A button captioned "New in MadCat" has coyly appeared at the top of the MadCat search screen. It leads to a list of books and other library materials recently added to MadCat and represents a new service available to library users. This feature offers a quick and easy way to keep current with the library's collections and replaces the "Recent Acquisitions" section on the Music Library's web site.
To view information about new library materials you can select options from drop-down menus that allow you to choose a specific campus library and/or time period up to the past four weeks. This information can be sorted by author, title, or by call number. Optionally, you can focus your efforts by searching for specific authors, titles or by call number. For example, searching by ML410 will retrieve a list of all the new composer biographies, or by typing M3 you can discover newly published volumes in a composer's collected works edition.
The second new feature is located in the Search By section of the Basic search mode where MadCat users now have the option of selecting an "Author Browse - Sorted by Title." This search is particularly useful for locating works by prolific composers, or authors, because it groups all titles in a single alphabetical sequence. For example, by typing "Beethoven" into the search box, the computer will display a list of all the Beethoven compositions available in MadCat. This, of course, may mean that the user must scroll through many screens of materials to locate the needed item. However, with just a little more typing into the search box, one can go directly to any spot in the list. To get to the section of Beethoven's symphonies, type the following: Beethoven Ludwig van 1770-1827 symphonies (the composer's full name and dates are required). At this point there is ready access to all the Beethoven symphonies, in all formats. While this kind of search may require a bit more typing, the increased benefit of having all copies of the same composition grouped together in one location is well worth the effort.
Music Library staff will be happy to demonstrate either of these new features for you, or MadCat's excellent online HELP is only a click away