Quick Look At the Helioid Search Engine

I have friends and relations that kinda sorta know how to use Google. They don't know about Bing, Ask.com or the other search engines that are available. Then again, a lot of folks believe that Facebook is a search engine.

I am restricting how many semantic wars I can handle in a day.

You, on the other hand, should know about the diversity of options you have when it comes to web search engines. This is a new one called Helioid.


The above screen capture is from the Quick Help at the web site. Basically you can type in your search term/keyword and not only do you get a list of viable links you get a side category of topics that are color coded to your search results.

I did a test search using SuDocs (The Superintendent of Documents classification system) These are the topics area that were visible on the left side of the screen:

• Libraries
• Department
• 2011
• Document Classification
• Publications
• Documents SuDocs Classifications
• SuDocs Classification System
• SuDocs Classification
• Number
• SuDocs

Not perfect but not too bad for a general purpose search engine. 2011 refers to SuDoc links that have a 2011 date of publication. Number refers to the word "number" in relation to the word "SuDocs."

Now if I want to see only the SuDocs Classification System items I click on the yellow circle and I only see the four links that match.

I like that.

Helioid is new so there are thing that are missing like being about to type in a search date range or selecting .edu or other specific domains. That will come in time.

So I encourage you to check it out and offer feedback to the Developers.

The Dewey Blog - All Dewey All The Time

I miss getting a daily or weekly dose of library news, education and all around juice. Here is a goody I should visit more than I do, 025.431 The Dewey Blog.


Yes, life in classification. As a side benefit you can observe how to construct Dewey numbers. How would you classify a salad? Need to know how to classify a book about Star Trek? What about Water Lilies?

Not only can you see Dewey classification in action, you can also check out the various Dewey communities both national and international.

If you are taking a classification class and you need real world examples of constructing Dewey numbers this is the place.

English Short Title Catalogue at the British Library

At this section of the British Library website you can locate titles for books published between 1473 and 1800. If the material was published in the UK or its possessions, Colonial America or any place else on the planet, and it was printed in English, it very well might be listed in this database.

Now short title does not refer to the length of the actual name of the book. As you can see from the example below, titles could be quiet descriptive:


My understanding is that it refers to limited or special publications produced quickly. I'm thinking like pamphlets, broadsheets and the early equivalents of instant publishing.

As you can see, you can view the records in a variety of formats such as a three line summary listing, full MARC tags, or which institution has the actual document.

This is a good resource if you are researching ephemeral publications that give a sense of time and place.

It is also valuable if you want to brush up on your MARC skills if it has been long time since you have sweated a MARC code. Check it out.

Cataloging SOS - Cataloging Reference Books

AACR2 is many things but easy reading it is not. It is not too late to find more humane help in understanding cataloging and classification.

Libraries Unlimited has a number of books and workbooks on cataloging/classification.

I think this was the one that we flipped through at the California Library Convention in Long Beach.

Closer to home, Cataloging & Classification for Library Technicians is on the third floor of the library - 025.3 K 4, 2001 or if somebody beats you to it you can order at Amazon.com

Descriptive Cataloging, this one will be good for both 105A and 105B You can find it at Amazon.com or Powell's Books

Remember, if you are short on cash don't hesitate to do the WorldCat thing, somebody, somewhere has got these books.

Library of Congress Classifiction Tutorials

Yes, learning the Library of Congress Classification system is not for the faint of heart. Fortunately there are some online resources that you can use to get a handle on how things are done in LC land.

The LC Classification system is a subject based classification system using alphabets and numbers to create subdivisions of a subject.

Classification Number Anatomy

Dennison University has a visual page that shows the construction of an LC number.

Another place to check is Tarleton State University Library has a clear tutorial page that explains how the call numbers are built.

If you have the current version of Java running you can access a Java based slide show on how the numbers function in the real world. First thing you will learn is that "Nothing comes before something" and the second thing is "single letters come before double letters." There is a quiz at the end to test your comprehension.

Theory Based Tutorials

Tulane University Howard Tilton LC Informal Notes page talks about the features of LC, how it was constructed and some of the quirk inherent in the system.

Colorado State University goes into a bit more detail on how the call numbers are constructed. The first section has information on the classification scheme and the second section describes how to find the book on the shelf.

University of Michigan Libraries Understanding Library of Congress Call Numbers combines the anatomy approach with an explanation of how to read the number. This is a downloadabled .pdf document.

And finally thanks to Lisa The Librarian's blog there is a complete demo tutorial on shelving and reading LC numbers at the LibraryU website. Look for the link "Demo" on the left side of the screen.

Of course you should visit the Library of Congress Classification Outline page where you can download specific sections of the classification system and observe how the system is constructed and spend time exploring Classification Web.

Dewey Decimal System - All Dewey All The Time

If you find yourself working in a public library chances are good that it will use the Dewey Decimal System. Melvil Dewey is certainly represented on the web and in the blogosphere.

The following places of interest are a quick look at some of the resources available to help you learn and understand about the classification system. If you are taking Library 105B you are hip deep in the Dewey so hopefully I can dig out additional resources for the class.

The official Dewey site Online Learning Computer Center (OCLC) contain a gateway to the world of classification. You can download a copy of Introduction of Dewey Decimal Classification. In 37 pages it will give you the history, the classification schedules and the beginning steps on how to determine a subject, Notation, field of study and working with schedules and tables.

You will also want to check out the glossary of Dewey terms. Students in certain LT classes have access to Web Dewey but if you would like to get a head start on how to use the Web Dewey feature you can view a Power Point tutorial.

Outside of OCLC another place you want to visit is the Dewey Blog, edited by Johnathan Furner and the DDC team. If you can think it there is (or will be) a Dewey number for it. The blog represents life as viewed by the DDC. One of the entry that had me blinking was the classification of the toys and lead problems that have been in the news.

They go through the process of how this topic has been classified and what they do when there is not an exact match in the classification system. It is also a good opportunity to observe how a DDC "built" numbers are constructed.

Not every public library has Dewey, in fact there are a few that stopped using Dewey numbers such as the one in Arizona. They will arrange books by topic instead.

This has generated a lot of posts. Daniel DeStefano isn't crazy about the idea. A Library By Any Other name blog suggest that one of the problems with patrons finding books is that there isn't the right kind of signs or visual cues that would make it clear that where to find the history book.

Not all folks hate the idea of pitching Dewey - some folks like Shelly from A View From Here mention that maybe there could be a merger between the bookstore model and the traditional library classification systems.

Superintendent of Documents Classification System

If you want to locate federal publication documents you don't need to learn the Superintendent of Documents Classification System (SuDocs). The Government Printing Office Catalog of U.S. Government Publications allows you to type in keyword or perform advanced searches.

If you plan on working in a federal library, an academic depository library or you need to access U.S. government produced documents on a regular basis then you might need to learn this classification system.

SuDocs will make it easier to understand which agency is publishing the document and when it was created. SuDocs is a system based on:

• the agency or department that created the document
  
• the sub-level of that agency (if any)
• the series designation (if any)
  
• the number that designates the title of the publication
• the date of publication.

For example: HE20.2:H81 translates to Health and Human Services Department Public Health Services publication entitled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

To learn More About SuDoc Classification

• Cal State Los Angeles Library has a chart that contains the agency and agency code found in the SuDocs System.
• Federal Deposit Library Program has a on-line classification manual to teach you how to correctly apply the classification system.
• Illinois Institute of Technology Galvin Library Government Documents Collection has an simplified explanation of the classification system.
• Louisiana State University has a tutorial on finding government documents and Understanding SuDocs Call Numbers
• University of Iowa Library has a brief introduction page with clear examples.