Help: Research Tools: CU Library Catalog: About

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About the CU Library Catalog

• When the Catalog is available for use
• Contents of the Catalog
• System Requirements
• Text-based version of the Catalog
• See also Using Library Resources Off Campus

When the Catalog is available for use
The CU Library Catalog is available for use 7 days per week and 24 hours per day, except on Saturday mornings between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. (Eastern time), when the library management system undergoes routine maintenance.

Contents of the Catalog
The Cornell University Library Catalog contains bibliographic records that identify and locate materials in 16 libraries on the Ithaca campus, plus four off-campus libraries: the Geneva Experiment Station Library, the CISER Data Archive, the Library Annex, and the Lab of Ornithology Library. (Click here for a complete list of Cornell libraries and divisions.)

Included are records for:

• books
• serials (journals, magazines, newspapers)
• electronic resources (databases)
• government documents
• manuscript collections
• maps
• microform collections
• printed music
• sound recordings
• visual materials
• records for materials that have been ordered by the libraries, but are not yet available for borrowing. The record will indicate "in process."

NOT included in the CU Library Catalog are records for the following items:

• Resources in the Weill Cornell Medical Library. Click here to search the Weill Catalog.
• Citations to individual articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers. The CU Library Catalog contains the titles of the serials to which the Library subscribes, and provides the holdings information for the volumes and issues received, but not the contents of the articles in them.
• Individual pieces (documents, proceedings, reports, working papers, etc.) of some microform sets, series, or government publications.

System Requirements
For optimal use of the web version of the CU Library Catalog, your computer should comply with the recommendations and system requirements listed at Cornell Information Technologies's Recommendations for Cornell Desktop Computer Systems, which supplies information on general requirements and minimum recommended configurations for desktop systems at Cornell.

Text-based version of the Catalog
A non-graphical, text-based version of the CU Library Catalog is available for use at the following address (works from Cornell IP addresses only):

telnet://catalog.library.cornell.edu:410

While most of the features of the web catalog have Telnet equivalents, there are services and functions that are different or not available in the Telnet catalog:

• In newer versions of Telnet, URLs listed in catalog records for Networked Resources will act like hypertext links and open a web session, if you also have a web browser configured on your computer.
• Patron Information is listed, but there are no Request services, like renewing or placing holds or recalls.
• There is no Command Keyword searching--combining search terms with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).
• There is no link to Interlibrary Loan.
• There is no link to the Library Gateway.
• There are no Output Options. Search results will need to be transferred to an editor (e.g. Notepad, WordPad) in order to print, save, or e-mail them.
• Search Limits (date, language, etc.) only apply to Other Searches (Guided Keyword Field Index searches).

Navigation commands and available options are listed on each screen. To select a command or option:

• Type the highlighted letter of your selection on the command line at the bottom of the screen.
• Press the keyboard "Enter" key.