Using the Library Catalogue

• Where is the Catalogue?
• How can I connect to the Catalogue from outside the Library?
• What information will the Catalogue provide?
• How can I use the Catalogue to find material on a topic?
• How can I look up a book on the Catalogue?
• How can I look up a journal on the Catalogue?
• How can I look up a score on the Catalogue?
• How can I find a recording of a musical work?
• What do I do if the book or article is not available?

Where is the Catalogue?

The Library's Online Catalogue is accessible via the Internet, 24 hours per day.

Access is available in the Music Branch Library, in the Baillieu Library, in the Computer Labs, in fact on any computer which has Internet access anywhere in the World.

How can I connect to the Catalogue from Outside the Library?

• Go to http://cat.lib.unimelb.edu.au/

No Login or Password required

What information will the Catalogue provide?

The Catalogue will provide:

• Bibliographic details: author, title and publication details.
• Location details: the call number indicates the exact location.
• Number of copies held.
• Availability details: Available or Due Date.

How can I use the Catalogue to find material on a topic?

A KEYWORD search is usually the best option. This allows you to type in a keyword or keywords, and the catalogue will retrieve all the records (for books, serials, scores, recordings, etc.) that contain those words.

A number of options are included on the search page to allow you to narrow your search. The 'Material Type' menu is particularly useful and allows you to limit your search to printed material, printed music, sound recordings, projected material (ie films and videos) and so on.

Tip: it is best to limit the number of words used in keyword searches. You can always narrow your search further if required. For example, if you were looking for thematic catalogues, searching for 'thematic' will probably be sufficiently precise and will avoid problems with the spelling of catalog(ue).

How can I look up a book on the Catalogue?

Author Type in the author's name, surname first.

Title Type in the exact title or, if it is lengthy, the first part of the title (say, four or five words)

If, however, the author and title are not known, a KEYWORD search will usually be the most useful way of finding any books relevant to your subject.

How can I look up a journal on the catalogue?

Tip: If the journal does not have a distinctive title, and your search retrieves a large number of titles, try the Limit option on the Catalogue. Select the 'Book / Magazine' option. This allows you to limit your search results just to journals.

It is always worth checking the entry on the Catalogue to see whether the Volume you require is held.

(Note: Individual journal articles aren't listed on the catalogue.)

How can I look up a score on the catalogue?

You can search for a score by the composer (AUTHOR) or the TITLE of the work. You may find it helpful to limit your search under 'Material type' to 'Printed Music'.

Works can often have several titles, including translations (The Marriage of Figaro or Le Nozze di Figaro) and nicknames (the Eroica symphony, or Symphony no 3 in E flat major). Music librarians internationally have agreed on a system of uniform titles. If you do not use the uniform title the catalogue may direct you on to another title (example). Links to sites explaining the system can be found on the Music Library homepage.

How can a find a recording of a musical work?

There is now a dedicated Sound Recording Database for searching the recorded music collection of the Music Branch Library. This allows several search options not available through the main library catalogue, including genre/instrumentation, conductor, librettist, and also excludes recordings held at other institutions, such as the VCA, which will show up on the main catalogue.

Note the this database is found on the Library website, not the main Innopac catalogue.

What do I do if the book or article is not available?

Out on Loan? You have a couple of options. Either place it on Hold (through the catalogue) or see if a copy is available at another library.

Not on the Shelf? There will be times when the item you wish to locate is not on the shelf (even though it is listed on the Catalogue as being Available). More than likely the item has been recently used in the Library by someone else. Check the sorting shelves and if it's not there give it some time and try again later. (If you search unsuccessfully for an item over a period of a number of days, report it to Library staff at the Loans Desk).