Research Techniques

Library Catalogs

Library catalogs are traditionally used to locate books. However, many other special collections materials can also be found by searching library catalogs. These records provide subject and keyword access to very brief descriptions of a collection. Some catalogs also link to finding aids or digital collections.

Special Collections traditionally have a large amount of material that is unprocessed. These materials usually do not appear in catalogs. Insitutions often create internal ways of controlling these materials so researchers will need to contact institutions to inquire about unprocessed and/or uncatalogued materials.

University of Maryland Online Catalog

• Researchers using the library catalog at the University of Maryland will find records for many special collections materials including rare books, subject-based collections, newspapers, and processed archival and manuscript collections.
  • Tips for searching the catalog for archival and manuscript materials.
  • Tips for searching the catalog for Maryland-related materials

Library of Congress Online Catalog (Library of Congress)

• The Library of Congress, located in Washington D.C., is the largest library in the world, with more than 130 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include more than 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 58 million manuscripts. The online catalog, and several specialized catalogs, provide access to the Library of Congress' holdings

WorldCat (OCLC) [UM Only]

• OCLC catalog of books, serial publications, media, visual materials, musical scores, and archival materials in libraries worldwide.