Books. The library catalog lists all the library’s books.

catalog information. Library catalogs follow a standard pattern of organization, with each holding identified by three kinds of entries: one headed by the author’s name, one by the title, and one or (usually) more by the subject. If you can’t find a particular source under any of these headings, you can search the catalog by using a combination of subject headings and keywords. Such searches may turn up other useful titles as well.

Catalog entries for books list not only the author, title, subject, and publication information but also a call number that indicates how the book is classified and where it is shelved. Many online catalogs allow you to save the information about the book while you continue searching and then retrieve the call numbers for all of the books you want to find in one list. Once you have the call number for a book, look for a library map or shelving plan to tell you where the book is housed. Take the time to browse through the books near the call number you are looking for. Often you will find other books related to your topic nearby.

Following is a page of results for noted linguist and author David Crystal. Many electronic catalogs indicate whether a book has been checked out and, if so, when it is due to be returned. Sometimes you must click on a link to check the availability of the book.

book indexes. Indexes can help you quickly locate complete bibliographic information on a book when you know only one piece of it—the author’s last name, perhaps, or the title. Indexes can also alert you to other works by a particular author or on a particular subject. If you are looking for an older book, you may find the information you need in a print index rather than in an electronic database.

review indexes. A review index will help you find reviews of books you are interested in so that you can check the relevance of a source or get a thumbnail sketch of its contents before you track it down. For reviews more than ten years old, you will generally need to consult the print version of the index.