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About Harlow Go to the top of the window



Harlow is a growing database which contains more than 120,000 bibliographic records. New records are added to Harlow when new materials are added to the Library's collections.

In addition to bibliographic records, Harlow contains records for currently received serial and journal issues.

For SOME serials, Harlow also displays a summary statement that indicates which past volumes and issues the library owns.

PLEASE NOTE: Harlow itself does NOT include full-text articles.

Full-text articles are accessed by using the "Online Journals" or "Online Databases" links available to staff who have signed in to Harlow (see below for information about how to sign in to Harlow).

Signing In Go to the top of the window



If you are Field Museum staff and a registered user, enter your Patron ID and Password, and click the Log On button to sign in.

Signing in allows you to access staff-only resources, including some full-text articles and databases, and allows you to place Inter-Library Loan requests.

If you are a Field Museum staff member and need a Patron ID and Password, please contact the Library Reference Desk.

Preferences Go to the top of the window

The Preferences option allows you to choose how Harlow displays lists of records.

If you are signed in, Preferences will be saved on your profile.

If you are not signed in, Preferences will be reset when your session is finished.

Types of Searches Go to the top of the window



There are three search types available in Harlow: Basic, Advanced, and Browse. To choose a particular type of Search, click the relevant link from the top frame.

Basic Search Go to the top of the window

Basic Search is useful when:

  • you know a word or two from the title but not the exact title
  • you know what the book is about
  • you know the last names of two or more authors or editors of a book
  • you are looking for a topic but don't know an exact subject heading


Choose a field to search from the drop-down menu (All Fields, Title, Author, Subject, ISSN, or ISBN).
Type desired search term(s) in the box to the right of the drop-down menu.
Omit initial articles and punctuation.
If you would like Harlow to search your terms as a phrase, choose Yes under the search box.
If you would like Harlow to search your terms as two distinct words, choose No under the search box.

Advanced Search Go to the top of the window

The Advanced Search is executed in the same way as the Basic Search but with two important additions:

  1. You may combine two or more phrases to search, thus narrowing your results
  2. You may limit your search results by language, format, and year range



Advanced Search is useful when:

  • you do not have complete information (e.g., exact title, author's complete name)
  • you want to find specific words in different fields
  • you want to find items in specific languages or formats
  • you want to find items published in a specific year or range of years


Browse Search Go to the top of the window

The Browse function allows you to scroll through portions of the catalog in alphabetical or numerical order, like a dictionary. Browsing is useful when:

  • you know the exact title or beginning of the title
  • you are looking for works by a specific author
  • you know the call number of a book, and want to view other books on a similar topic
  • you know the exact subject heading and want to view items on that topic

To Browse:

Choose the index you want to browse from the drop-down menu, then enter the text from which you would like to begin browsing.
Omit initial articles and punctuation.*
The text you entered will appear at the top of the scrollable list.
For example, entering the letter a will give you an alphabetical list starting at the letter a.

*Browsing by Rare Books Call Number does require correct punctuation and capitalization.
For example:
Gen. 1700.1

Previous Searches Go to the top of the window

You can view the results of previous searches, incorporate them into new searches, or combine them into one result set.

  • To see a list of the searches you have made during your current session, click on Previous Searches on the menu bar.

  • To review a search, select it, and click View.

  • To erase a search, select it and click Delete.

  • To combine two or more searches, select them, and click Cross.


Full View of Record Go to the top of the window

In the Full View of a record, you can view the record in five formats: Standard, Catalog Card, Citation, Name Tags, MARC Tags.
For general users, we recommend Standard Format.

From the Full View, you can save the record to My e-Shelf, save it to disk, or e-mail it to the address you specify (see Save/Mail and My e-Shelf below).

Holdings Go to the top of the window

The term Holdings refers to what the library owns.

To view the Holdings information for a specific title:

Click on the Location/Call Number that appears below a record's title.
The Location/Call Number will look something like this:
MAIN LIB. QH368 K66 Regular Loan

Saving or E-Mailing Records Go to the top of the window

Once you have selected records, you can save them in Microsoft Word format (.doc) or send them to an e-mail address of your choice.

To send the record or list of records by e-mail:

  1. Click Save/Mail to invoke the E-mail/Save Selected Records form.

  2. Choose a record format from the drop-down menu, select the encoding, and fill in the e-mail address field. Name, Subject and Text fields are optional.

  3. Click Send/Save.
To save the records in Word format:
  1. Click Save/Mail to invoke the E-mail/Save Selected Records form.

  2. Choose a record format from the drop-down menu.

  3. Leave the e-mail address field blank. Name, Subject and Text fields are optional.

  4. Click Go. A "Save file to PC" screen appears.

  5. Click Save Selected. You will be prompted to choose a place to save the file and to name it.


My e-Shelf Go to the top of the window

You can create your own set of records and save it in a folder called My e-Shelf. If you are signed in to Harlow, the records that you save in My e-Shelf will remain in your folder(s) until you delete them. If you are using Harlow and not signed in, records in My e-Shelf will be deleted when your session ends.

To add records to My e-Shelf from your results list, check the box next to each record you would like to save and click the "Add to My e-Shelf" link.` You can also add a record to My e-Shelf from the Full View of an individual record.

To view all the records that you saved, click My e-Shelf in the menu bar.

In My e-Shelf you can:

  • Save/Mail the records that you saved

  • Delete records

  • Create folders and move records to them

  • Delete and rename folders


Need Further Help? Go to the top of the window

E-mail: harlow@fieldmuseum.org

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