Using
the PINES WebCAT for genealogical research
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This is a genealogy library. Things should be like the old days. Why is the catalog on computer?
What happened to the old card catalog? Everything I needed to find was in there.
What happened to the old name index? Everything I needed to find was in there.
1.
This is a genealogy library. Things
should be like the old days. Why is
the catalog on computer now?
Genealogists are searchers for information and need to use all the tools available. Today, computers and the Internet are important and vital tools for researching. By converting our card catalog to computer files we were able to (a) improve the quality of the catalog by meeting newer, more stringent, cataloging standards and reviewing other records of materials for more accurate and complete information about a title and (b) provide a quicker, easier method for searching since the computer can scan thousands of records much faster than even the most skilled researcher can look through that many cards. Additionally, (c) we were able to share our catalog with the world through the PINES system, available on the Internet directly (www.gapines.org) and through WorldCAT, (www.oclc.org/worldcat) a resource sharing system for libraries worldwide.
2.
What happened to the old card catalog? Everything
I needed to find was in there.
Each record in the old catalog was scanned, reviewed and then converted to an electronic record. Because the old catalog was broken down into author/title sections, subject sections, and number sections, a searcher would need to use three different catalogs to find something if he or she did not know in what particular area to look. The WebCAT combines all of those into one searchable index, or can break it down as you wish. If the information was in the card catalog, and was accurate, it is in the WebCAT. Remember, that items could be lost or no longer in the library or possibly recataloged and moved to another location. While we all have a fondness for those methods we first learned to use, they weren’t always as complete or as easy as our memory tells us.
All the records in the old name index were reviewed for accuracy, completeness, and whether the item was still in the library. Unfortunately many of the records in the name index were not accurate or the items had been lost or recataloged. All records that could be used were converted as subject listings or name listings and are included in the individual records of each item. If the information was in the name index, and was accurate or could be corrected, it is in the WebCAT. Remember, that items could be lost or no longer in the library or possibly recataloged and moved to another location. While we all have a fondness for those methods we first learned to use, they weren’t always as complete or as easy as our memory tells us.
A. Using the mouse, click on the PINES logo
on the
screen. This will take you to the first screen page, or portal.
If
you are not familiar with automated or online catalogs, take the time to use the
“PINES Tutorial,” one of the location choices on the portal.
This will assist you not only in learning how to use this catalog but
also, using the same search techniques, other automated catalogs and online
genealogical resources. Notice also some of the other choices: you can find
information about PINES, what other libraries are in PINES, view the PINES
information en Espanõl, or leave comments and suggestions.
B. Click on the “Enter the PINES catalog” tab to go into the catalog.
This
takes you to the initial search screen. There
is a blank line for you to type in your search terms or names. The line next to it will say “HERE” meaning the
collection of library you are in. By
clicking on the down arrow 6on
the side of this line a drop down menu allows you to choose another library (or
libraries) to search. Going up
5from
the drop down menu to “ALL” selects every library in the PINES system;
clicking on the sliding tab (or the arrow) down allows you to choose
library systems (from Athens to West Georgia) or you may choose individual
libraries by name. To assist you,
there is a printed list of libraries near the WebCAT station. Note that if you
access the PINES catalog from home, the library location will default to
“ALL.”
C. Now type in your search terms or names. Remember that the more specific term or name you use the more limited the results. For instance “Smith” will give you many more results than “John Smith.” Using “John Wesley Smith” will limit the search even more.
You
may search specifically for an author, title, subject, series, or periodical
title, by clicking on the individual buttons or you may search broadly by
choosing the “search everything” button. Bear in mind that an individual,
unless he is the author or the subject of a book or other item will not be
listed in the catalog. For
genealogical research you generally will want to consider looking for a family
name, a location, or a specific title.
For
instance, if you are looking for information on the Waller family, type in the
name “Waller” and then click on the “subject” button.
This will lead you to the notations or results screen that shows three
titles in the collection. However,
if you believe a Waller wrote a book about that family, choose “author”
button. This gives you eight
records. Choosing the “search
everything” button for Waller gives you eleven results.
You can then click on the arrow on the side of the screen, to move or
“scroll” up and down to read the results.
A similar search using “Tattnall County census” as a subject will
result in nineteen records including books, vertical file and microfilm.
D. Clicking on the “view”
button
next to a record will take you to the full listing for that item.
There you will see all the information about that item including its call
number and location in the library.
5.
I don’t understand all the notes in the catalog, what do they mean?
How do I read/understand what the book listing says.
A. Clicking on the “view”
button
next to a record will take you to the full listing for that item.
There you will see all the information about that item.
B.
If, after looking at that title you decide that you want to look at others in
the list, you want to view the list again, or you wish to start over with a new
search, your have choices by looking at the green oval
buttons towards the top of the WebCAT screen. It is important to use
these buttons rather than the back, forward, and home buttons on the main
browser web screen. Your choices are GO BACK (this takes you back to the
last screen you looked at), NEW SEARCH (this starts the searching process
over again), BACKWARD (this takes you to the previous record in the
list), FORWARD (this takes you to the next record in the list), VIEW
OPTIONS (this takes you to an Advanced options screen), PRINT/SAVE
(if the catalog printed lists you would be able to use this.
The Ladson does not offer that option), REQUEST (if this were a
book able to have a reserve this would be used.
No Ladson items may be reserved or placed on hold), EXIT (this
takes you out of the PINES catalog).
Note: The green square buttons are “Service” buttons. Information about their use may be found on the PINES section of the webpage of the Ohoopee Regional Library System (www.toombs.public.lib.ga.us) or in the “Searching PINES” tutorial (See FAQ 4.)
C. After
conducting a “Search Everything” for the family name “Waller” we saw a
listing of eleven titles. Scrolling
down the list we found one record that looked very interesting and we clicked on
the “View” button at the record. The
next screen gives us the record.
D.
On the screen record we see the title we were reading in black and
below that we see a catalog record listing the ways in which this item is
cataloged as well as publication information and the physical description -- the
size, number of pages, etc., of the item and additional subjects and authors
associated with the item, such as other family names or coauthors.
This is the same information that was listed on the old catalog cards. However, note that some of the wording is underlined
and in blue. When you run the mouse arrow
over this wording the arrow turns into a small handG.
This means that those listings can be used as additional search terms.
By clicking on those terms you will be able to search to determine
whether the author wrote any other books listed in the catalog, whether
there are similar titles in the collection, or whether there are any
items in the collection with the additional subject search terms listed.
E.
Continuing
to scroll down on this record you see a continuation of the record.
This line will tell you the Call Number of the book, the fact that
the library has one Copy, that there are no Holds (that is someone
is waiting for the book) and that the Location of the book is the REF
(or reference) section of the library. In
the location section you would see other notations, such as “Bindery,” or
“Missing,” or “Spec-Coll.” In the regular area of the library, rather
than genealogy, you may see “Checked out,” as the location.
The Call Number will usually be a decimal number (Dewey decimal
cataloging) and a series of letters, usually the first three letters of the
author’s last name, or the first three letters of the title.
In some cases, it may be the first three letters of the general subject
area (GEOrgia). There may also be
an additional line giving helpful information such as a county name.
In some cases, the Call Number will tell what the type of material is,
such as Microfilm or Vertical File (VF).
F. The locations
used in the Ladson Genealogical Library are: REF – (REFerence)
the general stacks or shelving area; OVERSIZED – for large and oddly
shaped materials that do not fit on the regular shelves; SPEC-COLL (SPECial
COLLection) for those books dealing specifically with Toombs, Tattnall
or Montgomery County, Georgia; SPEC-COL-R (SPECial COLlection
Rare) for those items located in the Rare Book Room; VRTICLFILE
– for folders or notebooks in the File Room; STORAGE – for items not
in the regular library area, or currently not available. Similar locations for unavailable materials are BINDERY,
MISSING, and REPAIR.
6.
How do I find a book if I find the title in the catalog?
While the record looks a little different on the computer screen, it reads almost exactly like a record in the card catalog. All the information is there, author, title, call number, location, and even some additional subjects, or tracings, you may be able to use to expand your search.
Once you know the call number and location of the item you can begin to look for it in the library. The Oversized, Reference, and Special Collections areas of the library are open for browsing. The Microfilm, Vertical File and Special Collections-Rare are areas where library staff must retrieve the items for you. Make sure you have the entire call number, (all the letters and numbers), and the author, title, and location of the material before you begin your search or ask the staff to search. Many items have the same or similar call numbers and all information is necessary to ensure you retrieve the right material. On the shelves, items are in Dewey Decimal order (small numbers to large numbers) and within the same number, alphabetically by author’s last name, then author’s first name, and then title. You “read” the shelves just as you read a book – each individual shelf is a line, each section of shelves is a page. You read left to right and down. Going to the next section of a shelving unit is like turning the page. The numbers increase as you move keeping the shelves on your left.
7.
Why can’t I find my ancestor’s name in the catalog?
A library catalog, whether a card catalog or a computer catalog, follows certain indexing rules. A person is listed in the catalog either as an author or a subject. An author is the writer, or one of the writers, collator, compiler, or reviser of a work. The subject of a work must be the person, persons or family that the work is specifically about – that is the majority of the work must be about that person or family. Some books may have a main subject and then one or more additional subjects -- persons or families that have a large section in the work although they are not necessarily the main subject. While your ancestor may be listed or mentioned in the work itself, if he or she is not the main subject of the material, or one of the listed additional subjects, he or she would not be listed in the catalog. If you cannot find a specific ancestor, then search for works with the family name as the subject or title. Then, look for your ancestor in the index of those works.
8.
Why can’t I find the book I used before listed in the new catalog?
There are many reasons why a book that you previously could find in the old catalog is not in the new one. Changes in staff sometimes resulted in the old catalog not being updated, either by removing old cards or not adding new ones. The new catalog is more complete since we are correcting it as we inventory. It is possible that the book was lost or damaged beyond repair and was taken out of the collection and the catalog. Also, as we converted, we discovered that to meet new requirements for cataloging standards, we had to recatalog some items. Materials cataloged under the author “anonymous” were changed to have a title entry. Some materials, listed by title, were changed to an author listing. We discovered errors in spelling and typing. As we matched our records to those of other libraries, some were found to be more complete, or had additional information, and thus changed how an item was listed. Changes in the way catalogs are indexed and filed have occurred – numbers may be spelled out, dates may have changed. If you cannot find a specific work, check with us about the author, title or subject. We can find if it is in another library or possibly find it in the catalog in a different manner than you had previously used.
9.
Why are some books on the same subject or by the same person in
different places in the library? Why
do I have to use the catalog? Why can’t I just browse in one area to find what
I need?
Browsing is not only fun but also useful when looking for general information. Within the catalog and the Dewey decimal system there are general subject areas. For instance Georgia is 975.8, and individual counties in Georgia are even more specific – Toombs is 975.8782. There are numbers for cities, buildings, and many other different breakdowns. But, many books cross county and state lines as well as countries. Where do you put a family from Ireland who moved to Appling County, Georgia, then to Boone County, Kentucky, then to Savannah, (Chatham County), Georgia and who are primarily buried in cemeteries in Florida? New counties are added or broken apart; states are consolidating areas. What about when some members fought in the Civil War – do you place them in that number, or where they were born or died? Decisions must be made about the main scope of the work and where it fits into the general scheme of the library and the Dewey schedules. Just as the post office adds and changes zip codes so do cataloging authorities change and update the Dewey numbers. As our world changes and grows, so does the cataloging. As new books are added, or old books are revised, they may receive newer numbers. Sometimes a volume of a multi-volume work may be cataloged differently, due to subject area changes, or Dewey number changes. While we would like to keep them all together, keeping up with the new is difficult, redoing all of the collection each time there is a change is impossible. The way to always find the materials you need is always by checking the catalog. Are you new to Georgia genealogy? Browse in the 975.8’s, but always remember there are many more books with information about Georgia families that can be found in other areas of the collection – and you can find them by looking in the catalog.
10.
What’s so special about this catalog? What
good is it?
While the WebCAT may be initially intimidating, it actually is a great deal easier to use. Because it does the searching for you, in all areas, author, title, subject, sometimes publisher or series – all at one time, you don’t need to use more than one catalog. Also, since you are able to instantly search related terms you can find collateral family lines without having to do a completely separate search. The automated catalog is more accurate, since records are matched against other titles worldwide, before they are entered. Automatic checks on spelling, authority control, and specific required formats mean that unique entries are also more accurate. If errors are found, they are easy to fix, and the catalog is instantly updated – without missing any of the tracing cards.
Another wonderful aspect of this catalog is that you can search for your materials in one library, in all the libraries in a region, in a specific other library, or in more than 200 libraries in the state – all from the same catalog, with just a few keystrokes. And, you can do it from your home, so you can do much of your initial searching before you ever enter the library’s doors.
The WebCAT is new, exciting, a big change from the card catalogs of yesteryear – but a giant step in bringing the world of genealogical materials to your fingertips.
