Subject Guides: Video holdings at Trexler Library: Finding film and videos

To find out if a film you want is currently available from Trexler Library, please search Encompass search, Trexler Library’s catalog.

Encompass Search for video

Search Encompass Search to find DVDs and videos in the library, as well as streaming video.

Use the Format: Video limit on the left sidebar of your search results page to limit results to all forms of video including DVDs, VHS, and streaming video; or you can limit to a specific format.

Many items will be "Held by" Trexler Library... note the call number and status of the item to check its location and availability.

PLEASE NOTE:

Audiovisual materials such as DVDs and CDs held by other libraries are often not available for interlibrary loan. Go ahead and request them though, and we will let you know if they are available!
AV materials at other LVAIC libraries may be borrowed by Muhlenberg students, but only if requested by the professor teaching the course in question. Such requests should be submitted by the professor to the Lending Services Desk at Trexler Library.

Advanced Searching for Video

Here’s how to use the Advanced Search of Encompass to locate ALL video accessible at Trexler Library.

Select “Advanced Search” below the main search box or from the grey menu bar at the upper left side of the Encompass Search page.
Once in Advanced search, enter an asterisk (or star *) into the field labeled title. This is a wild card, and will return every title matching the filters we will enter next)

Select “Video” where the form says “Format”. By selecting “Video” you will select all forms of video including DVD, Blu-Ray, VHS, and Film as well as e-video (streaming video).
Next, change the following settings of the filter form.
- Sort by: set to “Title A-Z”
- Change Search results to “Show all”
- De-select the “Expand this search…”
- Select “Muhlenberg College Trexler Library” under Held by…

Then hit Search.

You can then further filter the results using the filtering criteria on the left hand side; filters such as by language or publication year may be useful. Select “Retain filters” in the upper left corner before you adjust anything, or you might lose your search results.

NOTE: publication year for video in library catalogs usually refers to the year that the format was produced NOT the original year the Motion picture was released…

Here are two other Advanced Search strategies that may help. Both use a subject search to limit your results.

The first search term is “Feature films”. This term is supposed to be added to every film cataloged that is longer than around 40 minutes to differentiate them from “Short films” (or Shorts).

Enter the phrase “Feature films” (including the quotes) in the Advanced search box for subject. The rest of the search terms should be left the same.

Don't forget --

Encompass Search uses KEYWORD searching, so your search will locate records with all of your search terms anywhere in the record, and not necessarily in the order you want.

To search for a KNOWN TITLE, enter your search in quotes. This will force Encompass Search to locate the terms together in the order you specify.
You can combine terms using boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT (be sure to capitalize them!)
Once you have run your basic search, use the FILTERS on the left-hand side of the results page to narrow your results by FORMAT, AUTHOR, LANGUAGE, or TOPIC.
Use the SUBJECTS hot links found within the item record under the "View Description" drop down. These are Library of Congress SUBJECT headings, and can be used to find additional resources on the same or similar topics, or of a similar GENRE.
Use TRUNCATION (i.e., shortening a word to its root or base form using a designated symbol) for words that might have more than one significant form, OR for terms that might have alternative spellings.

For more information on Truncation or other Advanced Searching Techniques in Encompass Search see our "Guide to Encompass Search"