VIII. KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The 3 organizational tools used by libraries are subject
headings, classification systems, and call numbers.
- A subject heading is a standardized word or
group of words that describes the subject matter of an information
source. Specialists known as catalogers create them. They often
include additional words called subdivisions
as a way to focus on a more specific aspect of the subject.
- Libraries use classification systems so that
they can organize their collections by subject. A classification
system is a plan that divides all knowledge into precise categories
and subcategories. Each category is assigned a specific symbol
(either a letter, number, or combination of both, depending on
the classification system) so that books on the same subject will
always be grouped together.
- The two most commonly used library classification systems
in the United States are the Dewey Decimal and
Library of Congress systems. Most public libraries
use the Dewey Decimal system and most college libraries, including
Skyline, use the Library of Congress system.
- A call number is a combination of letters
and/or numbers assigned to a book to indicate its shelving location.
It is found on the spine of a book and on bibliographic records.
- An Online Catalog, or OPAC,
offers you a computerized list of every item within a library's
collection and is one of the most important access tools used
in information research.
- An OPAC database is comprised of bibliographic records,
which in turn are comprised of categories of descriptive information
called fields.
- Skyline Library belongs to the Peninsula Library System
(PLS). The PLS Online Catalog lists
the holdings of all 35 libraries of the Peninsula Library System.
- The 4 basic methods of searching bibliographic databases also
apply to searching online catalogs.
- Skilled researchers use a strategy in which they start with
a keyword search, display the full record of
a relevant book from the results list, and click on subject
headings that match their research interest.
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