MUSIC: Read records

A fundamental principle of library research is that each item (a book, a score, a streaming audio file, etc.) has its own record.

Records serve two purposes for researchers.

1. Records describe an item to help you know whether it will meet your needs.
2. Records let you discover items by searching for a physical or electronic copy.

Technologically, library searching works the same way as searching online services like Amazon, Instagram and Google. However, the user experience of library searching is different because libraries are more upfront about how you are searching for records about something that you want, not the thing itself.

Commercial online services are designed to make searching as seamless as possible to get you to consume content or buy something. By contrast, library systems are designed to help you learn about a topic you're interested in, even when you don't yet know the right words to use. Putting the spotlight on records is one way that library systems are designed to help you "slow down" and focus on your own learning.

The rest of this page shows you how to read and interpret Armacost Library catalog records. You can use a similar process to read records in any library database or search tool, such as Worldcat, RILM or a newspaper database.

To determine whether a book in the library catalog meets your needs, look at:

1. The title, author and publisher
2. The contents, description and subject headings assigned to the book, as well as special features such as an index or bibliography.
3. The availability and the call number

Once you've found a book that looks useful, you can confirm whether it has relevant information:

1. Check the table of contents
   
2. Look in the index at the back of the book
   
3. Skim over the introduction, conclusion and other relevant sections
   

When you find a book with information on your topic, you will want to slow down and read it carefully. Use these strategies to determine whether a book you found in the library catalog is worth spending more time with.