- What library content is covered in the digitalized card catalogue?
- Research strategy
- How do I navigate through the digitalized card catalogues?
- How do the results of my search appear on the monitor?
- Technical pointers
What library content is covered in the digitalized card index?
Old alphabetical catalogue:
- Publications that were acquired between 1952 and 1976/77
- All newspapers (no matter when they were acquired)
Rules of classification: Simplified Prussian Instructions (word sequence only nouns, adjectives and verbs)
New alphabetical catalogue:
- Publications that were acquired between 1976/77 and 1999
Rules of classification: German rules for alphabetical cataloguing (RAK)
An additional search in the Online Catalogue (OPAC) is always necessary because it comprises publications (including magazines) from all years of publication. The digitalized card catalogue lists the publications only formally, not according to contents.
TopResearch strategy
Monographs:
- Year of publication up to 1976/77: Search in the new and old alphabetical card catalogue and in the OPAC, since the format could have been acquired at any time.
- Year of publication from 1976/77 to 1994: Search only in the new alphabetical card catalogue and in the OPAC, since the format had to have been acquired after introduction of the new alphabetical card catalogue.
- Year of publication from 1995 to the present: Search only in the OPAC.
Magazines:
All years of publication: Search first in the OPAC, then in the old card catalogue
It is also possible to research magazines in the electronic Magazine Database. Here the content of the DHM Library is listed under the German library institution identifier BER <B 496>.
How do I navigate through the digitalized card catalogues?
As a rule, the key words in the headings are indexed for every 50th catalogue card.
Old alphabetical catalogue (according to Prussian Instructions, PI):
- Works by one to three authors (= author/individual works): key words are the names of the authors in the form "Surname, Forename"
- Works by more than three authors or with no author (= title works): key word is the first independent noun in the title
- Works with editors (= title works): key word is the name of the editor in the form "Surname, Forename" or the first grammatical independent noun in the title
Definite articles, conjunctions, prepositions and similar irrelevant words are ignored.
New alphabetical catalogue (according to the German RAK):
- Works with one to three authors (= author/individual works): key words are names of the authors in the form "Surname, Forename"
- Works by more than three authors or with no author (= title works): key word is the title in the word sequence without the definite article (der, die or das)
- Works with editors (= title works): key word is the name of the editor in the form "Surname, Forename" or the title in the word sequence without the definite article (der, die or das)
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How do the results of my search appear on the monitor?
After you enter a key word, a list of 11 indexed key words appears on the lefthand side of the monitor; they are ordered alphabetically before or after the key word you have entered. The index entry that comes closest to the key word you have entered is highlighted in grey and is the second word in the list.
On the right side of the monitor you see the catalogue card that belongs to the highlighted key word in the index. The classification number (shelf number) of the work is located in the upper right corner of the catalogue card. If the catalogue card does not contain a classification number, it is either a cross reference card or the main card of a multi-volume work. In the first case, you should then search for the key word (author name or title) pointed to in the cross reference. In the case of a main card, the individual cards referred to come right after the main card.
The buttons below the image of the catalogue card serve to leaf through the catalogue until you find the work you are looking for.
Technical pointers
The amount of time to find an answer depends on the terminal device you are using.
If necessary, the following changes in your browser settings should be undertaken:
