Fwd: call number searching

[Jack Hall <jhall at uh dot edu>]

Jamen wrote about retrieving videos whose call numbers start VHS, but not 
those starting DVD.

Did you get answers for this? I was curious, so I followed your link to 
your catalog. Here are my comments. Some of your call numbers are in 050 
fields (LC call number) and some are in 099 fields (local call number, 
non-LC). This could easily make a difference in how they are indexed. And 
both types of call numbers in your catalog (LC and local) appear to be in 
the same call number index, right? At least, I see only one call number 
search on your search menu. Here, we have separate call number indexes for 
LC call numbers and local call numbers (099 field call numbers).

Also, the call number for the DVD you give as an example (Nefertiti 
resurrected, is DVD DT 87.45 .... That is, there are letters following the 
DVD (derived from LC classification, apparently), whereas in your VHS call 
numbers there are only numbers, as far as I can tell. This would also make 
a difference. If your 099 call numbers are in an LC call number index, and 
you have some letters (DVD) followed by more letters, they won't index 
properly, because LC call numbers are always a letter or group of letters 
followed by numbers. Notice that you can find the DVD Nefertiti resurrected 
by doing a call number search DT87.45. It is ignoring the "DVD" part, 
because it is not the standard format of an LC-type call number. We have a 
similar problem in our catalog. Our old books in foreign law, cataloged 
before LC had published classification schedules for those areas, look like 
this:  K .M5 1960  (using K for law, and then just an author cutter). Those 
call numbers can't be searched as LC call numbers in our catalog, because 
they consist of a letter followed by more letters, instead of numbers. But 
you can find that same hypothetical book by doing an LC call number search: 
M5 because the Innopac LC call number search algorithm goes to the first 
string it recognizes as an LC-type call number (letter followed by number). 
It can be amusing searching music scores by call number in our catalog, 
because some foreign law titles will be retrieved.  Someday we hope to have 
all those foreign law books re-classed, and are working on it.

I suggest that you need separate call number indexes for all possible 
different types of call numbers you might have: LC, "local", SuDoc, dewey, 
etc. 050 and 090 would go into the LC index; 099 into the local index, 
etc., 086 into the SuDoc index, etc.

Jack



Jack Hall
114L University of Houston Libraries
Houston, TX  77204-2000
telephone:(713) 743-9687
e-mail: jhall at uh dot edu
fax: (713) 743-9748