Searching the Catalog
Archway is the online catalog of the SCC Library. To get to the Archway catalog, go to the library home page at http://www.stchas.edu/library and click on Find a Book.
When you search the catalog, you will find the books, electronic books, videos/DVD's, and CD's the library has. The main Archway screen lists the search options. Simply click on the option you wish to search.
Title Searching:
To search by title, enter the first few words in the title of a book. You may exclude the initial articles A, An, & The.
Author Searching:
To do an author search, you must type in the author last name first. If you forget to do this, the Archway catalog will help you by reversing the first and last names and asking you if you want to change your search. To change your search, simply click on the author's reversed name.
Subject Searching:
Subject searching requires that you type in an official Library of Congress subject heading found in the big red LC Subject Heading Books in the reference area. These subject headings are assigned by the Library of Congress to all books in the library. If you do not find any results with a subject search, it is probably because the terms you typed in were not Official LC subject headings. Try a keyword search instead.
Keyword Searching:
If you do not know the official Library of Congress subject heading for your search, it is a good idea to do a keyword search. Keyword searching is kind of a "catch-all" because it searches for words in the subject headings, titles, authors, and even tables of contents of books. If you find a good book using a keyword search, you can use the subject headings assigned to that book and perform a subject search using those headings.
Journal Title Searching:
Searching by journal title shows you whether or not the SCC Library subscribes to a particular journal, magazine, or newspaper, and the years we have. It does NOT show you individual articles from the journals, however. To search for individual articles, go to the Online Indexes and Reference Databases page.
Author/Title:
This search is useful if you know both the author and title of a book. Be sure to type in the author last name first.
Electronic Book:
When you find a book in the catalog that says "electronic resource" that means it is a
e-book or electronic book. The library buys access to these electronic books through a company called netLibrary. Most of the books have been published in print but are also available electronically. You will see these titles often in our catalog because we have access to over 20,000! These titles are always available from any computer with Internet access.
Search Results (Browse List)
After you type in a keyword search, you will retrieve a list of books and videos that matches your search. If you type in a subject search, you will retrieve a list of subject headings. Regardless of the type of list you retrieve, you will see the number of items that were found, and the number of items shown per screen. For example, if 25 items were found, and 12 on each screen are shown, you will see the message (1-12 of 25).
You will notice navigation links at the top and bottom of each page.
Next Page -- Takes you to the next screen of your search results list.
Previous Page -- Takes you back to the previous screen of your list.
Start Over -- Takes you to the main search screen of the catalog to choose a different search.
Another Search -- Lets you do another search in the same field (for example, if you are doing a title search, it will take you to a new title search.)
Limit This Search -- Allows you to limit the search to a certain type of material, such as video or CD.
Each of the items in the result list are web links, so that when you find the book or subject heading you want, you can simply click on the blue web link.
Full Record
After you click on the blue title of a book, the full record of the book will be shown. The full record contains very important information, including:
Title -- Title of the book
Author -- Author or authors of the book
Publisher -- Publisher and date of publication
Location -- Tells you where the book is located in the library. Possible locations include:
St. Charles Reference (first floor)
St. Charles Second Floor
St. Charles Popular Reading (first floor)
St. Charles AV
Call number -- Gives you the call number of the book for finding it on the shelf. Our books are shelved by Library of Congress call numbers, which start with letters. Make sure you write down the letters at the beginning of the call number! Examples of call numbers:
RC 569.5 .F3 D87 1998
BF 575 .A3 B43 1993
E 185.96 .B98 1995
Status -- Tells you whether or not the book is available. Possible statuses include:
In Library -- Item is on the shelf in the library
Due:00/00/00-- Item is checked out and due on the day indicated
Out of Collection-- Item is not available
Missing-- Item is not available
On order-- Item has been ordered but not received
In Processing-- Item has been received but is being processed
New book shelf -- Item is located on the New book shelf on the first floor
Library of Congress Subject Headings -- these are words and phrases assigned by the Library of Congress which describe the subjects the books are about. You can click on a subject heading to find a list of other books having the same subject heading.
Table of contents -- Sometimes the table of contents (chapter titles) of the books will be listed at the bottom of the record.
The full record screen will also have navigational links at the top and bottom of the screen. These include:
Next Record -- Takes you to the full record of the next book in the list
Previous Record -- Takes you to the full record of the preceding book in the list
Return to Browse -- Returns you to the list of books
Request -- Allows you to place holds on books that are checked out
Search MOBIUS -- Reproduces your search in the MOBIUS catalog, which includes academic libraries in the state of Missouri. You can then request to have books sent to SCC.
Placing Hold Requests
If you find a book in the Archway online catalog that is checked out, you can request a hold on the book. This will prevent the person who checked out the book from renewing it. From the book's Full record screen, click on the Request button at the top of the screen. Enter your name, Student ID number followed by SC, and a PIN number which you can create yourself. Select St. Charles Community College as the pickup location, and click on Submit Above Information.
Reserve Lists
Your professor may put materials on reserve such as books, articles, videos, or CDs. You can search for these items in the library catalog by clicking the Reserve Lists option on the main Archway screen. You can search for reserve materials by Course or by Professor. The materials are located behind the Circulation Desk.
Renew Items/View Record
The Archway catalog allows you to view the items you have checked out and to renew them online from any computer with Internet access. Simply choose Renew Items/View Record from the bottom of the Archway main screen. You must enter your name, Student ID number followed by SC, and then create your PIN number, which can be any word or numbers. You will then be able to view the materials you have checked out, and you can renew them as long as no one else has placed a hold on the material.
Searching MOBIUS
The Archway online catalog is a part of the MOBIUS Common Library Platform. All academic libraries in the state of Missouri are a part of MOBIUS as well. Since Archway is part of MOBIUS, you can request books from any academic library that is also on MOBIUS, and that book will be delivered to SCC within 3 days. The library will call you will the book has arrived, and you can pick it up at the circulation desk. You can also have the books sent to an academic library close to you, this is called "Pickup Anywhere" (see below).
How to Request Books from MOBIUS
1. Perform a search in Archway
The first step is to go to the main Archway screen and search for your subject, title or author in Archway. If you do not find enough materials in Archway, you may then click on the Search MOBIUS button near the top of your screen. This will redo your current search in MOBIUS.
2. Find and Request a Title
From the list of titles in MOBIUS, click on the title you are interested in, and then click on Request this Item.
3. Enter Your Personal Information
Select Archway as the institution you are affiliated with, enter your ID number followed by SC, and choose St. Charles Community College as the pickup location (or change the cluster for pickup anywhere). Then click Submit Above Information.
The system should let you know that your request was successful. If not, ask a Reference Librarian or call the Reference Desk at 636-922-8620 for help.
Pickup Anywhere
Pickup Anywhere is great for students, faculty, and staff who live in Missouri, but a significant distance from St. Charles Community College.
Pickup Anywhere allows all SCC students, faculty, and staff to REQUEST, PICKUP, & RETURN items at any MOBIUS member library.
Just select the Pickup Cluster and the Pickup Location in that cluster where you want to pick up the book(s) when you fill out your MOBIUS "REQUEST THIS ITEM" form.
For example:
- If you are a currently enrolled SCC student, faculty, or staff, you can request a book from Webster University (or any other MOBIUS library) and pick it up at St. Louis Community College (or any other MOBIUS library).
- If you are a SCC distance learner and live closer to another Missouri academic library, you can now request a book from the SCC library (or any other MOBIUS library) and have it sent to a MOBIUS library near your home where you can check it out and return it.
You can choose any academic library that is convenient for you!
If you have any questions, please contact the Reference Desk at 636-922-8620.
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