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PVCC Jessup Library Catalog
Learning Objective
- Learn how to use the library's catalog to locate print and electronic books, videos and government documents.
Estimated time to complete: 10 minutes.
The PVCC Jessup Library Catalog allows you to search for print and electronic books, videos (including VHS, DVDs and streaming media), and more.
Step 1: From the Jessup Library's home page, click on the PVCC Jessup Library Catalog link under Research Now.
Step 2: Enter Search Term(s) (i.e. words) into the search box. The drop down box under Choose Search Type lets you search by author, title or subject, to name a few.
Let's try a Keywords Anywhere search. Using the PVCC Jessup Library Catalog (http://vccslinc.vccs.edu/F/?func=find-b-0&local_base=pvcc), type alternative energy into the search box. (You do not need to worry about capitalization.) Then click Go.
The search results for alternative energy contain information such as author, title, year, call number, etc. Key points to remember include:
*By default, the list is organized by date, so you will see the newest items first. Look under Year to see how current an item is.
*The Call Number column tells you where the book is. Print books will say Circulating Collection, Popular, Nook or Reference (the collection) and give the call number, or location of the book on the shelves. Electronic books will say Internet--Books--Online access. For help finding a print book using the call number, please see a librarian.
*The Campus column gives you information on whether or not a book is checked out. If you see Piedmont Virginia (1/0), that means we have one copy of the book and it is NOT checked out.
*The external link (Ext Link) will take you to the electronic book.
Step 3: If you need more information about your book such as the table of contents or summary, you can click on the title. Having this information will help you decide if the book is useful. There are two links in the book record that could be very helpful if you are trying to find (a) materials written by the same author or (b) materials on the same subject.
Clicking on the author link will take you to a list of other materials written by the same author (provided the library owns any); clicking on the subject links will take you to materials about the same topic. This can be very helpful if you need more than one book about a specific topic, plus it will also save you time.
Step 4: Another useful piece of information is the "call number." This is the number that tells you where the book "lives" on the library shelves. You can find this number next to Location in the record. If you are not sure how to find the book, please ask a librarian for help.
Clicking on the location link will tell you whether the book is checked out or not, and also the call number and other information.
Step 5: If you have any questions about how to use the catalog or how to locate books on the shelves, please ask a librarian.
