Using the UF Libraries' Catalog

Browse Results

Browse Organized Lists lets you browse alphabetical or numerical lists of titles, authors, subject headings, call numbers, or other specialized indexes to help you locate the materials you need. Subject Headings are assigned by librarians to group related records together, and may display the records in a more organized way than results from a keyword search.

When you type in the Browse Organized Lists box, select an index from the menu, and click Go, you see an intermediate screen titled Browse List. The Browse List displays an alphabetical list of entries, shows the number of records for each entry, and indicates whether or not there are cross-references (the preferred term) for the entry. Click on an underlined entry to see the Search Results/Brief Records with locations, call numbers and items).

Each entry consists of a separate group of 1 or more records. To view the records that belong to another entry, you may click your Browser Back button as needed to return to the original Browse List, and then select the next entry of interest.

Browse Organized Lists is a quick way to look up a title, author, subject, call number, etc. if you know exactly how it appears in the catalog, i.e., if you know the exact title, author's full name (last name first), exact subject, or exact call number.

You may use Browse Organized Lists when you only know the beginning of a title, author's name, subject, call number, etc. If so, you will enter a different point of the index than if you typed in the whole string. In any case, you may browse up and down the resulting alphabetical or numerical index using the [next page] and [previous page] buttons to select the entry you want. Once you click on a term, the Catalog then searches for the entry and will retrieve the record(s) that match the entry you chose.

When NOT to use Browse:

• If you want to search different words in different fields (such as title and author) at the same time. In this case, use the Advanced Keyword Search
• If you know some words from the title (subject heading, etc.), but not their the exact order. In this case, use Basic Keyword or Advanced Keyword Search.
• If you do not know the exact spelling of a term or a name. In this case, use Basic Keyword or Advanced Keyword Search and use truncation and wildcards.

Some entries include a Brief Recs button between the entry and the "No. of Records". The Brief Recs button arranges the records within an entry in a way that usually makes particular items easier to locate.

For more tips on when to use "Search for Keyword" or "Browse Organized Lists", click the above each search box.