In addition to being "year-2000" compliant, the new Library of Congress Online Catalog replaces many of the Library's older, separate automated systems -- some of which date back to the late 1960s and early 1970s -- with a single, client/server system that supports all standard library operations, including acquisitions, cataloging, inventory and serials control, circulation, and the online public catalog. The Library expects to improve control over its collections, increase the efficiency of its operations and provide better service for its many researchers. In addition, two large card files -- the 12-million-card manual shelflist and the 900,000 title serials check-in file -- will be converted from paper to electronic format.
On May 15, 1998, following a competitive procurement process, the Library of Congress awarded a contract to Endeavor Information Systems of Des Plaines, IL, for its Voyager integrated library system (ILS) software (for further information, see the press release). The Library began using the Voyager software for its ILS on August 16, 1999 for its cataloging operations and has added additional modules since.
You may occasionally see references to WebVoyage and Voyager when using the Library of Congress Online Catalog, or sometimes hear people refer to our catalog simply as Voyager. WebVoyage is the brand name of the Web interface software and Voyager is the brand name for the suite of software used to power the Library of Congress Integrated Library System. Both products were purchased under contract from Endeavor Information Systems of Des Plaines, IL.
Approximately 11.7 million bibliographic and 4.9 million authority records were migrated to the new system from various files in the old catalog:
- Over 4.7 million records from the former BOOKS file (15,000 records for CIP materials never published or never received from publishers were not migrated).
- Over 4.7 million records from the former PREMARC file.
- 256,000 records from the former APIF file (76,000 records for older "in process" records for materials never received by the Library were not migrated).
- Over 223,000 visual materials records from the VM file (86,000 records from the "AV Datasheet" program that did not represent LC holdings were not migrated).
- Ten and a half thousand manuscript records from the Mixed Materials (MX) file.
- 187,000 records for cartographic materials from the MAPS file.
- 223,000 records for scores and sound recordings from the MUSIC file.
- 375,000 records from the JACKPHY file (records containing vernacular scripts for Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Persian, Hebrew, and Yiddish works cataloged in the RLIN system).
- 375,000 serial bibliographic records from the SERIALS file representing the subset of CONSER records of titles held by the Library (over 530,000 non-LC CONSER records were not migrated to the new system).
- Approximately 600,000 records from the SERLOC file of serial holdings, including several hundred thousand records for titles not kept by the Library -- records in this latter category are "suppressed" from view in the Online Catalog.
- Around 19,000 brief bibliographic records from the ACQUIRE system (the former acquisitions management system)..
- 250,000 subject authority records from the former SUBJECTS file.
- 4.6 million name authority records from the former NAMES file.
The Library of Congress Online Catalog is available using the World Wide Web at http://catalog.loc.gov/
The Library of Congress Online Catalog is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Maintenance and updates are done during the late evening and early morning hours--U.S. Eastern Time--and during those short periods of time some features may not be available.
Users anywhere in the world beyond the walls of the Library of Congress can access the Online Catalog using the World Wide Web at http://catalog.loc.gov/. Users inside the Library of Congress utilize the Windows-based version of the Online Catalog. While there are some differences in the two versions, the catalog data is the same--only the interface is different.
The Library is currently not able to offer TELNET access to a text-only version of the LC Online Catalog. An alternative interface is available using the Library's Z39.50 Gateway. This interface works well with text-based browsers, such as Lynx. To learn more about the Z39.50 protocol for information retrieval, visit the Z39.50 Maintenance Agency Page.
The Library is aware of the need for text-based access to the Online Catalog to satisfy the needs of its offsite users. The Library is working with its system vendor, Endeavor Information Systems, Inc., to ensure that its system is accessible via a variety of browsers.
No. Access to the LC Catalog via LOCIS ended on January 11, 2000.
Further information on searching these files is available at http://www.loc.gov/rr/tools.html.
- Federal Legislation (93rd - 105th Congresses): available until June 5, 2000. Materials for the 106th Congress forward are only available on the Library’s THOMAS system, http://thomas.loc.gov.
- Copyright: available until replacement systems have been implemented.
- Braille and Audio: available until replacement systems have been implemented.
The Experimental Search System (ESS) is no longer available. The ESS was developed to investigate new search and retrieval capabilities that were not available on the Library's first mainframe-based online catalog (LOCIS) and the subsequent web-based online catalogs (WORD search and BROWSE search). Capabilities that were investigated included output options (such as email), relevance ranking, sorting options and linking from data in catalog records to digital resources available on the Internet.The ESS used copies of the library's official catalog records; however, the ESS did not include all the cross references that derive from the Library's subject and name authority records, and the ESS records were not as up-to-date as the official catalog records. Over time, the Library of Congress was no longer able to maintain the ESS, as staff and other resources were directed toward implementing the new Library of Congress Online Catalog. The new catalog includes many of the capabilities that were available in the ESS.
The Copyright Office records--including registration information and recorded documents from 1978 to the present--are available via LOCIS (Library of Congress Information System) using TELNET. Please consult the web page for the U.S. Copyright Office Records <http://www.loc.gov/copyright/rb.html> for additional information on searching the Copyright files.
The Web-BLND catalog of the National Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is available through the Library of Congress web site <http://www.loc.gov/nls/web-blnd/search.html> . Please consult the home page for the National Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped <http://www.loc.gov/nls/> for additional information on the Book Catalogs and Listings.
Four search methods are available: Subject-Name-Title-Call#, Guided Keyword, Command Keyword and Keyword. After selecting a search method, enter search words or phrases in the box provided on the screen, then select the [Search] button to conduct the search. Clear the search text from the box at any time by selecting the [Reset] button. For quick search hints, select the Search Examples link from any search method screen. Alternatively, select the [Help] button (in the top button bar) for more detailed, context-sensitive help.
It is possible to browse by Subject, Name, and Call Number through the [Subj-Name-Title-Call #] search mode. These searches provide access to the entire catalog, starting with the subject term, name, or call number most closely matching the search word(s). Begin browsing backward or forward in the list after searching by selecting [Previous] or [Next] buttons located above below the search results. All other searches, including Title searches, return a closed set of results and do not allow browsing of the entire catalog.
Search limits help make most searches more specific. Search limits can be set for one or more of the following categories:
- Date of Publication/Creation of the material
- Language of the material
- Type of Material (e.g., book, serial, music)
- Collection Location within the Library of Congress
- Place of Publication/Creation (e.g., country, state, province).
Several similar limits may be applied to a search. For instance, a search could be limited by Language to materials in French, German and Italian. Using the Place of Publication/Creation limit, a search could be restricted to materials published or created in Argentina or Chile. Multiple limits may be selected in a single category (as in the examples above) by holding down the [Ctrl] or [Apple] key while using the mouse to select each individual limit. In addition, it is possible to apply limits from several categories together.
While search limits can be very useful for honing search results in the Library of Congress' very large database, they should be used with caution. Information used for each of the limits categories is not routinely recorded in all catalog records and, therefore, setting the limit may restrict the results too much. Also, setting limits seems to slow down response time on some searches, particularly when invoking the limit does not actually weed out very many records. Limits on values that are very prevalent in the Library of Congress database (e.g., a language limit on "English," a type of material limit on "Book," or a collection location limit of "General Collections") may work less efficiently than those that focus on less prevalent values.
Many items from the Library's special collections are accessible to users but are not represented in this Online Catalog. In addition, some individual items within collections (microforms, manuscripts, photographs, etc.) are not listed separately in the Catalog, but are represented by collection-level catalog records. Older materials in the general collections cataloged before 1980 may also not be represented in the Online Catalog. Onsite researchers should use the Main Card Catalog.Some examples of collection materials not comprehensively available in the Online Catalog include: 78 rpm sound recordings, prints and photographs, films and videos, maps, libretti, sheet music, US government and UN documents, telephone and city directories, and technical reports. Specialized catalogs available through the Library of Congress "Research Tools" page at <http://www.loc.gov/rr/tools.html> provides additional access to some special format materials. Comprehensive access to these materials, however, is only available through the appropriate reading rooms in the Library of Congress <http://www.loc.gov/rr/rrbrief.html>
While references and scope notes for headings in bibliographic records are available to users of the new Online Catalog, full MARC 21 authority records (names and subjects) are not displayed nor are they available via Z39.50 at this time. The Library of Congress will continue to provide full MARC 21 authority records (new, updated, and deleted) through the Cataloging Distribution Service at http://www.loc.gov/cds/, which are used to update authority files in OCLC, RLIN, and many other vendor services.The Library is working with its system vendor, Endeavor Information Systems, Inc., to provide full MARC authority records in the Web Online Catalog by the end of calendar year 2000. We expect that all records in the Name and Subject Authority files (approximately 5 million records) will be available in the full MARC21 format for downloading from LC’s Web Catalog, as well as via Z39.50. For access to LC’s MARC21 authority data during this interim period, users may consult the list, "Commercial Alternatives to CDMARC Products," compiled by the Library’s Cataloging Distribution Service (http://www.loc.gov/cds/cdattac2.html)
We look forward to offering this service by the end of May 2001.
To search by LCCN, ISBN, and ISSN, select Guided Keyword, Command Keyword, or Keyword Search from the first screen of the Library of Congress Online Catalog <http://catalog.loc.gov/>. Using Guided Keyword, select the appropriate index name from the "Search in:" drop down menu -- for LCCNs choose the LC Control Number LCCN (K010) and for ISBNs and ISSNs select International Standard Numbers (KISN). In Command Keyword, either enter the number alone as a search word, or enter it preceded with the appropriate index code (K010 for LCCNs, and KISN for ISBNs or ISSNs). In Keyword searching, enter the number by itself.In entering numbers as search words, follow these guidelines:
- LCCN (LC Control Number)
type the number in the search box, dropping the hyphen and adding zeros to create 6 digits after the date (for LCCN 90-83066, type 90083066)
- ISBN (International Standard Book Number)
type the number in the search box, dropping the hyphens (for ISBN 0-8153-1174-5, type 0815311745)Note: the truncation symbol, ?, may be used when the entire number is not known (e.g., 08153?)
- ISSN (International Standard Serial Number)
type the number in the search box, keeping the hyphen and enclosing the number in quotation marks (for ISSN 0264-3421, type "0264-3421")
Dewey numbers are not shown in the Brief Record display which is the first screen to appear for a single catalog record. However, they are available in the Online Catalog. The Dewey number is displayed in either the Full Record or MARC Tags displays, accessed by clicking on the tabs at the top of the Brief Record display.You can search the new catalog by Dewey number using Keyword, Guided Keyword with Keyword Anywhere selected, or the Command Keyword search using the index code K082. Please see the online help screen at URL <http://catalog.loc.gov/help/ckwindex.htm#number> for more detailed advice.
The Decimal Classification Division at the Library of Congress assigned Dewey numbers to 111,293 titles in fiscal year 1998, approximately half the Library's total cataloging production for printed materials. Therefore it is possible to retrieve records that do not contain Dewey numbers. However, the Library generally assigns Dewey numbers to nearly all U.S. trade imprints, including all titles cataloged in the CIP program, and to many books in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
SUDOC numbers are assigned by the Government Printing Office to U.S. government publications. However, such materials in the Library are shelved by LC classification in the general collections. The Library maintains a separate up-to-date depository collection arranged by SUDOC in the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room; online catalog records are not available for this collection. However, for government documents that have been added to the general collections, the catalog records includes SUDOC numbers. By recording the SUDOC number, a researcher may retrieve an item from the reading room.To search by SUDOC number, use the Command Keyword search method with the K086 index code. For successful results, punctuation and spaces must be exactly as entered in the record, and always enclosed in quotation marks (e.g., K086 "Y 4.F 76/2:el" with a space after the Y and the F). The SUDOC is displayed in the Full Record display under the label Govt. Doc. No.:. It is also found in the MARC Tags display in field 086.
It is possible to re-sort search results only when using the Windows interface at workstations located inside the Library of Congress. This re-sort method works only on the fields that are displayed in the multiple record display by selecting the column header (e.g., Name: Main Author/Creator, etc. or Full Title or Date or Relevance, or other column headers). This feature is not yet available on the web interface.The Library of Congress Online Catalog provides search results that sort in various ways, depending on several factors. If a search retrieves more than one catalog record, these factors come into play when the system displays the results with a multiple record screen. Most searches sort the results alphabetically by the name of the main author/creator. For multiple records by the same author/creator, the secondary sort is by the full title. For multiple records by the same author/creator and with the same full title, the tertiary sort is by date of publication, with records with the most recent date sorting first. For example, the four editions of Philip Roth's novel The Anatomy Lesson will sort with the most recent date first and the earliest date last.
Also note that catalog records that have no main author/creator will sort before any catalog records that do have a main author/creator.
Some searches sort the results first by full title and then by most recent date; these do not use author/creator information to determine sorting. Typically the searches sorting this way are those that search the titles of serials (journals, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, annual reports, etc.). Multiple record displays for these searches typically include the full title, the publication/creation information (where published and by whom), and the dates. One other search sorts by title and date; this is the search for uniform title using the KTUT index and code. Multiple record displays for KTUT searches include the uniform title, full title, and the date. This search is available in both Command Keyword and Guided Keyword.
The only search method resulting in a relevance-ranked display is the Keyword search. In the multiple record display after a Keyword search, the display will include a column with a "Relevance" indicator; the most relevant items display first. The relevance is determined by four factors:
- Uniqueness of search terms within the database.
- Proximity of search terms to each other within the catalog record.
- Number of different search terms present in a catalog record.
This legend displays on Online Catalog records in three general categories. First are items cataloged through the Cataloging in Publication program. For these, cataloging is created in advance of publication so that the publisher can print the catalog record in the published book. The Online Catalog does not include holdings information in these records until the Library receives the actual books. Second, there is a group of bibliographic records for items which were cataloged and then later found to be unsuitable for adding to the Library of Congress collections, e.g., a few large print editions. Finally, the legend also displays on records for which holdings information could not be created during the initial migration of data from legacy systems to the LC ILS; this category includes some records from the former PREMARC file which had erroneous or missing information. Plans for correcting these records are underway.
The Library's collection of serial publication, numbering over 200,000 titles, covers a span of three centuries. Presently, holdings information is recorded in manual card files. Adding holdings to the Online Catalog's records for each title is a massive undertaking. Beginning October 1, 1999, Library staff will be checking in new serial issues as they are received, starting with a few titles and then gradually adding more until all current receipts are checked in. Retrospective conversion of the manual files will take several years. Until all titles have been converted to the new system, researchers will still need to contact the Library to find out whether or not a specific issue is held by the Library.
Researchers commonly misinterpret the span of dates in catalog records as holdings information. Holdings information for newspapers held by the Library is not yet available. Beginning in 2000, the Library will add summary holdings for every newspaper it has. Eventually, researchers will be able to know from the Online Catalog what years of a newspaper the Library has in microfilm and bound formats.
In the Library's previous online system known as MUMS, the PreMARC File contained about 4.7 million bibliographic records created prior to the adoption of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (2nd edition). These records resided in a separate physical file and were not taken into account for daily cataloging activities such as headings maintenance.Of those 4.7 million records, approximately 1.5 million were replaced with upgraded records prior to loading into the new Library of Congress Online Catalog in 1999. The remaining 3.2 million PreMARC records are identified in the LC Online Catalog by the addition of the phrase [from old catalog] at the end of the heading. These records are not distributed by LC.
To maintain the overall quality of the LC catalog, the Cataloging Directorate plans to assess the headings on the records that originated in PreMARC and change those that do not conform to current descriptive and subject cataloging practice. (More information is available in the Library of Congress Cataloging Newsline, Volume 7, no. 10 <http://www.loc.gov/catdir/lccn/lccn0710.html#6>.)
While it may appear that it is possible to Email MARC records, it is not. If the radio button for MARC Format is selected and the record(s) are Emailed, they will be received in the standard ASCII format. However, it is possible to save a single catalog record or a set of records in the MARC Communications Format. These formatted records may be imported into any MARC-based catalog system, but require special software to view (for special software, see the MARC 21 Web page <http://www.loc.gov/marc/marcservice.html>). For more information, see Help on Printing, Saving, and Emailing search results.
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