li brary
P .O. Box 10 89
H ai ne s , AK 99827
90 7. 766 .254 5
H ai ne s l ibrary .org
By using Boolean logic, a search for World War II
fiction brought up 115 entries.
Using the Online Card Catalog Effectively
Welcome Screen
On the left side of the Welcome screen
are five buttons that lead you to
different information. Library hours lists
the hours the library is open. Did You
Know? tells how library staff can help
you get the books you need from the
different collections. Feedback offers you
a way to make suggestions, ask
questions, or even renew your items
online. Search Catalog takes you to the
catalog’s search screen so you can begin
your search.
Seven Ways to Search
Knowing which of
the seven ways
to search is key
to using the
online card
catalog
effectively.
ISBN and LCCN
If you know the ISBN (International Standard
Book Number)
or the LCCN
(Library of
Congress Card
Number),
highlight ISBN or LCCN and enter the number
in the search box to the right. Then use your
mouse and click on the Search button.
Author
The key to searching by author is to make sure
you enter LAST name first and spell it
correctly. If you’re unsure of how to spell the
author’s last name, enter the first few letters
then hit the Browse button located at the
bottom of the screen. This will bring up a list of
names which you can scroll through using the
arrow buttons to go backward or forward. To
move the author’s name to the search screen,
click on the Add Word + button. This will return
you to the search screen so you can continue
your search.
Title
Correct spelling is important when searching
by title, but if the title begins with “the,” “an,”
or “a,” it’s not necessary to include it in your
entry. For example, if you’re looking for The
Wind in the Willows, all you need to type is
“Wind in the Willows.” If you type “Wind and
the Willows,” the title will not appear. If you
type “Wind,” all titles beginning with the word
“Wind” will appear.
Subject
Searching by subject is a bit tricky because
subject categories have been determined by
a number of cataloging systems including the
Library of Congress. For example, you may
consider “Opium War” a subject; the
cataloging system does not. To get around
this you can make the subject more broad,
“War”; try different subjects such as “Opium”
or “China”; or use Key Words.
Call Number
You can quickly find a title if you know the
call number, but you can also use call number
to refine your search. For example, in the
Haines Borough Public Library there are a
number of call number designations: FIC for
Fiction; J FIC for Juvenile Fiction; M for
Mystery; SF for Science Fiction; E for Easy
Children’s Books; SC for Short Story
Collections; AC for Alaska; VC for Videos;
TAPE for audio cassettes; and CD for CDs. If
you’re looking for a book on bears for a
child, you could enter “bear” in key words,
check AND, and enter E in call number. This
will bring up all easy books on bears.
Key Words
This is the most flexible way to search. You
can use words or phrases to search and then
use Boolean logic to refine the search.
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