# Presentation: 431500

## Guide to Searching the Copyright Office Catalog

- (Registrations and recorded documents from 1978 to the present)

## New searching features are available such as:

- Keyword searching
- A single database that contains records of monographs, serials, and recorded documents
- Basic Search screen and Other Search Options screen for advanced searching
- Limit your search by date or a specific item type
- Links to online help is available at the top and bottom of each screen

## Click “Search Records” to access the Copyright Office Catalog

**Click “Search Records” to access the Copyright Office Catalog**

## Click “Search the Catalog” to begin

**Click “Search the Catalog” to begin**

## About the Catalog

## Overview of the Basic Search screen

- By using the Basic Search screen you can:
- Specify the search term
- Search by either Title, Name, Keyword, Registration Number, Document Number, Command Keyword

## Basic Search by Title

- A Title search finds works by title in the exact word order of the title
- Use this search when the exact title of the work is known
- Type the entire title, or the first few words of the title
- Omit initial articles, A, An, The, El, La, Das, etc.

## To perform a search:

- Type your search term in the “Search for”: box
- Select the type of search from the “Search by”: screen

-  Click the “Begin Search” button to perform the search

## Sample Search Results

- Click a title to view a record from the titles list display

**Sample Search Results**

- Preregistration
- Records for unpublished
- works in the process
- of being  prepared for
- commerical distribution.

## Monograph Sample Registration Record

## Sample Preregistration Record

## Serial Sample Registration Record

## Recorded Document Sample Record

- Click to view or print titles
- associated with this document

**Recorded Document ****Sample Record**

## Basic Search by Name

**Basic Search by Name**

- Search by all names, such as author, claimant, party 1, party 2 , etc.
- To search by a personal name, type the last name first name
- To search by a corporate name, type the name in word order

## Basic Search by Keyword

- A Keyword search finds words, or phrases located *anywhere* in the record
- Use “ “ to surround exact phrases
- Type words or phrases in any order.  All words will be searched, including “and”, “the”, etc.
- Use ? to search for a variation of a word, for example comput? finds compute, computer, computation
- Use + before words that must appear in every record retrieved
- Use ! before words that must not appear in any record retrieved
- Results will be ranked by relevance

## Basic Search by Copyright Registration Number

***All Copyright registration numbers must have a total of 12 characters***
- Type 2 letters followed by 10 numbers, or 3 letters followed by 9 numbers
- Omit spaces and hyphens when typing the number
- Add leading zeroes to the numeric portion of the registration number

## Basic Search by Copyright Recorded Document Number

***All document numbers must have a total of nine characters***
- The number after the “v” is always 4 digits; the number after the “p” or “d” is always 3 digits
**Documents before V3400 use P + page number**
**Documents after V3400 use D + page number**
***Note:***** V5000 and V8000 also use P + page number.**
- Omit spaces when typing the number

## Setting Search Limits

- Select methods of limiting your searches below.
- Choose multiple **Item Types** by holding down the **<Ctrl>** key while selecting.
- Click on “**Set Search Limits**.” The message “**Search limits are in effect until you click on *****Clear Search Limits”*** will appear.
- Search limits will remain in effect until you specifically clear them or until you close your browser.

## Limit by Date

- Limit your search by Date in 4 ways
- Search only one year
- Search a range of years
- Search for all years before a date
- Search for all years after a date

## Limit by Item Type

- Use this limit to find a specific type of work
- Select multiple Item Types by holding down the <CTRL> key and clicking a term (Example:  Limit search to Music and Sound Recordings)
- Limit your search to:
- Recorded Documents
- Text
- Serials
- Music
- Maps
- Sound Recordings
- Computer Files
- Motion Pictures
- Visual Materials
- Kits
- Mask Works
- Preregistration

## Overview of “Other Search Options”

- Search for specific catalog records without knowing the complete title or full personal or corporate name
- Search by keyword using Boolean operators to combine or exclude words and phrases

## Boolean Searching

- Use Boolean operators to search for combinations of words or phrases. Enter Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) in either uppercase or lowercase
- Boolean operators **may** be used with the* ***Basic Search** *Command Keyword* or with **Other Search Options**.
- Boolean operators **may not** be used with the **Basic Search** types *Title, Name, Keyword, Registration Number or Document Number*

## How to Use Boolean Operators

**AND** narrows the search by requiring all terms to be found in the record
**OR** broadens the search by retrieving records if one or more of the terms is present
**NOT** excludes terms from the search (use carefully, because NOT may eliminate relevant material inadvertently)

## How to use “Other Search Options”

- Type a word or phrase in the “Search for:” box
- Select “all of these”, “any of these”, “as a phrase” from the drop-down list
- “All of these”: all of the words you type in the “Search for:” box must appear in the record
- “Any of these”: at least one of the words you type in the “Search for:” box will appear in the record
- “As a phrase”: the words you type in the “Search for:” box must appear in the record in the order typed
- Select an index name (Keyword anywhere is the default index and performs the broadest search)
- Click the “Begin Search” button to perform the search, OR
- Click AND, OR, NOT and fill in the next set of “Search for:”  boxes

## Sample Search

**Search for “*****inner peace*****” as “*****all of these*****” in a title field and “*****weiss*****” as a claimant.**

## Thank you for viewing this tutorial

**For additional help, please contact us at **_**[copysearch@loc.gov](mailto:copysearch@loc.gov)**_** or telephone Copyright Reference & Bibliography Section at (202) 707-6850**

**Ready to search? **_**[Click here](http://cocatalog.loc.gov/)**_