HOLLIS and Other Library Catalogs
HOLLIS and HOLLIS Classic
Subject Searching:
To do a systematic topic search in HOLLIS, search any reasonable keywords, choose pertinent records, and look at the Subject terms. These are terms chosen by the Library of Congress to express the subject matter of the book. Once you find the proper term for your topic, redo the search using that term.
The Library of Congress subject system is complex, and often there will be several pertinent Subject terms. For example, the following Subject terms may apply:
Becoming (Philosophy)
Good and evil
Ideals (Philosophy)
Knowledge, Theory of Philosophy, Ancient
Philosophy, Bulgarian
Philosophy, Marxist
Pragmatism
Thomism
Will
Subject Browsing:
In HOLLIS Classic, if you enter "Philosophy" in the basic search screen as a Subject beginning with... search, you will retrieve the Subject "Philosophy" broken down to show various aspects. This is often very useful.
Several of these added terms (called subdivisions) indicate primary sources:
--Archives
--Correspondence
--Description and travel
--Diaries
--Interviews
--Manuscripts
--Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc.
--Personal narratives (refers to accounts of wars and diseases only)
--Sources (usually refers to collections of published primary sources)
e.g., Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924 -- Manuscripts -- Indexes.
Note: Do not enter hyphens (--) into HOLLIS or HOLLIS Classic keyword searches.
A Guide to Philosophy in the Library of Congress Classification: How to find Philosophical Works in the Library (Archived version) and Wiki: Library of Congress Classification:Class B -- Philosophy, Psychology, Religion are guides for navigating the Library of Congress (LC) classification system for philosophy print resources.
Other Library Catalogs
The European Library provides access to the catalogs and collections of the national libraries of European nations, such as the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale, the Deutsche Bibliothek, and 40 other European libraries. Users can get an overview of the collections, as well browse through the catalogs of the respective libraries.
University of Karlsruhe, Union Catalog Search allows you to search the union catalogs of universities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and several other nations. Additionally, it allows you to search book dealers, such as Amazon.com Germany, Abebooks, and the like.
WorldCat is a union catalog of 47 million records from the catalogs of 41,000 libraries in the US and 82 other countries. WorldCat lists media as diverse as books, film, and audio recordings, among others. WorldCat is useful for ascertaining whether libraries outside of Harvard hold certain books and materials, which may then be obtained through interlibrary loan. (You will need a PIN and Harvard ID to access this database from a home computer.)