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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Pathfinder?
How has Pathfinder changed?
Which Cal libraries are not in Pathfinder?
What kinds of material does Pathfinder include?
What (or who) is GLADIS?
When should I search Melvyl?

How can I find journal titles?
How can I find journal articles?
How can I find primary sources?
How can I find manuscripts?
How can I find music recordings and scores?
How can I find videos/DVDs?

How can I browse a list of authors, titles, or subjects?
How can I combine an author and title search?
How can I find all the books by an author?
Why do some of the examples include " * "?
How can I use wildcards in searching?
How does Pathfinder handle diacritics?
How can I search an exact phrase?

What if the item I want is checked out?
I found an excellent book. How can I find more like it?
How can I change a search?
How can I sort my search results?
How can I view my previous searches?

What does "Availability" tell you?
What do the location codes mean?
What is NRLF?
What is BAKER?
What is an Inventory?
How can I renew a book?

How can I e-mail my search results?
How can I print my search results?

What is Pathfinder?

Pathfinder is the catalog of items in most (but not all) of the UC Berkeley libraries. You can use it to find books, maps, videos, DVDs and other sound recordings, music scores, and some government documents, manuscripts, and other primary source materials.

Pathfinder lists the titles of journals, magazines, and newspapers that the libraries subscribe to. However, to look up individual articles on a topic, you will need to use separate article databases.

Mostly, Pathfinder is a catalog of physical items in our libraries. However, it does provide links to the electronic locations of some books, journals, and other materials.

For more information on how to use Pathfinder effectively, see the other Frequently Asked Questions on this page.

How has Pathfinder changed?

In Summer 2005 we introduced a number of improvements designed to make Pathfinder easier to use. These do not affect its underlying database or capabilities. Anything that could be done in the existing version can be done - often more conveniently - in the new version. Please try the new system and send your comments, using the Contact Us link (also located at the top of most Pathfinder screens).

New features

• The Quick Search menu now includes Journal Title searches, a Notes/Table of Contents search, a language limiter, and new search examples.



• Advanced Search (formerly called Full Feature) offers both Title Keyword and Author searches as the defaults.



• Some searches have been renamed, e.g.:
  "Title phrase" becomes "Title begins with..."
  "Personal Author" becomes "Author"
  "Corporate Author" becomes "Author-Organization"



• Results screens show your search statement in words, not abbreviations. They include a "Location(s)" link to help you decode library location abbreviations.



• Availability information has been added at the bottom of the Full record screen.



• Revised online help includes tips on modifying searches, a "Question of the Week" on the first screen, and a "What's Included?" link on every screen.



• Improved navigation provides easier access to search screens, Melvyl, article databases, and the library home page.



• The Melvyl link now goes directly to Melvyl, rather than searching the Melvyl database through Pathfinder.



• Visual improvements include updated screen layouts, graphics, buttons, and color scheme.

Which Cal libraries are not in Pathfinder?

What kinds of material does Pathfinder include?

Pathfinder includes materials in these publication formats, and lets you limit your search to a particular format:

• Books
• Individual chapters in some books (to find these, use the Notes/Table of Contents search)
• Journal titles, but not individual articles in journals (to find these, use article databases)
• Films, videos (including tapes and DVDs) and slides
• Pictures and graphics
• Maps
• Manuscripts
• Sound recordings
• Music scores
• Computer files (including CDROMs and some online databases)
• Kits (instructional materials)
• Objects

What (or who) is GLADIS?

GLADIS is the command-line telnet version of Pathfinder. It has several capabilities that Pathfinder lacks:

• Checking your Inventory (list of items checked out).
• Renewing materials online.
• Searching for course reserve materials by course number or instructor's name.

However, since GLADIS does not allow keyword searching, combining searches, and linking to full text, Pathfinder is usually a better choice for general searching.

Note: The Internet Explorer 7 web browser and Microsoft Windows Vista operating system do not let you follow links from the library website to GLADIS. You can make simple, one-time modifications to correct these problems. This process normally takes only a few minutes using our instructions.

When should I search Melvyl?

Melvyl is the combined catalog of the University of California libraries. Use it when you want to:

• Search the libraries on all ten campuses of the UC system.
• Search libraries on the UC Berkeley campus that are not included in Pathfinder
• Take advantage of Melvyl's special features such as Request (UC-affiliated users only) and Update.
• Search and correctly view records containing diacritical marks such as accents and umlauts.

How can I find journal titles?

The quickest way to look up the title of a journal, magazine, or newspaper is with:

• Journal Title keyword(s)   when you're not sure of the exact journal title, but know words that would likely be in it.
• Journal Title begins with...   when you know the title. It's usually a good idea to end this search with a *  in case there are additional words at the end.

Note that this applies to the titles of journals themselves. Pathfinder does not list individual articles in journals. If you don't yet know what journals you want, use article databases rather than Pathfinder.

How do I find journal articles?

Library catalogs such as Pathfinder list journals, magazines, and newspapers, but not the individual articles within them.

If you need to look up articles, use our Find Articles page. There you'll find the best article databases for each subject, plus general and news databases.

If you already have the citation to an article, you can also find it by looking up the journal title in Pathfinder. For example, to find this article you would search the journal title: urban affairs review.

Flores, Juan. "From bomba to hip hop: Puerto Rican culture and Latino identity". Urban Affairs Review, vol. 38 no. 1, pp. 146-148, Sep 2002.

The listing in Pathfinder includes the location of the printed version of Urban Affairs Review, plus links to electronic versions of this journal.

How can I find primary sources?

Primary sources are documents created by people actually involved in historical events, or reporting on those events at the time.

Pathfinder lists many types of primary source documents such as letters, diaries, pamphlets, and government documents. You can search for a specific item or by more general subject keywords, and also limit searches by date.

Newspaper and magazine articles are not listed individually in Pathfinder, but the library offers several article databases useful for this purpose.

For details, including search strategies and examples, see our guide to Finding Primary Sources.

How can I find manuscripts?

Most manuscripts on the UC Berkeley campus are located in the Bancroft Library and the University Archives (shown respectively as BANC and UARC in Pathfinder search results).

To find manuscripts in Pathfinder, search by author, title keywords, etc. To restrict your search to only manuscripts, use the Limit by Publication Format menu at the bottom of the Quick Search or Advanced Search screen.

To search the finding aids that describe some of these manuscripts, use the Online Archive of California.

For the most complete research using manuscripts, consult the Bancroft Library staff.

How can I find music recordings and scores?

Most music items on this campus are found in the Music Library, shown as MUSI in Pathfinder search results.

You can usually find composers, librettists, arrangers, conductors, or performers in Pathfinder using an Author (last name first) or Author (keywords in name) search.

To restrict your search to only sound recordings or scores, use the Limit by Publication Format menu at the bottom of the Quick Search or Advanced Search screen.

For more information, include help on searching by title, see the guide, How to Find Printed Instrumental Music, and consult the Music Library staff.

How can I find videos/DVDs?

Most videotapes, DVDs, etc. are located in the Media Resouces Center, shown in Pathfinder search results as AVMC.

Video materials will normally appear as part of your search results. Directors and actors in leading roles can often be found using Author searches.

To limit your search to only these items, open the Limit by Publication Format menu at the bottom of the search screen, and choose Films/Videos/Slides.

How can I browse a list of authors, titles, or subjects?

Choose Browse from the menu bar, then choose whether you'd like to see a list of subjects, authors, titles, etc. When you enter a browse search, Pathfinder opens the list beginning with the name or word(s) you entered.

This can be useful in several ways. For example:

• Browsing by Subject begins with... lets you select from the array of subject terms and subdivisions.
• Browsing by Author (last name first) lets you choose among variations on an author's name.

How can I combine an author and title search?

On the Advanced Search screen, you'll see two boxes for entering search terms. Enter one or more word(s) from the title in the first box, and the author's name in the second box.

Alternate method: From the Quick Search screen, search either the title or the author. Then click the Modify Search button and enter the other term.

How can I find all the books by an author?

Choose Browse from the menu bar, then choose Author (last name first) and enter the author's name.

Alternate method: Find one book by the author you want, click on the title to view the full record, and click on the author's name.

Why do some of the examples include " * "?

The asterisk or star ( * ) is a "wildcard" symbol that substitutes for one or more characters at the end of a word. This technique, called truncation, helps you find plurals and alternative forms of a word.

Keyword searching
For example, searching the title keyword globali* finds globalize, globalized, and globalization, plus non-English forms such as globalisation and globalizacion.

Be careful to put enough letters in front of the  *  to be distinctive. For example, searching commun* finds communicate and communications, but also communities, communes, communists, etc. Searching communic* avoids this problem.

Also, if you use too few letters, your search may retrieve so many items that Pathfinder cannot process it.

"begins with..." searching
In searching "Title begins with...", "Subject begins with...", etc., putting a  *  at the end of your word or phrase may be a good idea since it automatically includes any subtitles, subject subdivisions, etc. However, leave it off if you are looking for a one-word title such as Nature

Pathfinder offers several other truncation symbols, each having different effects. For details, see Truncation and Plurals.

How can I use wildcards in searching?

Wildcards are symbols which you can use to truncate a word, causing the system to retrieve variant forms such as plurals.

Pathfinder offers four kinds of truncation:

       *  at the end of a word:   globali*
       #  for one character within a word:   wom#n
       ?  for any number of letters within a word:   spokes?n
       +  for standard plural endings s or es:   parrot+

For more information, see Truncation and Plurals

How does Pathfinder handle diacritics?

Diacritics are modified alphabetical characters in languages other than English that usually change the pronunciation or stress in a word. In their original languages, they are often separate letters of the alphabet, subject to spelling rules and affecting alphabetical order. Examples:

• Danish o-slash (København)
• German umlaut mark (über)
• French acute accent (résumé)
• Spanish tilde (Peña)

When searching on words (including proper names) that contain diacritics, keep the following in mind:

Most modern computer systems can display diacritics using a system called Unicode. If your web browser is set to use Unicode, you can probably see the diacritics on this page. Diacritics can be input into some computer systems using special codes or keyboard sequences.

Because Pathfinder is based on software that does not support Unicode, diacritics do not display properly in the catalog, and generally cannot be searched successfully, no matter how your web browser is configured. Here are some options:

• Replace the modified character with the basic alphabetical letter (so that über becomes uber).
• Skip the modified character completely (so that København becomes Kbenhavn).
• Use standard substitute letter combinations (so that Göthe becomes goethe).
• If none of these methods gets good results, try a different catalog, as described below.

In GLADIS, because of technical limitations with the Tandem operating system, diacritics do not display properly, but can often be searched successfully using standard substitute letter combinations.

In Melvyl, diacritics often display properly if the user's web browser is configured for Unicode [details]. They can sometimes be searched successfully using standard substitute letter combinations.

The same is true in WorldCat.org.

For more information:

• Diacritic (Wikipedia article)
• What is Unicode?
• Keyboard Help: Typing International Accent Marks and Diacritics

How can I search an exact phrase?

When you enter two or more words in a keyword search, Pathfinder looks for records whose titles (or whatever part of the record you specify) contain all the words, regardless of whether they are next to one another.

If the words are normally used together, searching them as an exact phrase will often focus the search on items more relevant to your topic. Unlike Google and some other search tools, Pathfinder does not accept quotation marks to indicate an exact phrase. However, you can do a phrase search by separating the words with   w   as in these examples:

Title keyword searches
Searching   spanish literature   retrieves 444 items
Searching   spanish w literature   retrieves 193 items
Searching   john brown   retrieves 353 items
Searching   john w brown   retrieves 195 items

Notes/Table of Contents keyword searches
Searching   green revolution   retrieves 98 items
Searching   green w revolution   retrieves 41 items

You can link more than two words as a phrase, e.g.,   bilingual w education w programs

For more options, see: Keyword Order and Closeness (Proximity)

What if the item I want is checked out?

If Pathfinder's Availability display reads CHECKED OUT, the item is on loan to another borrower, due back on the date indicated. You have several options:

• Look to see if another copy is listed as "not checked out".
• Go back to your list of results and look for other editions or similar works.
• If you have UC Berkeley borrowing privileges, go to a library circulation (checkout) desk and ask to have the item recalled. This can only be done in person.

You may also want to search:

• Melvyl, the UC-wide catalog which includes some UCB libraries not listed in Pathfinder.
• Worldcat.org which may reveal copies in local libraries.
• Other library catalogs which might include your local public or university library.

I found an excellent book. How can I find more like it?

From your list of search results, click on the title to view the full record for the book you like.

Scroll down and you'll see that several parts of the record are links (blue underlined text). These typically include the book's author, subjects, etc.

Click on whichever link interests you most, and you'll see a list of other items by that author, on that subject, etc.

How can I change a search?

If your search results don't look quite right, click the Modify Search button on the left side of the results screen.

This will get you a screen with two boxes, one showing your original search and the other to enter new search terms. Unless you edit what's in the first box, whatever you enter in the second box will be searched only within your original set of results.

At the bottom of the Modify Search screen are tips for changing your search to retrieve more items or fewer items.

How can I sort my search results?

Normally, search results are pre-sorted in this order; Date (most recent first), Author, and Title.

If you'd like to change the sort order, click the Sort Results button on the left side of the results screen and specify how you want the results arranged.

Note: Pathfinder cannot sort more than 500 items. You may want to Modify your search (see above) to get the number below this level.

How can I view my previous searches?

If you're already done one or more searches in the current session, choose "Previous Searches" from the menu bar at top of screen. This gives you a list of your previous searches (in the current session only).

To re-run a search, click on the search terms in the list. You can also combine two or more searches by:

1. Clicking the check-boxes next to them.
2. Choosing whether to see items containing "any" or "all" of the combined search terms.
3. Clicking the Search button.

Pathfinder does not have a way to save searches after your session is over. However, this can be done in Melvyl, the catalog of all UC campus libraries, using its "My Workspace" feature. Before proceeding, it's a good idea to click on Melvyl's "Help" link, then read the detailed instructions under "Saving Results".

What does "Availability" tell you?

Pathfinder's Availability display shows you the location and current status of an item, updated in real time from our checkout system.

You can now view this display in two ways, starting from your list of search results:

• Click the Availability button next to any item.
or

• Click on the title of any item to view its full record, then click on the Availability button on that screen. You can then go directly to the previous or next record if desired.

If the library owns multiple copies of an item, the Availability display will indicate the location and status of each one. For journals, magazines, newspapers, etc., it will indicate what volumes and dates the library owns, with location and status information.

What do the location codes mean?

More than 30 libraries are included in Pathfinder. These are represented by abbreviations in your search results.

To decode the abbreviations, use the Location(s) link. This will also lead you to the website of each library.

What is NRLF?

When you see "Shelved at NRLF" or "Storage", this indicates the item is kept at the Northern Regional Library Facility, located in Richmond. NRLF houses infrequently used library material belonging to UC Berkeley, Davis, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco, as well as some volumes from the California State Library.

Eligible UCB faculty, students, staff, and library cardholders can request items from NRLF in two ways:

• Online, by clicking on the NRLF button next to the item in Pathfinder. If not already logged in, you will need to log in using your CalNet ID or patron identification number before completing the web form.
or

• In person, at the circulation desk of any UC Berkeley library.

Items requested from NRLF are generally available for pick-up within two working days.

What is BAKER?

BAKER is a fee-based Document Delivery Service for UCB faculty, staff, graduate students, and UCOP staff with current UCB library cards. To use BAKER you must establish a special account.

BAKER verifies your citation, locates the material in the Berkeley collection, checks out or photocopies the material as appropriate, and delivers the material to your department. If an electronic version of an article you requested is available, BAKER will either send you the downloaded article by e-mail, or refer you to a website where the article can be viewed and printed.

If necessary, BAKER will place holds, searches and storage requests on your behalf. If the material is not in the Berkeley collection (and if you have pre-authorized BAKER to do so), BAKER will automatically forward your request to the Interlibrary Borrowing Service.

For more information, see our Document Delivery page.

What is an Inventory?

An Inventory is a list of the items you currently have checked out from the UC Berkeley Libraries. It is also the starting point for renewing materials online.

To view your inventory, you will need to use GLADIS, the command-line telnet version of our library catalog. For more information and step-by-step instructions, see our Inventories page.

How can I renew a book?

You can renew books online using GLADIS, the command-line telnet version of our library catalog. Renewals can also be done by telephone and in person.

For more information and step-by-step instructions, see our Renewing Materials page.

How can I e-mail my search results?

You can e-mail any catalog record or set of records from Pathfinder. To do this, you first have to save them into a separate area at the bottom of the screen. Click the Save button next to an item you want, or click the Save All button to save all items on the current page of results.

Then go to the bottom of the screen and click the E-mail/Display Results button. You'll be prompted to enter your e-mail address and send the message.

How can I print my search results?

To print a set of records from Pathfinder, you first have to save them into a separate area at the bottom of the screen. Click the Save button next to an item you want, or click the Save All button to save all items on the current page of results.

Then go to the bottom of the screen and click the E-mail/Display Results button. A list of your saved items will appear in the right frame. Right-click in an empty area of this frame and select Print from the pop-up menu.

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