Magic Search

Subdivide and conquer! Magic Search: Getting the Best Results from Your Catalog and Beyond showcases how to increase the power of Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) subdivisions to produce astonishing results from your searches. Rebecca S. Kornegay and Heidi E. Buchanan, experienced reference librarians, and Hildegard B. Morgan, an expert cataloger, explain how, when used wisely, LCSH subdivisions can save time and provide a new level of precision in information retrieval for patrons of the library.Magic Search presents the 467 best-performing LCSH subdivisions that speak to the kinds of research questions librarians handle every day. This handy reference format and index offers a useful tool to keep for quick reference rather than a cumbersome tome to be read from cover to cover. In addition, this book providesA thematic arrangement of LC subdivisions that yield the most successful searchChapters on discipline-specific subdivisions to hone effective search termsPrecise, professional vocabulary useful in searches and explained in easy-to-understand languageGrasping the importance and having command of LC subdivisions, now appearing in unexpected places beyond the library catalog, is key in this rapidly evolving, 21st-century information environment. No other work explores the LCSH subdivisions is such detail or with such commitment, making this book vital to every Reference Desk.

No other work explores the LCSH subdivisions is such detail or with such commitment, making this book vital to every Reference Desk.

No other work explores the LCSH subdivisions is such detail or with such commitment, making this book vital to every Reference Desk.

Introduction vUsing the Book xi1. Finding Basic Treatments and Background Reading 12. Finding How-To Guides 43. Finding Images 94. Words, Words, . . . and Numbers 145. Finding Out about People: Individuals and Groups 226. Finding Out about Places 367. Finding Creative Treatments: Stories, PoemsSongs, etc. 408. Finding True Stories: Memoirs, Observationsand Confessions 439. Finding Primary Sources 4510. It’s about Time: Time Periods and ChronologicalSubdivisions 4811. T ools for Scholars and Other Professionals 5212. Subdivisions That Give Perspective, Put Youin Control, and Amaze Others! 5513. Useful for the Humanities 5914. Useful for the Social Sciences 7315. Useful for Historical Research 8216. Useful for Business Topics 8917. Useful for Education Topics 9518. Useful for Natural and Physical Sciences 98contents19. Useful for Medicine and Health Topics 10920. Useful for Technology Topics 11521. T he Baby and the Bathwater: Recommendations 118Acknowledgments 123Works Cited 125Index 127iv