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Search by words:

Keywords

Searches a number of fields within bibliographic records, including title, author, subject, notes and publisher.

Keywords may also be used to search for an item in a specific library. To do so, keep in mind that you MUST know the county in which the library is located. To locate an item in a specific library’s collection, follow these steps:

1. From the map interface, select the county in which the library is located.
2. Next, choose the library type that represents the library you want to search. (For example, if you would like to search the holdings of a specific public library in Montgomery County, choose Montgomery County from the map interface, then Public Libraries).
3. Now choose Keywords from the search options screen.
4. At the Keywords search screen, enter the appropriate keyword(s) to formulate your search.
5. Next, in the Library: box, click on the down arrow to see a list of available libraries. Click on the name of the library you want to search and it’s name will appear in the Library: box.
6. Finally, click on the Search button.
7. If the item is available, it will appear in the results screen.
8. NOTE: while you have narrowed your search to a single library’s holdings, the Display Holdings link will provide you with a list of all the libraries in the region which hold that title.
9. Please click here for the Interactve Demo “Keyword Search”.

Librarians wanting to peruse their entire collection may bring up their holdings using the Keywords search function as follows: (For large collections, be advised that only the first 32,000 holdings, sorted by publication year, will display).

1. From the map interface, select the county in which your library is located, then choose the appropriate library type. (For example, if your library is a public library located in Dauphin County, choose Dauphin County and Public Libraries).
2. Now, select Keywords from the search screen. Leave the Keywords box blank.
3. In the Library: box, click on the down arrow for a list of available libraries, then click on your library’s name so that it appears in the Library: box.
4. Finally, click the Search button and the results will contain your library’s entire holdings — up to the first 32,000 entries — sorted by publication year.
5. Please click here for the Interactve Demo “Entire Collection Search”.

For additional help when performing Keywords searches, click on the Search Help button located along the bottom of the Keywords search box or scroll to the bottom of the Keywords search screen.

Author

Use this search interface to locate items by a specific author, entering all or part of an author’s name.

Title

Use this search interface to locate a specific title, entering all or part of a title.

Once inside the Catalog you may also search by:

Subjects

LC Subject: Use this search interface to locate items listed under a specific Library of Congress Subject Heading classification. If you are not sure of the exact LC Subject Heading, you may enter part of the subject heading to receive a complete listing in the results.

LC Children’s Subject: Use this search interface to locate items listed under a specific Library of Congress Children’s Subject Heading classification. If you are not sure of the exact LC Children’s Subject Heading, you may enter part of the subject heading to receive a complete listing in the results.

Medical (MeSH) Subject: Use this search interface to locate items listed under a specific National Library of Medicine’s Medical Subject Heading classification. If you are not sure of the exact Medical Subject Heading, you may enter part of the subject heading to receive a complete listing in the results.

Sears Subject: Use this search interface to locate items listed under a specific Sears Subject Heading classification. If you are not sure of the exact Sears Subject Heading, you may enter part of the heading to receive a complete listing in the results.

Call Number

LC Call Number: Allows users to enter a call number from the Library of Congress classification scheme. This number is found in the 050 field in a MARC record.

Dewey Decimal Call Number: Allows users to enter a call number from the Dewey Decimal classification scheme. This number is found in the 082 field in a MARC record.

NLM Call Number: Allows users to enter a call number from the National Library of Medicine classification scheme. This number is found in the 086 field in a MARC record.

SuDoc Call Number: Allows users to enter a call number from the Superintendent of Documents classification scheme. This number is found in the 088 field in a MARC record.

Other Numbers

ISBN/ISSN/Publisher Number: Allows users to enter an International Standard Book Number, International Standard Serial Number, or Publisher Number. The ISBN is commonly found on the reverse of the title page or the back cover of a book, the ISSN on the front or back cover of a journal, and the Publisher Number on a sound recording like a record or CD, on printed sheet music, or on a videorecording like a videotape or DVD.

LCCN: Allows users to enter a Library of Congress Control Number. This number is commonly found on the reverse of the title page of a book.

III Number: Allows users to enter the number assigned by the Pennsylvania Electronic Library Catalog Innovative Interface’s INN-Reach Search software to each holding. This number appears as the Bib util # on the bibliographic record for each holding.

For additional help on searching call numbers, click on the Search Help button available in each call number’s Search box or scroll to the bottom of each Call Number Search screen.

You may also use the Quick Search feature, which is accessible from any WORD, SUBJECT, CALL NUMBER or OTHER NUMBER search screen. Quick Search allows users to select any search criteria, library type and region without moving through the individual search screens. It is recommended that this option be used ONLY after you are familiar with the INN-Reach search software.

MARC Records

To extract MARC records from the Pennsylvania Electronic Library Catalog, follow these steps:

1. Locate the item for which you need a MARC record.
2. When the item’s record is displayed, click on the Export button at the top of the screen.
3. Follow steps 1 and 2 until you have selected to Export all of the necessary items.
4. Next, click on the Export Saved Lists button.
5. On the resulting screen, under “Format of List” on the left-hand side, indicate you would like to download MARC records by clicking in the circle next to MARC.
6. On the right-hand side of the screen, under “Send List To,” indicate how you would like to receive the records. It is recommended you choose “Local Disk,” which will initiate a download to your hard drive.
7. For instructions on how to import the downloaded MARC records into your local circulation system, you MUST contact your circ system vendor.