Inside CDL: Melvyl Intermediate Guide

Melvyl Intermediate Guide

http://melvyl.cdlib.org/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b

What is Melvyl? Melvyl is the library catalog of all campuses of the University of California Libraries, containing records for books, journals, archives, audio-visuals, computer files, dissertations, government documents, maps, music scores, online materials, recordings and videorecordings. It also includes library holdings of the California Academy of Sciences, California Historical Society, California State Library, Center for Research Libraries, Graduate Theological Union, Hastings College of Law, and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The database contains over 25,000,000 records.

To find a book, journal or other material

Select a type of search from the pulldown menu:

Type of search	When to use	Example
Title	if you don't know the title	history time
Title (exact)	look up exact title	brief history of time
Journal Title	if you don't know the exact journal title	cell toxicology
Journal Title (exact)	look up exact journal title	cell biology and toxicol*
Author (keywords in name)	search by author name in any word order	toni morrison
Author (last name first)	must use last name, first name	morrison, toni
Author-Organization	search by organization as author	audubon society
Author/Title	when searching for author and title together	austen pride
Subject	search for words in subject headings	billingual education
Keywords	search for words in record	depression photography
ISBN (used by UC-eLinks)	search for the book's International Standard Book Number	0940872277
ISBN (used by UC-eLinks)	search for the journal's International Standard Serials Number	1047-2223

Enter search terms.
Check No or Yes under Words as Phrase. For example, League of Nations with Words as Phrase checked Yes will search for the exact phrase League of Nations. If you do not select Yes, the words will be searched separately and will retrieve items such as A History of the Nation's Major League Baseball Teams.
Click on Search button, or hit the Enter key.

Truncation: add the truncation symbol (* or ?) to the end of a phrase to look for more words in the phrase. The truncation symbols may also be added to the end of a word to look for word variations. Example: comput* looks for computer, computers, computerized, computing, etc.

To limit your search

Limit by library: Narrow your search to a specific University of California campus, to UC Law libraries, UC Medical libraries, Northern campus libraries, Southern campus libraries, or the regional library storage facilities, NRLF or SRLF.
Limit by format: Narrow your search by format of material such as journals, online resources, maps, manuscripts, etc.
Limit by language: Select from an initial list of nine languages, or select from a more complete listing.
Year: Limit by year of publication. Enter a single year (1999) or a range of years (1990-1999).

More Search Options Using Advanced Search

Enter search terms in search box and select a search option from the dropdown menu. There are many more search options from which to choose in the Advanced than there are in Basic search. You may also combine terms from the same search fields directly in the box by using "and", "or" and "not", e.g., search title (girls or women) and sports.
If you want to combine search terms from different fields with AND, thereby narrowing your search, add terms to the second and/or third search boxes, e.g., title short stories and notes raymond carver.
If necessary, add Optional Limits to your search (see above in "To limit your search").
The results will appear in a blue box to the right of the screen. If you searched for terms in each of the search boxes, you will see different numbers of results in each box, with a final result number under View Search Results. Click on this number to view your search results.

To search using commands

Command search utilizes the Common Command Language (CCL) and is the most powerful form of searching within Melvyl because it allows a user to combine more than one choice within optional limits. To use Command Search, enter your desired index code(s) and term(s), using connectors (and, or, not) when combining more than one term. A complete list of commands is available from the Command Search screen.

If you were looking for a book , located at UCLA or UCI with the words "caged bird" in the title, published in the 1990s, a command search would look like this:

wid=ucla or uci and wti=caged bird and wyr=199*

Use Browse when searching for call numbers, cross-references, when you are not sure of spelling, and for browsing of lists

Browsing results in a Browse List-an alphabetical or numerical list of entries that shows the number of records for each entry and indicates whether or not there are cross-references for the entry.

Click an underlined entry to view the associated records for the entry.
Choose the index you wish to browse from the Browse screen dropdown menu.
Enter the text from which you'd like to start browsing. The text will appear at the top of a scrollable list.

For example, entering "Call number begins with HQ 1150" will give you an alphabetical list starting from HQ1122 K54 (the number before the one you're searching). You can then scroll down to see the listing of what it would look like if all UC library materials were in one call number listing.

When you're not sure of a subject heading, you can use Browse to find the correct term. For example, if you use Browse, Subject begins with American buffalo, you are referred to the heading American bison.

If you click on American bison, you will see the records you are looking for on this topic.

To navigate among searches

After viewing a particular item from a list, go back to the entire list of items in your current search by clicking on Return to Search Results List. Go to previous searches by clicking the links for Most Recent Search, Previous Searches. See your saved records by clicking the Saved Items link at the upper right of the screen.

To manage your search results

There are several different formats in which to display your records. To see the Full Record, click the Details/Locations link.

Use to find call numbers with all library locations and the full bibliographic record; allows you to access circulation status. Other displays available by clicking the appropriate buttons are:

Short The default record; author, title, publication information, format and library locations without call numbers Long Includes short record information plus notes, subject headings and other descriptive information; library locations without call numbers Review Best display for scanning records; includes author, title, and date of publication

To sort results

There are three different ways in which you may sort your results: by year (default), author and title. Click the link by which you want to sort.

To print or email your results

Save items by clicking in the boxes next to individual items, or by clicking on "select all." This selects all the items in your search results.
Click the button.
Select how you want the records delivered: by email or print. If email, insert your email address, a subject (optional) or note (optional).
Select your records (all, selected, or a range).
Select the print format (short, long, MARC, short or long tagged, or custom). If custom, select fields.
Select the library location/call numbers you want to display.
Select your preferred text format.
If you selected Preview/Print, after selecting Go, you have the opportunity to view what will be printed.
Now, either use your browser's print function to print the records, or download them to your computer.

Other Features

Use Sign-in, an optional feature, when you wish to

Create a user ID and password for accessing My Workspace.
Save searches and individual items across sessions.
Customize how search results are displayed.
Access the Update service, an automated process that will perform searches defined by you on a regular basis and send results to your email account.
Pre-set personal information when using the Request service for interlibrary loan borrowing.

My workspace is a space for you to

Save and view searches so they are available to you after you log out of your session.
Save and view items after you log out of your session.
Use the Update Service, an automated process that will perform searches defined by you at chosen intervals. The emailed results contain records that have been added to the Melvyl system during the previous interval.
Customize certain display preferences and save them across sessions, including the format of search results and the number of records displayed per page.
Set your Email address for use with Updates and Request, the interlibrary loan service.
Change your Password.

Use Update to have records emailed to you at a regular interval with new records added since the previous mailing. To create an Update Search:

Sign in to Melvyl.
Perform Basic, Advanced or Command search.
View Previous searches.
Select search and click Create Update button.
Fill in Update Service form and select Go.

Reminders

Melvyl will automatically timeout after 20 minutes of non-activity. If you timeout, any saved items or items in your search history will be lost unless you have signed in.
To get online help, click the Help link on the upper right hand side of the search screen, or click the More Examples and Tips links on the search pages.
Send comments or questions about Melvyl via the Comments and feedback link
For immediate assistance call the CDL Helpline at (510) 987-0555 (M-F, 8:00-5:00 P.M.)
For assistance with searching, go to a reference or information point at your campus library