Garland Library Online Orientation

Introduction  This portion of the online tutorial is intended to help users gain the basic knowledge and skills needed in order to effectively search Tusculum’s print and electronic collections.  Information provided in this part of the orientation will include: basic searching of the online catalog narrowing searches by campus location narrowing searches by material type (such as narrowing to only search for print material)

Accessing the Catalog Begin by clicking on the Books & E-Books link on the library’s homepage.

Narrowing by Location At this point, if you would like to search the entire catalog, simply click on the view entire catalog link. We will begin by selecting the “View Entire Online Catalog” link. Please be aware that any material your search locates can be sent from one location to another. This means that print materials housed on the Greeneville campus are available to students on other campuses, as are print materials housed on the Knoxville campus. However, as transport of materials between campuses takes time, in instances where materials are needed immediately, library users may want to limit searches to the location housed at the campus which is most conveniently located relative to their location.

Searching To begin a basic keyword search, enter search terms in the search box. For the purposes of this orientation, we will search for study skills. After clicking the “Submit” button, a list of materials is created based on your search terms.

E-Books As you can see, many of the records retrieved are electronic resources. These are electronic books and are accessible directly from the catalog. To access one of these titles, simply left click on the title. And then on the line that reads “Click here to view this resource online.” Electronic book titles can also be accessed by navigating directly to the different e-book collections. Navigation of electronic books will be covered more in-depth in the portion of the orientation dedicated to e-books.

Search Tip  If you are having difficulty locating materials while using a particular search phrase, try using alternate search terms. In other words, don’t give up if your first attempt doesn’t find as many titles as you would like. Instead, try to think of different words or phrases that could be used to find information on your subject.

Advanced Search Now, let’s try an advanced keyword search. Click the “Start Over” button to go back to the catalog’s main page. The “Advanced Search” button is located to the right of the search box. Notice that the Advanced Search feature gives the option of limiting materials by type. If you only want results for print resources, you can limit your search to print materials, excluding electronic books from your search.

Limit by Material Type To do this, click on the drop down arrow beside the text box labeled Material Type. From the drop down list, select “Printed Material.” Now enter your search terms (in this case “study skills”) in the search box. Left click the submit button.

Notice how greatly the results are reduced, compared to a search that included electronic book titles. To find more information about a print book, click on its title. This will open the record for that particular book. Here you will find information on where the book is housed as well as the call number, which identifies a book’s position on the library’s shelves.

Classification System  The Garland Library uses Library of Congress Classification. If you are unfamiliar with Library of Congress Classification system, or need further assistance in locating a book on the shelf, please do not hesitate to ask a staff member for assistance.

Conclusion  This concludes the online catalog portion of Online orientation. Please continue your orientation by completing the other modules provided. You can practice the skills covered in this section by going to the library’s homepage at and performing a few searches on your own.