How do I use the Library's online catalog?
What is a call number?
So now I have a call number, what's next?
Where can I find a book that is checked out, lost or not owned by PSU Library?
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How Do I Use the Library's Online Catalog?
To find books in the PSU Library you will use the Library's online catalog. VIKAT (that stands for Viking Catalog) is the name of the PSU Library online catalog, and it is available through the Library's web page. Click here to open Vikat in a separate browser window. Use Vikat to find books by author, title, keyword, and subject. You can also use Vikat to determine whether the Library owns a specific journal title. Go to the "Find Articles" section of this guide to see a demo on searching the catalog for journals.
Try using a keyword search first
- Keyword searching will usually find some books on your topic, but might also retrieve irrelevant titles.
- Scan the titles to find a book that is the closest to your subject. View the details of the book and look at the subject headings — they will help you narrow your focus, or think of other search terms.
- Look in bibliographies of the books that you find for additional sources, including other books or journal articles.
- Once you identify a book you are interested in, note the call number of the book. You can link directly from the catalog to a map of the Library floors to find the book's location by clicking on the link in the Location box, usually this will be PSU Shelves.
Let's say you were looking for the book Online Seductions: Falling in Love with Strangers on the Internet. By searching for the title "online seductions" in the library catalog, you would find the call number. Try this now since you have the catalog open in another browser window.
PSU Library uses the Library of Congress system, so the call number will look like this HQ 801 G95 1998. What does this number represent?
(move your mouse over the four parts below)
Once you have a call number, consult the Library's location guide to find where this call number is located in the Library. From within the ViKat catalog record, you can click on the "PSU Shelves" link to get a corresponding map. Location guide handouts are also available at the reference desk and throughout the building.
Call numbers are arranged alphabetically, A-Z, from the basement to the 5th floor. Once you have a call number, check this link to see where it is in the Library at www.lib.pdx.edu/help/faq/location_lc.html
Students can use Summit, the combined catalog for Orbis Cascade Alliance. Summit is a powerful new Web resource offering information on more than 22 million books and other materials owned by university and college libraries in Oregon and Washington.
This service is a new library consortium serving more than 180,000 faculty and students from 27 member institutions. To access Summit go to http://orbis.uoregon.edu/. In addition, direct borrowing is available to students and faculty at member institutions.
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