Using the on-line catalog (NOTIS)

The following information describes how to use the on-line catalog at the Sterling C. Evans Library at Texas A&M University.

NOTIS, the on-line catalog

NOTIS is the library on-line catalog in use at Texas A&M University. A library on-line catalog serves as the basic access to books and journals within a library's collection. If you want to find a book or a journal in the library, a very basic way to do that is to use NOTIS. It's very common for experienced library users to seek information about library holdings through the on-line catalog.

How to get to NOTIS

NOTIS is available throughout the library at most, if not all, of the public terminals and PC's. Information for how to use NOTIS is available through NOTIS's help screens, and you can ask for help from library staff and learn from them when they type searches. There is also printed information available from the service desks in the Reference area on the first floor that explain general and advanced use of NOTIS.

The on-line catalog can also be reached from campus computing systems including UNIX, VM, and VAX. From an account on tam2000 or VAX, the vtam command will provide access to the ATM screen on the VM system. NOTIS is one of the options on the ATM screen. More help for reaching NOTIS with a modem is available from the Reference service desks.

Major options in NOTIS

From most of the public terminals in the library, the CLEAR key goes to a screen that lets the user choose between searching for book-level records or journal-article records. The book-level selections include the Medical Science Library and some other system libraries beside Sterling C. Evans Library. The journal-level selections provide access for Texas A&M students and staff to some journal article databases.

From the starting NOTIS screen (reachable through using the CLEAR key), typing CAT selects the book records, typing INDX selects the journal article records, and just typing the RETURN key - at least from within the library - selects specifically the book records from the Sterling C. Evans Library.

Book records include the names of journals that the library has, though the book records don't list particular articles within those journals.

Continue with how to find a book using NOTIS and how to find a journal using NOTIS.

List of how to do things at the Library

Last revised May 26, 1997 by JPF