MARIAN - Gallagher Law Library Catalog Help

MARIAN Help Page .

MORE ABOUT AUTHOR SEARCHING

How do I search for a book when I know the author?

In the AUTHOR search box, type the author’s last name. After you submit the search, you will see an alphabetical list of authors beginning with the name you typed.

If the author whose works you are looking for has a common last name, you should type in the author’s first initial or first name, so you do not have to look through as long a list. For example, if you type

cohen

you will find over a hundred authors named Cohen. If you type in

cohen m

or

cohen morris

then you will get to works by Morris L. Cohen more quickly.

What if I know the last names (but not the first names) of two people who co-authored a book?

The easiest approach is to use a Keywords Search. For example, if you want to find books by Wright and Miller, search in Keywords for

wright and miller

Another approach uses Author searching and Limit/Sort.

You can search for the first author’s name and then LIMIT your search to records that also include the second author’s name. For example, if you want to find books by White and Summers, first search for

white

You will find hundreds of books by Adrian White, Alan White, Alexander White, and many more. Perhaps you have no idea which White was the one who wrote with Summers – that’s OK. Click on

LIMIT THIS SEARCH.

Then choose the field

Words in the AUTHOR

and type in

summers

Now click on

Limit/sort items retrieved using above data

Now you will have a list of books whose authors include White and Summers.

Why is it that when I type in an author’s name, I get some books that do not seem to be written by that person?

The catalog record for a book lists as an author its first author. If it has co-authors, they may be listed as "added authors." Both "authors" and "added authors" are searched in an AUTHOR search.

For example, the record for Civil Procedure, by Fleming James, Jr., Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr., and John Leubsdorf, has Fleming James, Jr., as the "author"; Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr., and John Leubsdorf are listed as "added authors." If you search for Leubsdorf as an author, you will find this book, even though he is not the first author listed.

Faculty members who advise student papers are also listed as added authors. So when you search for

haley john o

as an author, you will find books that Professor Haley wrote and you will also find papers that has students have written under his supervision.

How do I find material whose "author" is an agency or an organization?

When a book (or other material) is produced by an agency, organization, or company, the body that produces it is treated as the author in the catalog record. (Catalogers call the body a "corporate author" – even though it might be a government agency or nonprofit organization, not a "corporation.") You can search by this author by typing its name in the AUTHOR search box. For example,

american bar association

american law institute

amnesty international

united states equal employment opportunity commission

washington state court of appeals

washington state dept of ecology

If you are looking for something that is produced by a subdivision of an agency or organization, start with the largest body first. For example, the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association is listed in catalog records as

American Bar Association. Section of Litigation

so you would search for materials it produces by entering

american bar association section of lit

in the AUTHOR search box. Similarly, the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the United States Department of Justice is listed in catalog records as

United States. Dept. of Justice. Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section

so you would search for it by entering

united states dept of justice asset

in the AUTHOR search box.

What if I am not exactly sure of how the agency name will be listed?

If you are not sure how the agency name will be listed as a corporate author, you might try typing in as much as you know (or a good guess) and browsing the list of authors to see if you recognize it.

You can also use a KEYWORDS search. Searching for

justice near money laundering

will retrieve material by

United States. Dept. of Justice. Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section

and

United States. Dept. of Justice. Criminal Division. Money Laundering Section