button button button button button button button button button button button button
Side Image
Page Banner

Print Books

The Library Catalog

  • The library catalog is actually a relational database management system (RDBMS).
  • It is freely available via the web. Go to the library homepage and click on Catalog. The web-based interface to the libray catalog is called Horizon Information Portal, formerly iPAC.
  • The catalog will tell you which print books we have in our library. The catalog will also tell you the titles of journals and magazines owned by the library. The catalog does not include the text of actual articles. E-books available at MSOE are also listed in the library catalog. E-book records feature links to the e-book or to the service that provides access to the book.
  • When you search the catalog via the Web, there are several search options available. Try doing a General Keyword search first.
    • When you do a general keyword search, you also search the table of contents of books.
    • For all keyword searches in the catalog, be sure to use an asterisk. Study the results of a general keyword search. Select relevant records and then search on the subject headings that have been assigned to documents (see the discussion on controlled vocabulary in this tutorial.
  • iPAC (the web-based suite of programs that provide access to the library catalog) offers a number of powerful features, including the following:
    • The Basic Search enables you to employ 8 types of searches (General Keyword; Title Alphabetical; Title Keyword; Subject Alphabetical; Subject Keyword; Author Alphabetical; and Author Keyword).
    • The Advanced Search enables you to employ 12 types of searches and the ability to limit and sort results. To limit a search is to restrict it to a subset of the library collection (for example, all journals, or all e-books).
    • The Power Search enables you to employ 17 types of searches, the ability to limit and sort results, and the ability to combine searches with Boolean operators.
    • A Search History is retained and can be deployed.
    • Search results can be emailed.
    • Customized result lists can be created.
    • User account information is available to users who input the barcode numbers on the back of their MSOE ID cards. Users must be entered into the MSOE Library system in order to see their account information; a user must contact the library in order to register. Account information available to users includes books currently checked out, fine information, and holds.
  • MSEM faculty and students may check books out of the MSOE Library. MSEM students may check out books for 40 days, plus two renewals. To check out books, it is necessary for a student to visit the library and to present his or her MSOE Identification Card at the Circulation Desk. The student is then registered in the library's database. The library's database system is not integrated with MSOE's registration system which means that students are not automatically registered to check out books when they register for classes.

    For those MSEM students who wish to check out books, but who are remotely located and unable to visit the library, arrangements for checking out material can be made by contacting the Director of the Library.


    Search Tip

    Use the Catalog to see which books, journals, and MSEM theses are available in the MSOE Library. Consult it for all MSEM projects and papers.

    Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Don H. Davis, Jr., former Chairman and CEO of Rockwell International Corporation, the MSOE Library owns a collection of outstanding business and management books. You can find these books through the Library Catalog, or click here to see a list of titles and find out additional details about the Davis Collection.