How Do I Use the Library Catalog (MERLIN)? 

MERLIN is the library catalog for all of the libraries in the University of Missouri system. It tells you what items the libraries own.

Search the University Libraries' collections at http://laurel.lso.missouri.edu/search~S3. This searches Miller Nichols Library, Health Sciences Library and Dental Library only.

From here, you have several search options:

1. Type some search terms or a phrase into the main search box and click 'search.' (This is called a Keyword search.)
   
   • This search will look for those words anywhere in the record.
   • More words will result in fewer results.
   • This search may take a few seconds, because the catalog looks everywhere for your words.
2. Click any of the other types of searches (or use the drop-down menu before the search box):
   • AUTHOR: Looks for works by a specific author, organization, composer, artist, etc.
     
     • Type the author's LAST NAME first (for example: Bronte, Emily).
   • TITLE: Looks for a specific work (book, movie, music recording, etc.).
   • JOURNAL TITLE: Looks for a specific journal, magazine, or newspaper.
     
     • You won't find titles of article. To learn how to find articles, visit our How Do I Find Articles & Journals page.
       
   • AUTHOR & TITLE: Use this to find a specific work if you get too many results just searching by title.
   • SUBJECT: Looks for all items on a specific topic.  For this search, your search terms need to match pre-assigned subjects (either Library of Congress Subject Headings or Medical Subject Headings). Try entering a word to describe your person (last name first), place, topic or event to get a list of the designated subjects. Then, click a subject heading to bring up a list of items (try searching Kansas City as an example). If you can't find a subject, do a keyword search from the MERLIN homepage to get started.  When you find an item of interest, check its record to see the subjects assigned.
   • NUMBER: Looks for items by ISSN, ISBN, Library of Congress call number (used at Miller Nichols Library), National Library of Medicine call number (used at the Dental and Health Sciences Libraries), OCLC Number, or other numbers.

If you get too many results, try the Advanced Search option to combine or exclude terms and limit your results by year, location, material type, etc.

If you don't find what you need, try expanding your search to other schools in Missouri.  See Requesting Books for instructions on how to search those other schools through MERLIN and MOBIUS.

When you search by Title or Subject:

1. Click the blue "Limit/Sort Search" button at the top of the screen
2. Select the checkbox at the bottom next to "Sort Results by Year"
3. Click submit.