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Michigan State University

Bible Resources: Using the Online Catalog

The purpose of this guide is to point the way to information sources about the Bible. Last updated 05-23-2023

Using the Online Catalog

Start from the Libraries Home Page.

It is possible to do a quick and dirty, one box keyword search of the contents of the MSU Libraries' web site, starting at left side of the Libraries' home page.  The results will be sorted into several categories to follow up on:  articles from journals, books/media from our online catalog, databases, library research guides like this one, other.  To do a more traditional search, read on.

Below the general search box, click on Books and Media to search for physical, paper/cloth bound books, paper/cloth bound journals, physical media, such as DVDs or microforms, or individually cataloged electronic items.

In  Books and Media, click on the down area on the right side of the form where it says "Catalog." Choose the type of search you want to do.  In the box to the right put in your search terms.  Enter author's name either last name, first name or first name last name.  Omit initial articles in book titles; include them as they occur within the book title itself.  Putting quotation marks around your search (i.e. "Bible. Genesis", "Bible. John", Bible. Psalms") may help find works on particular books of the Bible.  Scroll down past the first five results.  After you receive your results, notice that you can filter your results in various ways, by using the facets along the left side of the page.  To search by L.C. subject heading, it may be better to use the Browse Alphabetically by Subject lower down in the list than Catalog: Subject, because those results will show the surrounding subject headings and the number of hits retrieved (on the right side).  There is more information about subject heading searching and lists of frequently used Bible related headings farther down on this page of the guide.

Advanced Search allows for combination of more than one search aspect, such as author and title, or subject heading and keyword.

Following a productive keyword search, click on one or more of the subject headings near the bottom of the record to find more books on that subject.

Library of Congress' Subject headings come from a set of fat red books in the Reference collection, at Z 695, of the Main Library.  Subject headings are standardized words and phrases assigned to each book when it is cataloged; they describe a book or electronic resource's contents intellectually, whether those words actually appear in the title or not.  

Search for information about different books of the Bible by using subject heading phrases composed like this:  Bible--[name of book of the Bible]-- [standardized sub-heading for type of material desired].  Here are some examples:

Bible Genesis--concordances

Bible Isaiah--criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible Matthew--commentaries

Bible Acts--history

Bible Acts--criticism, textual

Bible Acts and Epistles--commentaries

 

Commonly Used Subject Headings about the Bible

Abraham--biblical patriarch

Apocalyptic literature

Beatitudes

Bible

Bible. English. [name of version of the Bible], for instance, Bible English New International Version

Bible. English. Authorized, to find copies of the King James Version

Bible. [language] for Bibles in other languages, for instance Bible. Latin. Vulgate or Bible. Spanish

Bible—antiquities

Bible--bibliography

Bible—Black interpretations

Bible—concordances

Bible—criticism, interpretation, etc.—[country name]

Bible—criticism, interpretation, etc.—history [time periods]

Bible--criticism, narrative

Bible—criticism, textual

Bible--dictionaries

Bible—feminist criticism

Bible--historiography

Bible—history of Biblical events

Bible—in motion pictures

Bible and evolution

Bible and science

Bible as literature

Bible films

Creation--biblical teaching

Dead Sea Scrolls

Isaiah (biblical prophet)

Jesus Christ

John, the apostle, saint

Luke, saint

Moses (biblical leader)

Paul, the Apostle, Saint

Ten Commandments

Wisdom literature