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Looking for Books and Journals
How to Read a Catalog Record

or, What Kind of Information about an Item Does the Library Catalog Give?

Record for a Book

Below is a typical "bibliographic record" for a book. You will want to take note of the following:

Author, Title, and Publisher

The author, title, and publisher fields give you the information needed to "cite" a book in proper bibliographic style (see the Citation Style Guide for more information). Note that the publication date is included as part of the publisher information. Click on the author's name to find out if the UO Libraries have other books written by her.

Location and Call Number

Gives you the "address" of the book – the information you need to find it in the libraries. In this case the book is located in Knight Library, on the third floor. Click on the location link to see more information about that location. Click on the call number to "browse" the library shelves from your computer. See How To Interpret a Call Number for more information.

Status

This tells you whether the book is available, or if checked out, when it is expected back. In this case, there are two copies: one is checked out to someone else (the status shows the date the book is due back) and the other is available to be checked out.

Description

Provides descriptive information about the item, such as number of pages, physical size, and length (for videos, films, and audio recordings).

Notes

Indicates whether the book contains useful items such as a bibliography or index. May also include a table of contents (in the case of edited books), or a plot summary (in the case of videos or films).

L.C. Subject

The subject headings describe the topics covered by the book. Click on any heading to find more items on the same subject.

Record for a Periodical

Below is a typical "bibliographic record" for a periodical. You will want to take note of the following:

Title and Publisher

Notice that there are two titles (one indicating an online version of the journal). The publisher is useful when two or more periodicals have the same title. It can also be useful for determining the type of periodical (scholarly journal, trade journal, popular magazine, etc.).

Click Below for Web Site

Many periodicals now offer online versions, with articles and other supplemental materials available from the periodical's web site. A link to the web site is provided right below the button.

Location and Call Number

Gives you the "address" of the periodical – the information you need to find it in the UO Libraries. In this case the journal is located in the Architecture and Allied Arts Library, on the 2nd floor mezzanine. See How To Interpret a Call Number for more information.

LIB. HAS

This statement tells you which bound volumes of the journals the libraries own. In the Knight, Architecture & Allied Arts, and Law libraries, bound volumes of periodicals have call numbers and are interfiled with books. In the Science and Mathematics libraries, they are in a separate section of the library, and shelved alphabetically by title. In the example shown here, you'll find volumes 9 through 54 in the regular book stacks of the AAA Library.

Latest Received

This tells you the most recent issue received by the libraries, in this case the September 2004 issue, which is volume 58, number 1. Click on the Latest Received link to see the status of other recent issues (for example, volume 57). Current issues of a periodical are shelved in a separate location; in the Architecture & Allied Arts Library, current issues of journals and magazines are shelved together on the main floor, in call number order.

View additional copies or search for a specific volume/copy

Below the summary information, you'll find a list of all the bound volumes, with the status. Most journals and magazines are for use only in the libraries. To see the information for all volumes, click on the "View additional copies..." button. To see information for a specific volume, type a number in the box, then click on the "View additional copies..." button.

For help, please contact a librarian.