So, once you do that, you might wonder: what’s with this “library quick search” thing?

The library quick search allows you to easily look for various types of materials by selecting the different tabs above the search box.

Specifically, you can think of the different tabs this way:

Summon is the “one-stop shopping” tab.  It searches 90+% of all library resources, including the items we physically own, online journal articles, and digital collections.  Totally lost and about to start weeping?  Start here!

Midcat+ provides a way to search the materials physically held by the library, as well as selected online resources such as eBooks.  This tab also lets you search NExpress, the combined catalog and holdings of 7 New England college libraries, and which you can use to borrow things Middlebury doesn’t own.  If you are looking for a specific book, movie, or CD that you think Middlebury or one of our partner libraries might own, try using this search.

Journals A-Z and Databases A-Z provide a way to look up specific journal or database titles, and see exactly which issues we provide access to.  You can also use a keyword to find all journals or databases containing a specific word in the title or description, e.g. “jazz” or “biology.”

Reserves is a easy way to view course reserves by class or professor name.

Videos searches our DVD and VHS holdings.  Check out the “browse videos by genre” function if you’re looking for, say, film noir or romantic comedies.

And, if you get stuck, there’s always a librarian around to help you figure things out.  Welcome to Middlebury!

• Find useful tips on the LIS pages (go/lis), (go/lib), and (go/helpdesk)
• Use (go/subjectguides) for links to databases, CDs, video and more
• Begin your research, searching for articles across both databases and MIDCAT (the library catalog) with Summon.
• The music collection has moved into the Davis Family Library, link here to view a map depicting the updated location of materials.
• Study Carrel Suites have been set aside for use by specific Language Schools; individual carrels within the Language Suites are available on a first come, first served basis and may not be reserved; the Language Suites are intended for the exclusive use of the language specified. MAP
• If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to Ask a Librarian.

For example, to receive notice of all new Jazz CDs I would:

Log into My MIDCAT
Click on MIDCAT to search the catalog
Choose a format, like Music Recordings (in Advanced Search I may choose other parameters – like language, publication years, etc.)
Enter search term in a keyword box, e.g. Jazz
Submit search – it will bring up every Jazz item we have currently in that format
Click “Save As Preferred Search”
Go back to my “Patron Record” and click on “Preferred Searches”
Check the “Mark for Email” box

I will now receive an email notice for any new materials that match those search parameters. Check out the LIS Wiki page for more information about setting up or adjusting MIDCAT search alerts.

Tip: Want to get notifications about ALL of a particular material type (not just things matching a certain genre or keyword)? Use an asterisk (*) as your search term!  E.g. to find all DVDs (in order to set up a search alert for all new DVDs) perform an Advanced Search for Any field = * and limit to Material type = DVDs.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me here in the comments, or to contact a Librarian at x5496 or via email at Ask-A-Librarian.

Try doing a MIDCAT genre search for Faculty authors, and you’ll see all the titles that currently appear on the shelves of the Davis Library faculty authors section.

We’ve probably missed some titles, so faculty members, if there is a title missing from this list, let me know, and I’ll add the field to the record.

Richard
rjenkins@middlebury.edu

Starting June 1st, we will turn on requesting of available items so that patrons at Breadloaf and Mills can request these items to be picked up at their respective locations. When this happens, that button will change to “Place Request” because we can only have one distinct button for all web requesting. The function will remain the same, but the text will be different. Once the summer sessions are over, we will revert back to the “notify me when available” button and available items will not be requestable.

Users should also note that a faster way of getting an item that is checked out would be to place a request via NExpress or Interlibrary Loan.