Notes on
Digitalised Alphabetical Card Catalogues
of Nuremberg Municipal Library

Please always search in our OPAC first, since it contains our permanently up-dated catalogue data.

Only if this search is not successful, choose one of the digitalised index card catalogues (titles from 1501 to 1973):

Alphabetical Author Catalogue if you are looking for works by specific authors or with a specific title (= anonymous works, works by more than 3 authors, magazines, newspapers, periodicals, series)

Alphabetical Subject Catalogue if you are looking for books on a certain subject or on a specific person; but also for secondary literature on particular works by an author (e.g. on "Nathan der Weise" = search for subject "Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim").

Alphabetic Subject Catalogue on Nuremberg Literature if you are looking for literature on a Nuremberg topic (but search for persons from Nuremberg in the alphabetical subject catalogue!)

If you encounter any problems with your search, please don't hesitate to contact our information centre!

top of page

Back to Catalogue

The sequence of the digitalised cards (images) corresponds to the sorting rules for traditional card catalogues ("Instructions for Alphabetical Catalogues in Prussian Libraries"). See below for search hints including examples.

The catalogue cards are accessible via an index containing only the first words necessary for sorting (name of author, title word(s), subject(s)) of about every 50th index card (= head card). This means that the search will differ from the OPAC search.

You can search for:

• Author names, if it is an authored work
  
  
• Titles, if it is a titled work; in this case using the first independent noun as sorting word (e.g. search for "Nürnbergische gelehrte Zeitung“ = search for "Zeitung Nürnbergische gelehrte“)
  
  
• Subjects (subjects or names)

In the narrower left-hand navigation window, you will see the beginning of the head card index. This does not correspond to a list of all names and subjects contained in the catalogue. You will only see the sorting word(s) of every 50th catalogue card in this index

If you encounter any problems with your search, please don't hesitate to contact our information centre!

There are two ways of finding the desired title:

1. Search via the search field
You can enter the search term you are looking for in the search field above the index in the left-hand navigation area and then click on the button Search. The index field below will then display the sorting words which either correspond exactly to your search term or which are closest to it in the alphabetical list.

The larger right-hand display window will then show the first head card. Using the scroll function below, you can then approach your search term in the following step sizes
25 | 10 | 5 | 1 < > 1 | 5 | 10 | 25

By clicking on the button Enlarge you can enlarge the card for better readability .

2. Direct jump function via the index
You can also reach a specific head card by clicking immediately on a term displayed in the index field in the left-hand window. The corresponding head card will then be displayed in the right-hand window.

If your search term is not listed in the index, choose the index entry closest to your search term in the alphabet. Then use the scroll function in the right-hand window. You can scroll backwards and forwards in the following step sizes
25 | 10 | 5 | 1 < > 1 | 5 | 10 | 25


Example :
You are looking for works by Anselm Feuerbach. The search term entered is "Feuerbach", but the index only shows the head card "Feuerbach, Ludwig". This does not mean that no works by Anselm Feuerbach are listed, only that "Anselm Feuerbach" has no index entry. By using the scroll function you can now check whether there is a record for your search term.

.

Rules for entering search terms :

• Search terms may be entered in lower or upper case letters .
  
  
• Automatic right truncation: you don't need to enter a specific symbol for truncation, but may shorten the search term, starting on the right-hand side :
  Hölderl for Hölderlin
  Mitteil for Mitteilungen
  
  
• You do not need to spell ß as ss and umlauts as vowel plus e (e.g. ae for ä)
  
  
• Always enter "J" for I" at the beginning of a word : Jffland for Iffland
  
  
• Do not enter accents and other diacritical symbols: Lefèvre = Lefevre
  
  
• Enter names with prefixes as one word :
  LaFontaine for La Fontaine
  MacKenzie for McKenzie (Mc=Mac)
  OBrien for O'Brien
  
  
• Double names may be entered with a hyphen or in two words. Spelling them as one word, however, will not produce the desired search result:
  Mueller-Blattau, Josef or
  Mueller Blattau, Josef / not MuellerBlattau, Josef

If you encounter any problems with your search, please don't hesitate to contact our information centre!

Searching in the Alphabetic Author Catalogue

Authored works :

• You will find authored works listed under the first author's family name. For medieval persons, as a rule, the first name must be entered.
  
  
• Several works by the same author are sorted alphabetically after the first sorting word in the title (= first independent noun).
  
  
• Various editions of the same title are listed in chronological order.
  
  
• For authors with a large body of work, complete works editions and other collections are arranged in chronological order and listed before the alphabetical list of individual titles.
  
  
• Please use the scroll function to scroll forward or backward from the search result displayed.

If you encounter any problems with your search, please don't hesitate to contact our information centre!

Anonymous works :
( (= anonymous works, works by editors, works by more than 3 authors, magazines, newspapers, series, periodicals)

• As a rule, you will find anonymous works under the first independent noun of the title. Usually definite or indefinite articles, prepositions and conjunctions are left out .

If you encounter any problems with your search, please don't hesitate to contact our information centre!

Searching in the Alphabetical Subject Catalogue and in the Alphabetical Subject Catalogue on Nuremberg Literature

• The subject entry helps you find literature on a specific topic and to specific persons (including authors and their works).
  
  
• Access to the index is via the main subject words on ever 50th card. If there is a lot of material on one specific topic, there will be sub-headwords.
  
  
• In the subject catalogue on Nuremberg literature, the word "Nürnberg" is omitted.
  
• When searching, please always enter one subject word only, and then use the scroll function to narrow down your search .

• When entering subjects or names which are distinguished by numerals, only enter the subject or name, and then use the scroll function in the index or in the right-hand window .

If you encounter any problems with your search, please don't hesitate to contact our information centre!

• For German and English subjects, choose access via "Deutsch" or "Engl." and then use the scroll button in the left-hand window .

For other countries, however, the following applies: Name of country = subject entered .

If you encounter any problems with your search, please don't hesitate to contact our information centre!