Most of the holdings of Joyner Library's Special Colelctions can be found in the library's online catalog. There are some things that you can do to more easily locate these resources. Begin by clicking on the"Catalog" tab in the Discover box on the library main page. Then click on "Advanced Search". This will bring you to the advanced search screen.
On the advanced search screen you will see all of the searches that are available to you such as keyword, author, and subject. One thing you may not have realized is that you can set limits to your search that will force the catalog to look in specific places. You can set limits on by collection, format, language, and even publication year. If you investigate the "general collections" drop-down menu, you will notice that the library is broken down into several sub-collections, including North Carolina Collection and Special Collections. Here we will execute a subject search for "shipbuilding" while limiting by North Carolina Collection.
Once you have executed your search and reviewed the results, take a look at an item that seems to be a good fit for your interests. In the case fo our example search, let's take a look at The Wilmington Shipyard: Welding a Fleet for Victory in World War II. Simply click the title to view the item's catalog record.
Item records contain a lot of information. Here we can see all the publication information that can be used to properly cite the item as a resource, the call number and location of the four copies held by the library, and the date that the checked out copy is due back at the library. Of note are the two copies that are held in rare collections of both the North Carolina Collection and Special Collections. These copies cannot be checked out should be requested for viewing by clicking the "Request Material" link and using the Aeon request system. Also of note is that there is even more information to be had by clicking the "Catalog Record link.
This record contains even more information than the last, including the subject headings associated with the item. Subject headings are used by librarians to help record what a book is really about. For researchers it means that they can get deeper insight into the subjects that the book covers without even leaving their seat! One can simply click the subject heading that seems attractive and the catalog will display any other records that have that heading associated with it. Remember, title is not always fully indicative of content and this is a great way to find other resources that you may not even known about.
