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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Topics: Access to the Catalog
- Searching/Browsing
Search Results/Output - Other Catalogs
Access to the Online Catalog
- Whenever I try to
access the Online Catalog, I get a message that "all available
connections are in use?" What does that mean? Why is it so
hard to connect to the Catalog?
The Library of Congress Online Catalog has proven so popular
that it is often the case that all connections are in use.
We are aware how frustrating this is, and we are working with
our software vendor to increase the number of simultaneous
users so that no one has difficulty getting in. We expect
to move gradually towards that goal over the next few months.
Until we are able to expand access to the LC Online Catalog,
here are some tips for users:
- Our peak usage is typically Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
Thursdays between 10:00am and 2:00pm (US Eastern Time).
We suggest trying to search before or after those hours,
or on Mondays, Fridays, and weekends (during off-peak hours).
- We also suggest that folks be persistent and keep trying.
Users are leaving the system, and freeing up connections,
at about the same rate that they are entering the system.
Connections open up continually as users exit the system.
If you continue to try several times in quick succession,
you will gain access more quickly.
Back to Questions
- Why does the Online Catalog
look different in the Library of Congress reading rooms than it
does on the Web?
Users anywhere in the world beyond the walls of the
Library of Congress can access the Online Catalog using the
World Wide Web at http://catalog.loc.gov/.
Users inside the Library of Congress utilize the Windows-based
version of the Online Catalog. While there are some differences
in the two versions, the catalog data is the same--only the
interface is different.
Back to Questions
- I have a slow Internet
connection. Is there text-only access to the Online Catalog?
The Library is currently not able to offer TELNET
access to a text-only version of the LC Online Catalog. An alternative
interface is available using the Library's
Z39.50 Gateway. This interface works well with text-based
browsers, such as Lynx. To learn more about the Z39.50 protocol
for information retrieval, visit the Z39.50
Maintenance Agency Page.
The Library is aware of the need for text-based access to
the Online Catalog to satisfy the needs of its offsite users.
The Library is working with its system vendor, Endeavor Information
Systems, Inc., to ensure that its system is accessible via
a variety of browsers.
Back to Questions
Searching/ Browsing the Online Catalog
- I am sure the Library
has the item I am searching for, but I cannot find it in the Online
Catalog. What should I do?
Many items from the Library's special collections are accessible
but not represented in this Online Catalog, including:
- Some individual items within collections (microforms,
manuscripts, photographs, etc.) are not listed separately
in the Catalog, but are represented by collection-level
catalog records.
- Older materials in the general collections cataloged before
1980 may also not be in the Online Catalog. (Onsite researchers
should also use the Main Card Catalog.)
Specialized catalogs available for many of these materials
through the "Research Tools" page at <http://www.loc.gov/rr/tools.html>.
Also, see Question #17, "What other catalogs
are available?"
Back to Questions
-
I've checked all those
other systems in Question #4, and it still looks like the Library
doesn't have what I need. Now what?
While the Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries
in the world, it doesn't have everything. If it seems like
the Library doesn't have what you are looking for:
- Try the Library's new "Ask
a Librarian" service.
- Try your local public or college library. Most libraries
have access to a number of online databases, and can locate
and borrow items for their patrons through Interlibrary
Loan. Your local library is often the fastest and easiest
resource for locating hard-to-find items.
Back to Questions
- Why can't I find
name and subject authority records in the Online Catalog?
Full MARC 21 authority records (names and subjects)
are not available directly from the Catalog. However, they are
available through a separate service, Library of Congress
Authorities, at authorities.loc.gov.
For more information, see "About
Library of Congress Authorities."
Back to Questions
- How can I view numbers
from the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system in the LC Online
Catalog?
While many Library of Congress Catalog records (mostly those
for books) contain Dewey Decimal numbers, the majority do
not. The Library generally assigns Dewey numbers to nearly
all U.S. trade imprints, including all titles cataloged in
the Cataloging in Publication
(CIP) program, and to many books in English, French, German,
Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
You can search the Catalog by Dewey number:
- by using Keyword in "Basic Search,"
- in "Guided Search" with Keyword Anywhere
selected, or
- using the Command Keyword search using the index
code K082.
Please see the online help screen at URL <http://catalog.loc.gov/help/ckwindex.htm#number>
for more information.
Dewey numbers are not shown in the Brief Record display.
They are displayed in either the Full Record or MARC
Tags displays, accessed by selecting the tabs at the top
of the Brief Record display.
Back to Questions
- How can I search for
government documents by their SUDOC numbers?
To search by SUDOC number, use the Command
Keyword search method with the K086
index code. For successful results, punctuation and spaces
must be exactly as entered in the record, and always enclosed
in quotation marks (e.g., K086 "Y 4.F 76/2:el" with
a space after the Y and the F). The SUDOC is displayed in
the Full Record display under the label Govt. Doc.
No.:. It is also found in the MARC Tags display
in field 086.
Back to Questions
Search Results and Output
- How do I see the full
text of the title I found?
The full text of the printed books in the Library's collections
is not available in the Online Catalog.
While most of the records in the Catalog describe "physical"
items in the collections (books, print periodicals, sound
recordings, etc.), the Library does have a growing
collection of electronic resources: digitized photographs
and motion pictures, electronic journals and databases, etc.
- To identify these electronic items in the Catalog, look
for the label Links: on the "Brief Record"
display. These links will take you to the electronic item
described by the record.
- For more information about the Library's digital collections,
see Question #17, "What Other Catalogs
are Available?"
Back to Questions
- How do I download
MARC records from the Online Catalog?
To save (download) MARC records from the Catalog, use your
browser's "File | Save" feature. For more detailed
information, see the help
file on saving MARC records.
Back to Questions
-
How can
I reformat records I've downloaded from the Catalog?
There are a number of thrid-party commercial software products
available specifically designed to manipulate and reformat
MARC21 records, such as those from the Library's Catalog.
In addition to a "card" display, most of these products
also allow output in a variety of other bibliography and citation
styles.
A list of these products is available at:
Open
Directory Project 
Back to Questions
- When I try to Email
a MARC record, I get plain text catalog records. What happened?
While it may appear that it is possible to Email MARC
records, it is not. If the radio button for MARC Format is selected
and the record(s) are Emailed, they will be received in the
standard ASCII format. However, it is possible to save
a single catalog record or a set of records in the MARC Communications
Format - see previous question.
Back to Questions
- When I try to save
records in MARC format, I get a message that says "Your Email
request failed!", even though I was saving, not emailing. What's
the problem?
We believe this problem is related to the version of the
Web browser being used. Our software vendor, Endeavor Information
Systems, Inc. reports that this is a known problem for users
of more recent versions of both Netscape and Microsoft Internet
Explorer for Windows (v6 and higher), and for the Macinctosh.
If you recently had your browser upgraded to either version,
this would most likely account for the problem you are experiencing.
Our vendor is working on a solution, but we do not yet have
it available here at the Library of Congress. Until we do,
there are only two known workarounds:
- Use an earlier version of your browser (such as the Windows/PC
versions, Netscape 4.7, or IE 5.5) when saving MARC records
from the Library of Congress Online Catalog.
- If your library software supports it, search and save
records from the Library's Catalog via a Z39.50 connection
(check with your library software vendor to see if this
feature is available). Once configured, most Z39.50 client
software will let you search the Library's Catalog and save
MARC records directly. (For more information on Z39.50 client
software, see the Z39.50
Software page.)
Back to Questions
- How does relevance ranking
work and where is it available?
The results of a Keyword search on the "Basic
Search" screen are displayed in order of their relevance
to your search. In the Title List following a Keyword
search, the display will include a column with a "Relevance"
indicator; the most relevant items display first. The relevance
is determined by three factors:
- Uniqueness of search terms within the database.
- Proximity of search terms to each other within the catalog
record.
- Number of different search terms present in a catalog
record.
Back to Questions
- Why do some records
have the legend "Library of Congress Holdings Information Not
Available?"
This legend displays on Online Catalog records in three general
categories.
-- items cataloged before they are published, through the
Cataloging
in Publication program. The Online Catalog does not include
holdings information in these records until the Library receives
the actual books.
-- records for items which were cataloged as part of a special
progam but not added to the Library's collections (e.g., large
print books).
-- records for which holdings and location information could
not be created during the initial migration of data from legacy
systems to the current Online Catalog. Plans for correcting
these records are underway.
Back to Questions
- How can I find out whether
the Library of Congress has a particular issue of a journal I
need?
Beginning October 1, 1999, Library staff have been
checking in new serial issues as they are received, starting
with a few titles and then gradually adding more until all current
receipts are checked in. Retrospective conversion of the older
manual files will take several years. Until all titles have
been converted to the new system, researchers will still need
to contact the Library to find out whether or not a specific
issue is held by the Library.
Back to Questions
- When I look at a catalog
record for a newspaper, the record says the Library of Congress
has a complete run. But when I try to request a particular year
at the Library, I'm told that the Library doesn’t have it. Why
is that?
Researchers commonly misinterpret the span of dates
in catalog records as holdings information. Holdings information
for newspapers held by the Library is not yet available. Beginning
in 2000, the Library has been adding summary holdings for every
newspaper it has. Eventually, researchers will be able to know
from the Online Catalog what years of a newspaper the Library
has in microfilm and bound formats.
Back to Questions
- What does the
phrase [from old catalog] mean?
This phrase identifies records that were created using older
cataloging rules ("PREMARC" records) and which contain
obsolete and older forms of terms and headings. Out-of-date
headings are being assessed and updated to conform to current
cataloging practice.
Back to Questions
Relation to Other Online Catalogs
- Where can I search
the Braille and Audio catalog?
The Web-BLND catalog of the National Service for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped is available through the Library
of Congress web site <http://www.loc.gov/nls/web-blnd/search.html>
. Please consult the home page for the National Service for
the Blind and Physically Handicapped <http://www.loc.gov/nls/>
for additional information on the Book Catalogs and Listings.
Back to Questions
- What other catalogs
are available?
In addition to the main Library of Congress Online Catalog,
the Library currently has a number of other catalogs for materials
in its collections. Many of these are for special format materials,
such as digital collections (see American
Memory), prints and photographs, sound recordings, etc.
Please see the Catalogs
web page for more information.
Back to Questions
- Where can I search the
Copyright files?
The U.S. Copyright Office records--including registration
information and recorded documents from 1978 to the present--are
available via the "Copyright Search" system <http://www.loc.gov/copyright/search>.
Back to Questions
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