Scottish Theatre Archive Catalogue Help
Introduction
The Catalogue of the Scottish Theatre Archive currently contains about
19,000 descriptions of documents at item level and details of 10,000
associated events. Additions and upgrading of records are ongoing and future
planned developments include the attachment of images to selected records.
It should be noted that records for printed books and plays will be found by
searching the
main library catalogue.
Search Scottish Theatre Archive catalogue
now
Searching for a document
Four methods of searching are available and outlined below:
Name, Event,
Document and Collection. Choose which serves your
needs best and click on the appropriate type in the Welcome to our Scottish
Theatre Archive Catalogue screen. A new search may also be started by
clicking on the appropriate button on other screens within the STA
Catalogue. The difference between event, document and accession
records is also explained
below.
 Name
Search
Select
events, documents, or collections
or in the first box to search for event, item or collection level records respectively. By default events will be
listed. (Event should be selected when searching by the name of any
participant; an associated document, e.g. programme, can be accessed via the
resulting event record but will be found directly only via a name associated
specifically with the document, e.g. theatre.)
In the Name box type, for a person, the surname
or name under which the person is generally entered in reference sources.
For corporate bodies type the name by which it is officially known
- e.g. A. Burslem & Sons Ltd, not Burslem. (In case of doubt
separate searches under alternative names should be made; there are at
present no cross references under variants.)
In the Forenames box type first name(s) or initial of a
person with a conventional surname. Do not type any other information in
this box.
In the Roles window click the arrow to see a list of
roles - e.g. author, donor, recipient, subject - and click as appropriate to
limit the search to a particular role. By default all roles will be
included.
Click on the Search button to display a list of names
matching your criteria.
In the list of names, the number to the right of each name indicates the
number of matches associated with the name and role specified. Click on this
number to display a list of the documents.
In the list of matches click on More Details to the right of the
description to see the detailed Event, Document or Collection Record.
 Event
Search
This option searches for specific events, e.g. productions of a play.
The search option available is:
Title
Search is by keyword so initial articles may be omitted - e.g.
entering importance will list productions of A woman of no
importance as well as The importance of being earnest.
The search may be limited by Date of Performance range.
Type the earliest and latest dates you wish to specify in the appropriate
boxes. By default all years are searched.
Limiting Searches
In addition, the search can be further limited by Language
or Event Type (e.g. play, pantomime). Click on the
appropriate arrow to display a list of these options and click on the chosen
category to select it.
Displaying Results
Click on the Search button to display a list of
events matching your criteria.
In the list of events click on More Details to the right of
the description to see the detailed Event Record.
Click on the title of an associated item to see the
detailed Document Record
or
Click on an associated name to see a full list of
events associated with that person or corporate body. Click on
biographical/historical notes for more information about the person or body.
 Document
Search
This option searches for individual documents, e.g. programmes, including
documents not associated with a particular event, e.g. administrative
records of a theatre, personal diaries.
Search options available are:
Title
This option is only applicable to documents with a specific title.
Search is by keyword so initial articles may be omitted.
Call number
This option searches by the Library’s call number and can be:
specific e.g. STA JLC 123
more general e.g. STA JLC
Year
This option searches by year of creation of documents. It can be
by:
exact year e.g. 1895
decade e.g. 189
century e.g. 18
Word (or phrase) in Content
This searches for keywords or phrases in the detailed descriptions
of the contents of documents. It is not case sensitive, but punctuation and
spacing must be exact. As well as topics, most personal and corporate names
can be found by this means. However, as usage varies from document to
document, additional searches for variant forms of name may be necessary.
You may search for more than one keyword by utilising multiple Word (or
phrase) in Description boxes.
Combining Search Terms
Any combination of up to five such criteria may be specified. Click
on the arrow and click the appropriate category in the list displayed if you
wish to change a default category. Type your search term(s) in the
corresponding box. The default operator, to the right, is ‘and’; click on
the appropriate arrow if you wish to change this to ‘or’.
Limiting Searches
In addition, the search can be further limited by Language
or Document Type (e.g. letter, programme). Click on the
appropriate arrow to display a list of these options and click on the chosen
category to select it.
A date, language or document type limit is recommended if searching by a
common term or the call number of a large collection.
Displaying Results
Click on the Search button to display a list of
documents matching your criteria.
In the list of documents click on the Record Number to the
right of the description to see the detailed Document Record.
Click on an associated name to see a full list of events
associated with that person or corporate body. Click on
biographical/historical notes for more information about the person or body.
or
Click on Associated Event (if any) to see the detailed
Event Record, listing participants, venue, etc.
 Collection
Search
Collection (or accession level) records may searched for by Word
(or phrase) in Content or by Call Number, or a
combination of these. (To search for an collection
record by name use Name search.)
Up to three such criteria may be specified. Click on the arrow and click
the appropriate category in the list displayed if you wish to change a
default category. Type your search term(s) in the corresponding box. The
default operator, to the right, is and; click on the appropriate
arrow if you wish to change this to or.
The search may be limited by Year of Creation range.
Type the earliest and latest years you wish to specify in the appropriate
boxes. By default all years are searched.
Click on the Search button to display a list of
collections matching your criteria.
In the list of collections click on the Record Number to
the right of the description to see the detailed Collection Record.
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catalogue now.
Types of Record
Event Record
The Event Record gives details of a specific event, e.g. production of a
play. It includes names of performers, directors, etc. as well as venues,
companies and festivals.
Names of individuals and corporate bodies associated with an event record
are listed at the end. Click on a name to see a full list
of documents associated with the name.
Click on the title of an associated item, e.g. programme,
to see the detailed Document Record
or
Click on an associated name to see a full list of
events associated with that person or corporate body. Click on
biographical/historical notes for more information about the person
or body.
Document Record
The Document Record gives details of an individual item, including
artefacts. (In the case of a few collections of documents not yet separately
catalogued a collection level description has been included as a temporary
document record to facilitate searching.)
To see the collection (or accession level) record
associated with a document record click on the Accession Number.
Click on Associated Event (if any) to see the detailed
Event Record, listing participants, venue, etc.
Names of individuals and corporate bodies associated with a document record
are listed at the end. Click on a name to see a full list
of documents associated with the name.
Click on biographical/historical notes to see fuller details of the
individual or corporate body.
Collection Record
The Collection Record contains summary details of the contents and history
of a particular collection or single item acquired separately.
Click on Documents associated with this record to see a
full list of documents in the collection (or accession).
Names of individuals and corporate bodies associated with a collection record are listed at the end. Click on a name to see a full
list of collection records associated with the name.
Click on biographical notes to see fuller details of the
individual or corporate body
Search Scottish Theatre Archive
catalogue now.
Ordering a document
Users of the Special Collections Department Reading Room should complete
a call slip, transcribing the complete Call Number, with brief details of
the document from the Title or Description fields. See the
Reading Room regulations
for further information.
Remote users enquiring by letter, email, etc. should cite the complete
Call Number.
Search Scottish Theatre Archive
catalogue now. |
