Philosophy Subject Guide
Books/Monographs: Searching the Catalogs
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Basic Searches in the Libraries' Catalogs
When looking for books, e-books, videos, government documents, and other resources (NOT journal articles) on a philosophical topic, the search should begin with the University Libraries' online catalog. Currently, two catalogs are available on the Libraries' home page: a New Library Catalog and the Classic catalog. You can select the type of search and the catalog after entering your search terms. If you do not select, the default is to the New Catalog.
The Advanced Search found under the search box goes to the New Catalog. In either of the catalogs,the Advanced Search will permit you to search using multiple keywords as well as title, author, and subject and limit by a number of facets such as location, genre, format, etc.
Classic Library Catalog
WMU's Classic online catalog (also known as WestCat), is used to identify books (including electronic books), government documents, journals, audio and video, slides and other items in the University Libraries' collections. The catalog can be searched by title, author, subject heading, keyword, call number, and more.
Advanced Search in Classic Catalog
Many researchers prefer to begin with an Advanced Search that is available under the search box on the Libraries' main page. Clicking on this link will take you to the Advanced Search in the New Catalog.
If you click on the above link, you will go the an advanced keyword search in the Classic Catalog.
New Library CatalogIn 2009 we added a new interface to our catalog. It still identifies books (including online books), journal titles, government documents, music, videos, maps, and other items in the University Libraries. It can still be searched by title, author, subject, but now you can choose the format and location in your first search. There are easy ways of narrowing your search in the left column, it offers "did you mean" spelling, favorite lists, and lets you tag items with your own labels.
L.C. Subject Headings
When you have found an official L.C. subject heading under an entry in the Classic catalog, e.g., Ethics, not only will this link to all other titles in the Libraries, but you can also see a display of subdivisions such as Bibliography. Titles found under this subject are bibliographies of materials on ethics. These citations can, in turn, be checked in the catalogs for their call numbers. Anything not owned can be requested through the online Interlibrary Loan service or MelCat.
Librarian's Comment: You can select the Classic catalog immediately by clicking on that title found to the right of the search box.