Tips for Searching the CAMH Library Catalogue
The following tips have been prepared to help you search the CAMH Library Catalogue. To search the Library Catalogue click the following link:
Search the CAMH Library Catalogue
The tips are provided in the following sections:
About the CAMH Library Catalogue
Getting Started
a. Basic Search
b. Browse By
c. Advanced Search
Managing Search Results
About the CAMH Library Catalogue
The CAMH Library Catalogue includes over 40,000 items, primarily books and reports, dating back to the mid to late 1800’s. The focus is alcohol, tobacco, gambling and other drugs, addiction, mental health, psychiatry. There are also many documents relating to health promotion, public health, policy, criminal justice and law. The collection includes:
- Books
- Audio-visual resources
- Government & NGO documents, including laws
- Conference Proceedings
- Journal titles
- Journal reprints
- Analytics, which are references to journal articles, journal theme issues, or chapters held in the CAMH Library collection.
Limitations?
Read the following:
- If you are looking for journal articles on a specific topic, it is best to do a journal database search.
- Because the collection is large and covers limited topics, some terms such as Alcoholism, Drug(s), Psychiatry will retrieve many hits. See Advanced Search for tips to fine tune your search.
- Analytics: Subject Headings are not assigned. Analytics can only be searched by Title, Author and/or Source.
See the Drop Down menu and select the field to search. There are 5 options. All searches are by Keyword.
1. Title
Enter the full title or key words. If the book has a common title, try the Advanced Search.
Example: to find DSM-IV / DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) resources, enter:
dsm-iv*
Example: to find either edition of Heather and Miller’s popular book, enter:
treating addictive behaviors or
treating addictive behavio*
2. Author (See also Browse By Author)
Enter the last name followed by the first name, or initial with an *.
Example: To find books by Alan F. Schatzberg, enter:
schatzberg,
schatzberg a* or
schatzberg alan
If you are unsure of spelling, see the Browse By section below.
3. Subject (See also Browse By Subject)
A comprehensive list of subject headings is used to catalogue the CAMH Library collection.
For example, there are 214 subject headings for Gambling and 20 of these are for Youth and Gambling.
Example: To find all items catalogued under Youth and Gambling, enter:
youth gambling
Example: To find statistical reports on drug use in Canada, enter:
canada drug* statistics or
drug abuse surveys canada
4. Year
You can search by a single year, or truncate (200*). To search a specific topic over a range of years, use Advanced Search.
5. Organization/Publisher
Use this option to find items by a specific organization or publisher.
Example: To find publications by the Canadian Mental Health Association, national or provincial bodies, enter:
canadian mental health association
Note: There is also an option to limit your search results with Filters (see below Search Boxes). To use filters, you must use the Filter option you have selected at the beginning of a new search. If you decide to use it for your previous search, you must Clear Form and enter your terms again.
b. Browse By
The Browse By search option lets you browse the Author or Subject index. You can select and search on individual terms. This is useful if you are not sure of spellings or the specific subject headings used for topics you want to search.
1. Author Index
Example: Enter:
beck a*.
For books by Aaron Beck, click on this author. The name will be moved to the Browse By Author search box and automatically searched. The results will be displayed under Search Results.
2. Subject Index
Example: Enter:
bipolar
No results will come up. Try:
manic depress*
The Subject Heading used is Manic Depressive Illness or Manic Depressive Persons. Select one Subject Heading to search, or, now that you know the Subject Heading used, go back to Basic Search or Advanced Search and enter manic depressive for a Keyword Subject search.
Note: After using Browse By be sure to select Clear Form before starting another search.
c. Advanced Search
In Advanced Search, you can search more than one field simultaneously, and will benefit from:
- More Field options
- More options for entering your search terms.
Note: Using Filters (See below Search boxes). You must use the Filter option you have selected at the beginning of a new search. If you decide to use it for your previous search, you must Clear Form and enter your terms again.
You must use Advanced Search to search by:
- Call Number
- ISBN or ISSN
- Access Key (the unique identifier assigned to every CAMH Library item.)
Example: To find resources catalogued under HV 5822 .C3, select the Call Number Field, use Keyword and enter:
hv 5822 .c3*
Use Advanced Search to search by Title, Subject or Author for resources within a date range (Year).
Example: To find resources on schizophrenia from 2000 to present, try:
Subject > Keyword > schizophrenia and Year > Greater Than > 1999
Use Advanced Search to search by more than one term that expresses a concept, such as Bipolar or Manic Depression.
Example: To find resources on Bipolar Disorder, try:
Title > Keyword > bipolar or
Title > Keyword > manic depress* or
Subject > Keyword > manic depress*
Managing Search Results
Search Results are displayed, 25 records per page. See page numbers to move back and forth among the pages. The total number of records are indicated at the top of the Results section.
1. Sorting Results
Place your mouse over Year or Call Number to sort in ascending or descending order.
2. Printing Results:
- For All Results:To print, click on the Print icon. Regardless of what page of results you are on, all records will be printed.
- For Selected Results:To select results for printing, scroll through the pages and tick the box of each record you want to print. Only the records you have selected will be printed when you click on Print.
3. Print Output
There are two options, Brief and Detailed. To print:
- Highlight your choice and Enter. The resulting Report may be printed or saved at that point.
- To return to searching, Exit your browser, which takes you back to the Report page.
- Click on Done.
Search the CAMH Library Catalogue