Module 3:
SD Library Network
How to Access SDLN
How to Search SDLN
Examples and Practice :
1. SDLN Screen
2. Activity 1
3. Search Techniques
4. Activity 2
5. Activity 3
6. Activity 4
7. Activity 5
8. Activity 6
9. Activity 7
10. Advanced Features

Contents:
Introduction
Module 1: How to Solve an Information Problem
Module 2: Search Techniques
Module 4: Proquest
Module 5: Infotrac
Module 6: Lexis-Nexis
Module 7: OCLC Firstsearch
Module 8: 
Module 9: 
Module 10: 
Module 11: Internet Searching
Module 12: Evaluating Internet sources
Module 13: Scholarly vs. Popular
Module 14: Citing sources
Module 15: How to Get Material Not Available Online

Module 3: SDLN Examples and Practice: Activity 7

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In Activity 7,
you will learn how to do author, title, and combination searches in the SD Library Network.

You will need to switch back and forth between SDLN (to do the activity) and this manual (for instructions). Or you might find it more convenient to print this web page so that you can remain in SDLN as you read and follow the instructions for the activity.

1. The Library Catalog is the database in SDLN that tells you what materials are owned or subscribed to by the Library.

• go to the "Select Library & Resource" screen

• select Library Catalog as the resource

• select Dakota State University as the library

• click on the "Go" button

2. Since you know the author and title of the book, several methods of searching for the book are available.

~~ Author (last-name, first-name) is used to search for material by a specific author ;

~~ Title, keyword is used to search for material by using keywords from a title ;

~~ Title, exact (omit initial article) is used to search for an item by its exact title;

~~ Combination (author's last name, first word of title) is used to search for material by combining the title and the author's name.

An example of each is given below.

3. Author (last-name, first-name) is used to search for material by a specific author. Enter the author's last name, followed by a comma, and then the first name (or first initial if full first name is unknown). The search can also be done with last name only when the first name is unknown.

Examples:

For Problem 7, to search by author for Betty Smith:

• in the "by" field, click in the author radio button ( the circle to the left of "author")

• in the "for what" field, type:

smith, betty

• click on the "Go" button

4. Title,keyword is used to search for material by using keywords from a title. Keywords are words that are important in distinguishing one item from another. In other words, do not use "a," "an," "the," "in," "with," "for," or other small words in a keyword search.

Examples:

For Problem 7, to search by title,keyword :

• in the "by" field, click in the title,keyword radio button ( the circle to the left of "title, keyword")

• in the "for what" field, type:

tree brooklyn

• click on the "Go" button

[Note: As you learned previously, SDLN inserts the "AND" Boolean operator between all words in keyword searches, so you do not need to type "tree and brooklyn"]

5. Title,exact is used to search for the exact title of the item by typing the first 4 words (omit initial article -- "a," "an," "the) of the title.

!!! This search is not recommended because you rarely know the exact title as it has been entered in the system. It is safer to use a "title, keyword" search instead.

For Problem 7, to search by title,exact :

• in the "by" field, click in the title,exact radio button ( the circle to the left of "title, exact")

• in the "for what" field, type:

tree grows in brooklyn

• click on the "Go" button

6. Combination (author's last name, first word of title) is used when you are looking for a specific item and know both the author's last name and, also, the first word of the title (ignoring "a," "an," and "the").

Examples:

For Problem 7, to search by combination :

• in the "by" field, click in the combination radio button ( the circle to the left of "combination")

• in the "for what" field, type:

smith tree

• click on the "Go" button

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