Getting Started with M.A.R.T.I.N

MARTIN is Luther Seminary's library catalog database. It contains bibliographic records representing the holdings of our library:

• Books (including those on microform)
• Journal titles (not individual articles or book reviews)
• Audio-visual materials (primarily audio and video cassettes)

Search MARTIN Now

Methods of searching

There are two primary modes of searching: by Known item (some element of the bibliographic record is known; e.g. author, title, series, subject heading, call number) or by Keyword (only partial information known or none at all)

1. Known item searching is the default, and goes by Author, Title, Subject, or Call # ).

• Author Search is alphabetic by last name, then first name or portion: "holm b"

• Title Search is alphabetic/sequential, ignoring initial articles a, an, the: "Coming Home Crazy:  An Alphabet of China Essays"

• In a Subject Search, you enter a known heading or consult the Library of Congress books of subject headings: "China, Description and Travel"

• In a Call # Search, you enter the first portion of a known call # and browse for similarly classed books: "ds712"

• Other Examples:

2.  Keyword searching has three modes: Guided, Advanced, and Relevance Ranked). Title Keywords  can be searched separately and independently. Searching can also combine two non-sequential keywords.

• Guided: A structured, fill-in-the-blank method of building a search. Keywords can be pulled non-sequentially from anywhere they appear in a record. Keywords across fields can be combined using operators AND, OR, NOT 

Examples:

• Search for exodus (in title) and interpretation (in series)

• Search for church work (as a phrase [keyword] in Any Field) and hispanic (as a keyword in Any Field)
   

• Advanced: Search keyword(s) are simply typed in the space provided.  Combinations can be made using AND, OR, NOT. 

Example: “lutheran church” and multicultural (limit to videorecording)

• Relevance Ranked: Keywords are simply entered.  The search engine assigns relevance and displays the most promising first.  Best used when broader recall is desired. 

Example: presupposition resurrection 

Other Features 

1. Course Reserves (Search by Instructor or Course number)
2. Search History
3. Remote Connections (i.e. search the catalog of United Seminary)
4. Other Resources: Search resources on the Web, including the catalogs of our consortium partners, statewide and national catalogs; bibliographic and full-text resources, and other free web resources
5. Information such as library hours for the current semester
6. Patron Information: Students and others can check information pertaining to their own account: books out, overdue, holds requests, fine balance
7. MARTIN via Web Voyagé

“Beyond Author & Title”: Library Instructional Session, © Bruce Eldevik  September 2001