Vol. 4, no. 1 — September 1997
by Mark Rosa
The MadCat online public access catalog is a powerful but sometimes intimidating and frustrating tool. Most searches, however, can be accomplished easily using only a few basic commands. While it is possible to enter complicated author/title searches such as: f pn;a beethoven ludwig van and ti sonatas piano no 14 op 27 no 2, similar results can usually be achieved by using "keywords," as in the following search: beethoven and sonata no 14. Here a composer's or author's last name is combined with a uniquely identifying keyword or words from the title. (Remember to omit punctuation.)
The obvious advantage of keyword searching is that it is quick and easy. It also reduces opportunities for typographical errors. The disadvantage is that searches are typically broader or less precise. Sometimes this results in a relatively small number of “hits” that can then be easily scanned for the desired item or items. Sometimes the resulting list is unmanageably long.
One way to reduce the size of retrieval sets is to use “limit” commands. Modifying the above search to: beethoven and sonata no 14 and form rec limits the search by format to sound recordings. Similarly, the limits "form sco," "form bks," and "form vid" specify scores, books, and videos, respectively. Searches an also be limited by language, library location, and by date or range of dates of publication. (For further information on these and other commands, please consult the MadCat Users' Guide, or type e commands or e limits.)
A note of caution, however: the results of keyword searching can be unpredictable and often surprising. An anthology may, for example, contain a different sonata by Beethoven and someone else's something no. 14. And, although the search, beethoven and moonlight and form rec finds, as expected, many (though not all) of the library's recordings of the "Moonlight Sonata," it also lists The Beatles Anthology, which, of course, includes the songs, "Roll Over Beethoven," and "Moonlight Bay."
Articles In This Issue
Streaming Audio by Geri Laudati | A New Index to Music Journals | Don't Shelve That Journal . . . by Geri Laudati | MadCat Searching for Dummies by Mark Rosa | Workshops on Music Library Resources | Recent Donors | Sowerby, Gottschalk Compositions Arrive in Donations by Steve Kurr | Recent Faculty Publications | Where Have the New Books Gone? by Mark Rosa | Mills Music Library Hours