Introduction
MPAL has materials in many formats, including books, music scores, recordings (CDs, LPs, cassettes), videos (DVDs, VHS, and laserdisc), journals, and microfilms. Information about these items can all be found in the Library's catalog.
The online catalog includes materials from all UIUC campus libraries.
NOTE: What you won't find in the library catalog are individual journal articles--to find those you'll need to use one or more journal databases. Information about journal databases is available here.
NOTE: Some MPAL materials acquired before 1978 are still only found via the card catalog (in the public computing area). If you are attempting to do a comprehensive search, you'll need to check both places.
Catalogs
- U of I's Library CatalogFind books, recordings, DVDs, journals, music scores, and more held at UIUC.
- IShareA catalog containing the holdings for many of the academic libraries in Illinois. Start here to request things we don't own.
- WorldCatA catalog containing the holdings for most of the academic and many of the public libraries in the country and some from other countries.
- The European LibraryAccess to many of the European libraries' catalogs and digital content.
- Directory of National LibrariesLinks to National Libraries around the world.
Searching for particular formats
This guide is divided into several pages (see tabs above). Each one covers a particular topic.
> Find Books
> Find Scores and Recordings
> Searching: Beyond the Basics
> Printed Music Formats
> Audio and Video Recording Formats
> Locating Items in the Library
> Materials Beyond the U of I
A Word about Catalogs
U of I Online Catalog
The U of I's online library catalog contains full information (bibliographic records) about almost all of the books, scores, recordings, etc. held in the U of I's many libraries.* While the new default interface (VUFind) is very streamlined and offers new ways to refine your search, some find the Classic interface to be more useful.
Default Catalog interface (VUFind)
Features currently unavailable in VuFind:
* Call number searching
* Direct export of records to Refworks
Classic Catalog interface (Voyager)
*Some MPAL materials acquired before 1978 can only be found via the card catalog in the public computing area.
IShare Online Catalog
You can also view the holdings of and borrow from the 65 other libraries in Illinois belonging to IShare using the IShare catalog.
WorldCat
For an even broader scope, you can use WorldCat, which lists the holdings of most of the libraries in this country and beyond.
Subject Guide |
 Kirstin Dougan |
Quick Guide to MPAL
> 1st floor: Books, Reference materials, Journals,
Media (ask at the circ desk)
> 2nd floor: Scores
(except for most M1s, M2s, and M3s, which are shelved with Reference)
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