Magic Search

October 15, 2009
This book will put a little zip in your online catalog searches. One might assume that a book on Library of Congress subdivisions would be too esoteric for anyone but a cataloger. But using it near a terminal, within a few minutes this reviewer found six titles that would be interesting to read. Chapters present 467 subdivisions by category, such as Finding Out about Places and Useful for Historical Research. Subdivision rules and examples are presented. A Magic Search note tells the reader how to combine subdivisions in keyword searches to create superpowered search strings. Other notes include Bonus Features describing notable results, Rules from the Library of Congress, and Recommendations for the Library of Congress to follow. The layout is attractive but can be a little confusing. A practical title for reference librarians, catalogers, and library science students.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)