Finding Video and Non-Musical Recordings

Video Recordings (VHS and DVD)
Here are some simple strategies for finding video items in the library:

Title Searches:
If you know the title of the videorecording that you are looking for, go to the Library Catalog, choose "Basic Search," type in the full title or the beginning of the title of the video in the search box, and click on the "Search" button. Remember to omit initial articles (a, an, or the).

Examples:

• passage to india will retrieve the catalog record for the videorecording "A Passage to India."
• great escape will retrieve the catalog record for the videorecording "The Great Escape."
• butch cassidy and will retrieve the catalog record for the videorecording "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."
• mariachi will retrieve the catalog record for the videorecording "El Mariachi."
• harvest of fear will retrieve a catalog record for the PBS documentary on genetically modified food.
  
  

Note: Sometimes books and videorecordings share the same title. The search results list will have a "Format" column. The format for video recordings is "Visual Material."

Author Searches:
"Author" searches for videorecordings will yield results for director, producer, screenwriter, or lead/key actors. Go to the Library Catalog, click on the "Basic Search" button, click on "Author" in the "Search by:" box, click in the search box, type the "author's" name (last name first) in the search box, and click on the "Search" button.

Examples:

• sarandon susan yields videorecordings with Susan Sarandon as lead or key actor (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Thelma & Louise, e.g.).
• scorsese martin yields results that include movies directed by Martin Scorsese.
• costner kevin yields results that include movies directed by, produced by, and/or starring Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves - lead actor, director, & producer, JFK - lead actor, e.g.).

Subject Searches (Basic and Guided Keyword):

1. Basic Search by Subject:
"Command Keyword" searches allow you to search by subject. To search by command keyword, go to the Library Catalog and click on "Basic Search." Then click on "Command Keyword" in the "Search by:" box. In the "Search for" box, type videorecording and one subject word, and click on the "Search" button.

Examples:

• videorecording and india
• videorecording and wwii
• videorecording and aids

You may wish to combine terms using a command keyword search. Using "Basic Search" in the library catalog, click on "Command Keyword" in the "Search by:" box. In the search box, type skey feature and one subject word, and click on the "Search" button. Adding "skey" directs the catalog to look only in the subject fields for the words feature and the subject word.

Examples:

• skey feature and mexico yields feature films from/about Mexico (Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Amores Perros, e.g.).
• skey feature and military yields a list of films with military themes such as Patton, Dr. Strangelove, and Breaker Morant.
• skey feature and crime yields results that include The Godfather, Memento, and A Clockwork Orange.

2. Guided Keyword Search by Subject:
Guided Keyword searching gives you the opportunity to use more than one subject word to search for videorecordings. For this method of searching, go to the Library Catalog and choose "Guided Keyword." Enter videorecording in the first search box and choose "Form/Genre Anywhere" from the drop down menu in the same row. In the next two rows, you can enter subject words or subject phrases on your topic.

Examples:

This search will yield videorecordings on the subject of AIDS in the United States. Remember to choose "as a phrase" from the drop down menu when entering subject phrases (see the second row with united states -- as a phrase -- Subject).

This search will yield videorecordings about human rights in Asian countries. In the "Search in:" boxes, you can try Subject instead of Keyword Anywhere for more focused results.

Browsing:
To browse a list of certain kinds of videorecordings, such as feature films, use a subject search that retrieves that kind of material. Go to the Library Catalog and click on the "Basic Search" button, click on "Subject Headings" in the "Search by:" box, click in the search box, type in one of the subject headings below, and click on the "Search" button.

• feature film
• documentary film

Note: Not all feature or documentary films are assigned these subject headings. If you choose to browse videorecordings using this method, the results will not be a complete list of all feature or documentary films the library holds. In addition, the results of these searches will include entries for books about films as well as the films themselves.

Non-musical Recordings (spoken word recordings)
Here are some simple strategies for finding audio recordings (books on tape, lectures, e.g.) in the library:

Title Searches:
If you know the title of a book and want to see if the library has an audio recording version, go to the Library Catalog, choose "Basic Search", type in the full title or the beginning of the title of the work in the search box, and click on the "Search" button. Remember to omit initial articles (a, an, or the). In the results list, look for "Recording: Nonmusic" in the Format column. You can also set limits on your search so that you only see records for audio recordings.

Examples:

• life on the mississippi will retrieve several catalog records for this book, including one with "Recording: Nonmusic" in the Format column.
• madame bovary also yields many catalog records, one with the "Recording: Nonmusic" in the Format column
• sound and the fury will retrieve a catalog record for "The Sound and the Fury" in the format of "Recording: Nonmusic."
  
  

  If you happen to know the title of a lecture, you can also search for it by its title.

• multicultural paradigm, for example, retrieves the catalog record for the lecture "The multicultural paradigm: a lecture/reading by Guillermo Gomez-Pena [sound recording]."

 

Author Searches:
"Author" searches will yield results for readers or performers on an audio recording, as well as authors themselves. Go to the Library Catalog, click on the "Basic Search" button, click on "Author" in the "Search by:" box, click in the search box, type in the "author's" name (last name first) and click on the "Search" button.

Examples:

• begley ed yields catalog records of sound recordings with Ed Begley as a featured reader (The Call of the Wild and Leaves of Grass, e.g.)
• jones james earl yields catalog records that include sound recordings with James Earl Jones as reader (Native Son and The Great White Hope, e.g.)
• crane stephen yields catalog records that include sound recordings for Crane's The Red Badge of Courage.

 

Setting Limits in a Basic Search:
Set limits to find only spoken word recordings. Go to the Library Catalog and click on "Basic Search." Then:

• click on the red "Set Search Limits" button;
• under "Format" scroll down and highlight "Nonmusical Recording";
• click on "Set Limits" button;
• back at the Basic Search screen, choose "Command Keyword" in the "Search by:" box;
• click in the "Search for" box and type an author name, a word from the title, or a word describing your subject.

  Examples of searches with limits set for "Nonmuscial Recording":

  • twain yields all spoken word recording of Mark Twain's works.
  • gatsby yields a catalog record for a spoken word recording of The Great Gatsby.
    
    

Subject Searches:
To search for audio/spoken word recordings by subject, go to the Library Catalog and choose "Guided Keyword." Enter sound recording in the first search box, choose "as a phrase" in the drop down menu right next to the "Search for:" box, and choose "Form/Genre Anywhere" from the "Search in:" drop down menu in the same row. In the next two rows, you can enter subject words or subject phrases on your topic.

Examples:

This search will yield records of Latin American writers reading from their works; works by Latin American authors read by someone other than the author; or sound recordings of lectures on Latin American literature. Note that latin american is searched as a phrase, and that there are several options to choose from in the "Search in:" boxes; however, Subject and Keyword Anywhere will usually yield the best results.

This search yields sound recordings such as interviews with civil rights leaders, lectures on civil rights, and presidential remarks on civil rights issues. If you add names such as martin luther king or malcolm x in the third row, the search will yield sound recordings by or about those individuals related to civil rights.

NOTE: Some sound recordings are musical recordings. To check if an item is an audio/spoken word recording vs. a musical recording, check the catalog record. You can set limits to exclude musical recordings from your search.

Setting Limits in a Guided Keyword Search:
You can set search limits so that your results will not include musical recordings. Go to the Library Catalog and click on "Guided Keyword." Then:

• click on the red "Set Search Limits" button;
• under "Format" scroll down and highlight "Nonmusical Recording";
• click on "Set Limits" button;
• back at the Guided Keyword search screen, enter search terms or phrases in the "Search for:" boxes.

  Example of Guided Keyword search with limits set for "Nonmuscial Recording":

  Note that a message will appear above the search boxes that indicate Search Limits are in effect until cleared. This search yields spoken word recordings such as Great American Women's Speeches, Nixon Denies Improper Use of Funds, and Library of Congress Presents Historic Presidential Speeches, 1908-1993.

  For information on advanced techniques using Guided Keyword searching in the Library Catalog, click here.

Browsing:
To browse a list of spoken word recordings go to the Library Catalog, click on "Basic Search" and type the word caedmon in the "Search for:" box (Caedmon is an audio/spoken word recording producer/publisher). In the "Quick Limit:" box, highlight Nonmusical Recordings. In the "Search by:" box highlight Command Keyword. Click on the "Search" button. This search will yield catalog records of spoken word recordings. Not all spoken word recordings are published by Caedmon, so the results will not be a complete list of all the audio recordings that the library holds.

For further help using the catalog to find video or audio/spoken word recordings, please Ask A Librarian.