Table of Contents | Before You Search I Find a Book | Get a Book | E-Books | Other Searches | Requests and Renewals I Exercise I Help

Table of Contents

What is the library catalog?

The library catalog, catalogUSMAI, provides records of items such as books, periodicals, and other materials owned by the libraries of the USMAI (University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions). You can request many of these items through the library catalog.

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What is included in the catalog?

You can find records of library ownership (holdings records) for the following:

• books
• electronic books
• government documents, some online
• journals
• some online journals
• dissertations and theses
• maps
• videos
• sound recordings

You can search in three distinct areas of the catalog. Just beneath the gold toolbar at the top of the catalog search screen you will see these areas to search:

• CATALOG lets you search the combined resources of all the libraries of the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI). When you search this area, you will see materials available at different institutions such as UMUC, University of Maryland College Park, Bowie State University, Saint Mary's College of Maryland, etc. You will automatically be searching this combined catalog unless you specify otherwise. We recommend searching the combined catalog. It will give you the largest collection of materials from which to choose.
  
  
• JOURNALS lets you search for journals, newspapers, and magazines owned by any USMAI library and published more often than once a year. This option will tell you which campuses own print copies of the journals if you are able to visit one of our USMAI libraries. Note: Online full text journal articles are not included in the catalog. To search for online articles in these journals, you need to use the UMUC Library Databases and E-Journals.
  
  
• other catalogs lets you search the catalog of an individual institution. For example, you can limit your search to only those materials found at University of Maryland College Park. Remember that a combined search provides a list of materials in all USMAI libraries to choose from and request an item.

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Which browser should I use?

• Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher
• Netscape version 6.2 or higher

Earlier versions will work, but you will see Unicode, i.e. characters that look like little square white boxes.

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What can I do with the library catalog in Maryland?

You can search the USMAI library catalog and request items. You can request that the items be shipped to any of the following locations:

• Information and Library Services, Room 2255, Student and Faculty Services Center, Adelphi, Maryland
• Dorsey Station Library, 6865 Deerpath Road, Room 2113, Elkridge, MD
• Waldorf Center for Higher Education, 3261 Old Washington Road, Waldorf, Maryland
• Shady Grove Library/Media Center, 9640 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, Maryland
• or any of the Libraries in USMAI

You are also welcome to visit any of the USMAI libraries to check out materials with your current student, faculty, or staff ID card. Librarians at any of these institutions can assist you.

In the Advanced Search feature, you can limit your search in the USMAI library catalog to find electronic resources such as electronic books (e-books) and some U.S. government documents.

You can click the Help button in the library catalog to learn how to Print, Save, and E-Mail records. You can use the records to locate materials on the library shelves if you visit any of the USMAI libraries. Library catalog records can be useful for compiling citations for bibliographies.

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What can I do with the library catalog outside of Maryland within the continental United States?

You can search the USMAI library catalog and request items, which can be sent to you via UPS. See Get It Delivered for details.

Once you have completed your search and you are requesting an item, choose "UMUC Distance Education" as your "pickup location." This means that the item will be sent to you via UPS within the continental United States outside the state of Maryland. You will have to provide contact information for delivery.

You can also request book chapters for electronic delivery through DocumentExpress. Or you can use Libdex or Libweb to identify libraries around the world and search their online catalogs, if available.

In the Advanced Search feature, you can limit your search in the USMAI library catalog to find electronic resources such as electronic books (e-books) and some U.S. government documents.

You can click the Help button in the library catalog to learn how to Print, Save, and E-Mail records. Library catalog records can be useful for compiling citations for bibliographies.

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What can I do with the library catalog overseas?

In the Advanced Search feature, you can limit your search in the USMAI library catalog to find electronic resources such as electronic books (e-books) and some U.S. government documents.

Although it is not possible to deliver USMAI books overseas, you can request book chapters for electronic delivery through DocumentExpress. Or you can use Libdex or Libweb to identify libraries around the world and search their online catalogs, if available.

You can click the Help button in the library catalog to learn how to Print, Save, and E-Mail records. Library catalog records can be useful for compiling citations for bibliographies.

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How do I learn more about using the library catalog?

The online catalog provides a number of additional features including advanced searching, saved items, saved searches, the ability to print or e-mail lists of books, to see what you have checked out, and to renew books yourself. To find out more, click the Help button within the library catalog or contact UMUC's Information and Library Services.

Please continue through the rest of the tutorial for information on how to use the catalog effectively, how to search, how to request items, how to renew items, etc. You can also link to a detailed Library Catalog FAQ from the table of contents page of this tutorial.

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