Be sure to search the entire Balsam Catalog for existing records. First search by keyword, then try title and/or author. If no records are found search by ISBN using the Numeric Search tab. Remember that just because you don’t find a record on your first search, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Be sure to exhaust all searching possibilities.
Nancy Grant’s searching tips:
ISBN: Due to individual publishing companies using their own barcodes, you may not find the record, even though the book is in the catalog. Follett, Scholastic, and others may republish a book with a different picture every 3-5 years. If separate records are added for each new ISBN the catalog gets filled with duplicate records causing the patron to see multiple entries for the same title. Example: Tom Sawyer has over 50 records, using “all books” as the format.
Author: Consistency in the spelling and formatting of author names is an issue. Searching an author’s name in different ways may help you narrow down the correct record. You might have to include or exclude the suffix or initials. Examples: David, Peter; Peter David; Peter David (Peter Allen); J.D. Robb;
Title: Search for series by individual item or series name. Try dropping articles like the, a, an. Example: Star wars, Star wars vol 2, Star wars the final journey # 2, The final journey, Final journey #2, Final journey.
Cataloging → Search the Catalog
Cataloging → Search the Catalog → Numeric Search → ISBN
