BIOL 102 - How to use QCAT | Queen's University Library

BIOL 102: How to use QCAT

books, newspapers, reference works, government documents, conference proceedings, multimedia material, etc. whether print or electronic, in all Queen's libraries
journals or magazines, whether print or electronic, to which Queen's libraries subscribe or otherwise provide access to
which library has the item
where it is in that library
whether it is in the library or has been borrowed (for books) by another patron. Journals and reference books do not circulate.

Material on reserve for a course is listed in QCAT. The course professor chooses what material goes on reserve, not library staff.
To borrow course reserves you will need to find the call number of the item(s) you wish to borrow. To find the call number:
1. Go to QCAT, the library catalogue
2. Click on the Course Reserve tab
3. You may search for reserve items by instructor's name, department or course. The easiest approach is to click on "course" and select, for example, Biol 102 or Biol 103 from the menu.
4. Note the library location, e.g. Engineering and Science Library
5. Write down the call number and take take it and your student card, to the Circulation/Reserve Desk in the appropriate library.

Search by Keyword

Leave a space between words to automatically "and" them together
Search using the whole keyword e.g. mathematics or truncate by using ? e.g. mathematic?
Keywords can be searched as a phrase using quotation marks, e.g. "toxicology and medicine"

Search by Keyword Boolean (use AND, OR, NOT or phrase)

Search using the whole keyword e.g. mathematics or truncate by using ? e.g. mathematic?
Keywords can be combined , e.g. mathematic? and biologist?
Keywords can be searched as a phrase using quotation marks, e.g. "biology and medicine"

Search by Title

Omit initial articles (the, a, an)
The title must be entered in the exact order but you do not need to type in the complete title. For example when searching for the title: Biology and activities of yeasts you can search by Biology and activities of y or even Biology and act
Include commas in number, e.g. 20,000 leagues under the sea

Search by Author

For books written by an individual author type the last name followed by the first name (or, even better, last name followed by first initial),
for example the author search Einstein A - finds books by A. Einstein, Al Einstein, Albert Einstein etc.
For books written by organizations or groups used normal word order,
for example the author search Queen's University , or American Mathematical Society finds books by those organizations
QCAT doesn't recognize misspelled words

When you have found the book(s) that look interesting

Note the location, e.g. Engineering and Science Library - Books. The location refers to both the library and the floor that the books are shelved on. For this example,
- "Engineering and Science Library - Books" refers to Level 1 of the Douglas Building.
- "Engineering and Science - Bound Journals" refers to Levels 2 and 3.
Consult the map posted at the indoor entrance to the library, as well as the floor maps located at each level of the building.
Write down the call number
Engineering and Science Library books (except those with location Reference or Reserve) are on Level 4S, the bottom floor, three floors below the entry level.
Books in the Bracken Health Sciences Library are located on the lower level.
Books in the Stauffer Library are located on the floors above the entry level.

A journal may also be called a Magazine, a Periodical, a Serial
QCAT, the library catalogue, tells you whether or not we have a subscription to the journal.
Nota Bene QCAT, the library catalogue, does not tell you which articles are in the journal

Example of a citation to a journal article

Bush, S.L. (1996) Why is double-clutching rare in the Majorcan midwife toad? Animal Behaviour v.52 no.5 p.913-922

AUTHOR of the article is: Bush, S.L .
TITLE of the article is: Why is double-clutching rare in the Majorcan midwife toad?
TITLE of the journal is : Animal Behaviour
VOLUME, Issue number and pages are: v.52 no.5 p.913-922 volume

To find the article (above):

Search QCAT to see if we have the journal Animal Behaviour
In the "Search for" box select "Journal Title Exact" and enter the journal title - Animal Behaviour
Select the entry for the journal and note the call number and location
Some journals are available online as well as in print. For example: Nature [electronic resource].
When looking at a journal record watch for the following:
- which library has the journal (for print)
- which years do we have (for print). Do we still have a print subscription or has it been cancelled?
- Do we have a subscription to an online edition? What years do we have access to?
- which volumes (for print) are located in the Current Periodicals section
- which volumes are located in the Bound Journals area. In the Engineering and Science Library and the Stauffer Library note the call number. Journals in the Bracken Health Sciences Library are located on the lower level and shelved by title. In the Engineering and Science Library you will find journals with call numbers from A-QH on 2S (one floor below entry), and journals with call numbers from QK - Z on 3S (two floors below entry)