Q. What is a library catalog and how do I search it?

Libraries previously functioned with a card catalog for finding materials. Now, it is much easier to find materials because most catalogs are online! To be technical: A library catalog is a register (sometimes a database) of all bibliographic items held within that library that can be retrieved via a federated search. 

It is important to know what a catalog is and how it functions, so that you can use other libraries in the future! Most library catalogs are publicly searchable, meaning you do not have to be logged in or a library card holder of that library to see what their collection holds. 

TCC Library's catalog is called Discovery. Every library might call theirs something different, but it might also be the vender's brand name. Ours is located on the homepage of the TCC Library. It will retrieve articles, books, videos, and more! It is the big, main search bar:

Discovery is helpful because, in addition to items available for checkout, it will also show you items that may only be available for in-library use or items that we do not hold but may be available through Interlibrary Loan (ILL), using the WorldCat.org knowledge base. It also searches a lot of our databases all at once, so you don't have to search them individually!

The Books  and Videos links off the homepage will take you to a limited, pre-filtered widget version of the main Discovery catalog (kind of like doing a search and then filtering directly to the resource type you were searching). Those links will also find electronic editions (ebooks, streaming video, audiobooks, etc.).

This FAQ explains why you might want to search the Discovery Search bar on the homepage over a pre-filtered widget. 

View links below to more information on how to use.