When you've found the book you're interested in, you need to note three things from the Catalyst catalog, the call number, the location, and the status. If you're off campus and can't come to the library, you can request a chapter or two of a book using interlibrary loan.

The location details tell you which library the book is in, and which part of the library it's in. Most books at Carleton are on the 1st - 3rd floors. You can always ask a librarian for help finding a book on the shelf.

The call number (in this case HM251. S2997) tells you where exactly on the shelves the book will be. Click Map It! to show which shelf it should be on.

The status tells you if the book is available or not. Item in place means it's on the shelf and ready to be checked out. If it's not available, it will tell you when the book is due. You can request the book, and the person who has it checked out will need to return it within a week. You'll be notified when the book has been returned.

Books from St. Olaf
Catalyst searches both the Carleton and St. Olaf libraries, so you may find some books that are only at St. Olaf. To get the book, click on the Request link, and then enter your Carleton username and password. You will receive an email when the book has arrived, usually the next day, though deliveries are not made on weekends. Then you can head to Gould Library to pick it up. In normal times, you can also go to the St. Olaf library and check the book out with your OneCard. This is not an option during the pandemic.

WorldCat - Finding books from other libraries
Search WorldCat, an online catalog for libraries throughout the world, to find books that Carleton and St. Olaf don't have. If you find a book through WorldCat that is not at Carleton or St. Olaf libraries, you will need to order the book through InterLibrary Loan.

Catalyst is the joint catalog for Carleton and St. Olaf libraries, an access point for all of the books, periodicals, government documents, and electronic resources available at the two colleges. 

When starting out, it is often helpful to do a keyword search on your topic, this will search for your words in the title, table of contents (if available), subject headings, and author fields.  If you get too many results, take a look at the choices along the left hand side of the page to find ways to narrow your search.

If you've found a book that looks great for your topic, look at the record for that book, it can lead you to other relevant books:

• Similar items - these are listed along the right hand side of the page.  They're books with similar subject headings and keywords.
• Subject headings - these are listed in the center of the page, and are the Library of Congress Subject Headings for the book.  If one of those headings really captures your topic, click on it to find all the other books with that subject heading.
• Browsing the shelves - the books in the library are shelved in call number order, so books on a similar topic are shelved together.  If you've found a good book, it is worth the time to look at the books shelved near it to see if any of those books are relevant, too.

Call Numbers
Browsing the stacks can help you evaluate the library's collection in a given field of study. The following call number ranges contain works relevant to cognitive studies:

• BF1-37 - Psychology (general works)
• BF176-198.7 - Psychological tests and experimental psychology
• HM1001-1281 - Social Psychology
• HM251 - Social Psychology (older books)