Rather than adding a lengthy list of library catalogs to the (already quite lengthy) list of Research Resources, we have decided to allow our highlighted Integrated Catalogs to have their own space on our website. Below is a collection of the most helpful and widely used integrated library catalogs related to SEEE studies. We have also included PDF copies of our “SRS Toolbox” and “Central Asia Research Toolbox” documents, which expand on the catalogs and search tools encompassed below. Some of these resources may be replicated on other pages; however, the documents available on this page are the only resources that provide the full list of resources available in the Toolboxes. These catalogs and resources are useful for verifying bibliographic and publication information, as well as for finding holding information and conducting Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests.
As the most well-known integrated catalog, WorldCat allows you to search and conduct ILL requests from hundreds of library catalogs in the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world. There are 1.5 billion items available through 10,000 libraries worldwide. You can search for books, CDs, videos, journals, and many other items. Individual institutions that own the item(s) searched are displayed in the item’s record, along with bibliographic information for a more complete citation of the item in question.
This German-run integrated catalog searches libraries across Germany and throughout all of Europe. The bottom half of the search page lists many different catalogs from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and around the world. Check the box next to each catalog you want to search. On the bottom of the search page, you will find some useful tips when conducting searches. NOTE: The Germans use a different transliteration system than our Library of Congress transliteration system. Please see this table for more information.
The European Library provides access to the collections of forty-eight National Libraries and numerous research libraries across Europe. There are more than one-hundred million bibliographic records in the catalog. The single search box allows for easy searching, although the results may be tricky to navigate. When looking at your search results, you will see three tabs: “Everything,” “Full Text,” and “Remote Search.” The “Remote Search” tab will lead you to a list of national libraries on the right-hand side of the screen; clicking on each name will show the holdings of that particular library.
For scholars of the S.E.E.E. region, it is not surprising that the French have a large collection of resources regarding Russia and Eastern Europe. The French Union Catalog boasts of more than thirty million documents and includes a variety of different catalogs: the National Library of France, SUDOC, French regional catalogs, the catalog of Judaica, and several others.
About thirty libraries in Hungary participate in this union catalog and provide nearly 2.9 million records from across the country. The search page is simple, with a search box, as well as a tag cloud underneath, which might lead you to do some browsing. Locations are listed under the item’s record information, and each location’s home page is available by clicking the image that looks like a house.
COBISS provides access to the national, local and university libraries of most of the former Yugoslav republics. Bulgaria, Kosovo, and Albania are preparing to participate in the COBISS system, while an open invitation has been offered to libraries in Croatia. In total, over six hundred libraries are represented by this union catalog. Each country has its own search interface, although the design is the same across the board and quite easy to use.
The electronic version of the SKCR union catalog began in 1995 and now contains about 4.9 million records culled from 139 participating institutions. When conducting a search, the item’s record will include a link to the “local record,” which will take you to the holding institution’s website. For more information about the union catalog, click on the “What is the Union Catalogue of the CR?” link on the search page.
Nearly all of Poland’s intellectual production since 2002 is included in this union catalog: books, periodicals, audio, musical scores, maps and other documents. As of 2011, more than 2 million records sourced from 127 different libraries have been added to NUKAT. You have the ability to conduct a quick search by phrase or a keyword search for titles, authors or subject. Holding information is available within the item’s record.
SRS Toolboxes