Guide to Searching the Copyright Office Catalog: Guide to Searching the Copyright Office Catalog (Registrations and recorded documents from 1978 to the present)


New searching features are available such as:: 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: About the Catalog


Overview of the Basic Search screen: 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: 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:: 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Results: Click a title to view a record from the titles list display Sample Search Results Preregistration Records for unpublished works in the process of being prepared for commerical distribution.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: Monograph Sample Registration Record


Sample Preregistration Record: Sample Preregistration Record


Serial Sample Registration 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: 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: 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: 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: Setting Search Limits Select methods of limiting your searches below. Choose multiple Item Types by holding down the 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 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: Limit by Item Type Use this limit to find a specific type of work Select multiple Item Types by holding down the 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”: 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: 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: 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”: 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: 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: Thank you for viewing this tutorial For additional help, please contact us at copysearch@loc.gov or telephone Copyright Reference & Bibliography Section at (202) 707-6850 Ready to search? Click here