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National Park Service Library Resource Information Service

NPS LIBRARY INFORMATION DESK

The National Park Service (NPS) is widely known for its high-quality products and programs, the success of which is owed in part to NPS professionals having access to reliable information resources. Library services are provided by the NPS Library Information Services (LIS) program and 400+ libraries across the NPS.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

CONTENTS

1. ACCESS TO NPS LIBRARIES AND RESOURCES

  • Can I borrow books and other materials from an NPS library?
The NPS has over 400 library collections, the great majority of which are primarily targeted to NPS staff and are not managed by full-time professional librarians, so most of the materials are not loaned outside the park.  

NPS personnel may submit Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests by contacting the NPS Library Information Services program (see Contact Us section above).  Only the full citation is needed.  If the requested item cannot be loaned by an NPS library, the ILL request will be submitted to the ILL service offered by the NPS Denver Service Center (DSC) library.  In some cases, the ILL request may be forwarded to the Department of the Interior (DOI) library for handling.  If the requested item is not a print resource, but (for example) an article from an e-journal, NPS personnel may submit an ILL request directly to the DOI Library.  

Members of the public should first attempt to borrow titles discovered in the NPS LIBRIS catalog from other libraries by submitting interlibrary loan (ILL) requests to their local (public or academic) library.  N.B., from an NPS LIBRIS record, researchers can click the OCLC WorldCat icon from the Actions menu in the upper right of the full record display to discover other libraries holding the title.  If an item is only available through the NPS, members of the public may submit an ILL request through their local library; due to the afore-mentioned limited ability to loan outside the agency, the NPS may not be able to fulfill such requests.
  • May I request a scan of (non-sensitive) materials produced by or for the NPS?
Requests for scans of unpublished works held by NPS and not found outside of the NPS may be submitted by members of the public (or by their local library's ILL department) by emailing the NPS Library Information Services program.  When an information resource is protected by law or regulation, the material must be requested by the information seeker directly (not by a library's ILL department) via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted to the NPS. Contact an NPS Librarian to request assistance in submitting an official FOIA request (see Contact Us section above). 
  • May I visit an NPS library, or arrange a visit or tour for a group?
Members of the public with a legitimate research need, or teachers wanting to arrange for visits with their classes, may contact a park directly to arrange for assistance and use of library materials onsite.  Go to the NPS.gov portal and use the Find a Park feature in the center of the homepage to browse parks by state or click the link for the interactive map beneath the state picklist.  When you get to a park's homepage, click the Contact link that appears on the lower left of every park website's page.
  • Can I work in an NPS library?
Paid library professional and paraprofessional positions in the NPS are not many and vacate infrequently.  Any positions that are available would be posted on the USAJobs portal. The great majority of NPS libraries are cataloged by volunteers (library training or experience is helpful, but not required).  If you're interested in volunteering, check Volunteer.gov or contact the park(s) where you have an interest in volunteering. Go to the NPS.gov portal and use the Find a Park feature in the center of the homepage to browse parks by state or click the link for the interactive map beneath the state picklist.  When you get to a park's homepage, click the Contact link that appears on the lower left of every park website's page. 

If you are a volunteer and would like information about getting started as an NPS LIBRIS cataloger, use the email options at the top of this page to contact the NPS Library Information Services program.  Be sure to copy your NPS supervisor on the email message.  

**View a 7-minute video on Basic Searching in NPS LIBRIS**
  • How do I limit my catalog search to just one, or a few, NPS library locations?
Before clicking the Search button, select a Location (corresponding to park code), or Collection (corresponding to library collection(s) maintained by parks) by clicking the corresponding check box under the Search Limits/Location picklists term.  Then, enter your search term(s) and execute your search.  Limit/view Search Results may also be used to search across multiple Library Locations, or across multiple Collections.  Search Limit(s) will need to be re-selected for a new search -- click Start Over button in the upper right of Search page.
  • How do I browse all of the Titles available in a specific library location?
To Browse complete holdings of a specific NPS office/park library Location or a Collection, first select the Browse option in the Search menu.  From the picklist menu, select LO to search by park code, or select CO to search by park name.  Then enter the Location code (if LO is selected from the picklist). or the beginning of the park's full name.  Check (to select) the desired Collection or Location returned by your search and click the List button to list the holdings.  Using the Sort picklist, change the order to Title, or Subject, or Author, as preferred. 

Note: browsing using the "Local Call Number" sort option is not useful, because the local call numbers for all of the NPS libraries holding copies of the titles in the results set will be interfiled, with all Dewey Decimal call numbers filing first (in numerical order), followed by all Library of Congress call numbers (in alphanumeric order). The system does not limit the Local Call Number sort display to only those call numbers used for the copies in the Collection or Location selected from Browse list.

  • Can I discover online, digital content in the NPS LIBRIS catalog?
The great majority of NPS Library Catalog records do not link to digital resources; however some catalog records do link to full or partial digital versions.  These may be easily discovered using Simple Search and entering http* to the Word(s) search box.  To narrow the search, use Advanced Search, enter http* to the first Word(s) search box, select AND, and then enter additional search term(s) or phrase(s).  If the latter, be sure to change the Matching picklist option, as needed (Exact Phrase is recommended). 

As an alternative, you may limit your search or browse of the catalog to the Location or Collection choice "E-Books" or "E-Maps", etc.  This will not return a complete set of records with links to full-text digital content, but it may be more a more targeted list than what would be returned using the method listed above.
  • What about Google books?
You can link seamlessly to Google Books from a record in the NPS LIBRIS catalog, if it has a "thumbnail" image of the book cover.  Simply open the record for the title of interest, and then click the book cover image. You will be directed to the Google Books entry for that title.
  • Where will the Library Thing button take me?
From the full record display in NPS LIBRIS, open the Actions menu at the upper right, and click the Library Thing (LT) icon (where available) to link to a wide variety of contextual information for that title, including: enhanced description; ratings; book reviews; tags (when clicked, the researcher is taken to materials in the LT database covering the same topic); where to purchase or borrow the work (most NPS libraries limit loans to NPS staff); recommended related titles via a gallery of book cover images linking to LT records; and the author's LT record (which lists all of their books, and additionally provides links to materials related to the author's works, based on categories: series, events, people, places, topics).
  • How can I use OCLC Worldcat to enhance my research?
The OCLC Worldcat catalog records holdings from thousands of libraries all over the world.  To see the corresponding record in the Worldcat catalog, open a record in NPS LIBRIS, then hover over the Actions menu and select the OCLC option.  

Scroll down to the "Find a Copy at a Library" section of the Worldcat record to search for the title at a library near you. You may wish to adjust the ZIP code or city and state by clicking the link near the upper left of the list of libraries. Also, if a title is freely available online, the OCLC WorldCat record will often indicate where to find it.  

4. SAVE/PRINT/SHARE NPS LIBRIS CATALOG CITATIONS

  • How may I save my search results discovered through NPS LIBRIS?
You may wish to email or print a citation or list of citations discovered by searching the NPS LIBRIS catalog.  Additionally, those who use EndNote references manager software may save citations to a hard drive as an ".enw" file, which can then be imported to an EndNote library.  See below for more details. 

Email a single citation:  Open the detailed display for a catalog record.  Hover over the Actions menu at the upper right and click the Email Record command/icon to email the contents of the full record display in basic text format, including the full citation and shelf location details for each holding library listed.   Enter email address plus text at the top of the Notes section (as desired), and the CAPTCHA code before hitting the Send button.

Email multiple citations with permalinks to catalog records: After selecting the desired Titles in your search results set click the Email icon (envelope) in the thin banner just above the search results set.  In the pop-up window that appears, check the "Share titles" box, add any note you wish, enter your email address, and complete the CAPTCHA code before clicking Send Email. 

Enabling the Share titles option will cause a permalink for each record to be included in the emailed citations for the titles selected in the search results set.  Clicking a permalink within the sent email brings up the associated NPS Library Catalog record for the particular title, at which point the Copies List (of holding libraries) may be browsed to determine user's own library location's shelving details.

Print full record and location details for a title: From the detailed record display, hover over the Actions menu and click the Print Record command/icon. In the pop-up window, check the record data you wish to include in your print-out: bibliographic information (i.e., full catalog record); or bibliographic information with holding libraries detail.  For the latter option, check either the Copy +/or Item boxes -- either way you'll usually get the same results. However, if the list you're printing includes serials (journals, magazines, annual publications, etc.), check both the Copy and Item options. 

Print or create a digital document for multiple citations: To print a list of citations, check the boxes to the left of the Titles you want to include from the Results or List view, then click the Printer icon in the middle of the thin banner above the list.  In the pop-up Printer window, select printer, then click Print; alternatively, select PDF (or Adobe PDF), then click Save.  Note that this method does not include library holdings information nor permalinks to the catalog records.  If you wish to create a digital document with citations that include permalinks, use the Email Multiple Citations with Permalinks option (described above), then copy/paste email content to the format of your choice (e.g., Word/PDF, Google Doc, etc.).
  • Can I share a catalog record via direct link?
At the upper right of a full record display, hover over the Actions menu, and click the Copy Link command/icon to display the permalink for that NPS Library Catalog record, which may then be copied and pasted in the desired medium.
  • How do I export citations from NPS LIBRIS to EndNote?
Citations from NPS LIBRIS may be added to EndNote by downloading a small file with NPS LIBRIS citation information, which is then imported to EndNote.

Export single citation: From the detailed record display. hover over the Actions menu and click the EndNote button. A file named "TaggedFile....enw" will appear in the downloads area of your browser.  Save this file in a place where you will easily be able to retrieve it.  To import this file to your EndNote library, read the instructions below.
 
Export multiple citations: From a search results list in NPS LIBRIS, check the boxes to select the desired records.  Click the orange EndNote button; a file named "TaggedFile....enw" will appear in the downloads area of your browser.  Save this file in a place where you will easily be able to retrieve it.  To import this file to your EndNote library, read the instructions below.  

Import citations to EndNote: open the EndNote program and open desired destination Library; click the File menu and select Import--> File.  In the pop-out window that opens, use the "Choose" button to browse for the .enw file you exported from NPS LIBRIS.  Leave the Import Option setting at "Reference Manager (RIS) and adjust other settings as desired.  Click the Import button. For additional support, see EndNote built-in Help.   

5. SPECIAL SEARCHES AND SPECIAL TITLE LISTS

  • What is a "Special Search"?
A special search enables one to make pre-set parameters so that a complex search can be run with the click of one button.  Please contact NPS Library program staff (see Contact Us section above) if you would like one or more special search(es) to be set up for your park or program.

In NPS LIBRIS, Click 'Search' menu and select 'Special Searches' option.  Clicking on any of the searches listed will automatically run a pre-formulated search constructed by one of the NPS LIBRIS Team members.  

Clicking on the double-right arrow just to the left of a search name opens a menu providing two options: RSS; and Copy Link.  Clicking the first option creates a new browser tab displaying a window containing a long text string comprising the RSS feed source code for copy/pasting into whatever RSS Feed management utility you use.  Clicking the second option opens a small pop-up window containing a text string comprising a URL that serves as a permalink for the particular search associated with it.  The permalink may be copied and pasted into a digital document, an email, a webpage, a database record, etc.  Clicking on the embedded permalink takes the recipient to the NPS LIBRIS Discovery portal and automatically executes the search.
  • What is a "Special Titles List"?
Unlike a "Special Search" (see above section), a "Special Titles List" displays a search results set that is static (unchanging).  Please contact NPS Library program staff (see Contact Us section above) if you would like one or more Special Titles List(s) to be set up for your park or program.

Click 'Lists' menu and select 'Special Titles' option. Clicking on any of the lists will automatically display the search results saved by NPS LIS program personnel who formulated and originally ran the search. The date to the right of a Special Titles list indicates when the Titles list was created.   Clicking the link icon to the left of the associated Special Titles list opens a small pop-up window containing a text string comprising a URL that serves as a permalink for the particular Titles list associated with it.  This text string copy/pasted into a digital document, an email, a webpage, a database record, etc.  Clicking on the embedded permalink takes the user to the NPS LIBRIS Discovery portal and automatically displays the associated Titles list.

6. CATALOGING PARK AND OFFICE LIBRARY COLLECTIONS

  • Who can catalog library collections in NPS LIBRIS?

Each unit of the NPS should have a designated library manager.  The library manager and/or the person(s) they designate can catalog the library's collections in NPS LIBRIS.  Designated library catalogers will be issued a staff user account in NPS LIBRIS after completing required training modules.

The NPS LIBRIS staff portal and the cataloging training modules are available to NPS employees, volunteers, partners, interns, and others.  It is not necessary to have a PIV card or access to the NPS network in order to complete the training modules and catalog in NPS LIBRIS.

  • What does the NPS LIBRIS cataloging training consist of?

There are four NPS LIBRIS Cataloging training ("CAT") modules. Each module is self-paced, and includes reading a User Guide, attending or viewing a live or recorded training webinar, hands-on practice, and review from the trainer.  

The modules build on each other and are intended to get the trainee actively working as soon as possible.  After completing the first module (CAT1), the trainee will be able to begin cataloging.  Completion of the second module (CAT2) will enable the cataloger to handle the vast majority of tasks in the typical NPS library, and most catalogers do not need to complete the third and fourth training modules.  

The four core cataloging (CAT) modules are supplemented by additional training guides, job aids, and live and recorded special topics sessions.  

Watch "Cataloging Your Library in NPS LIBRIS: How Easy!" (a13-minute video) to learn more about NPS LIBRIS cataloging.

  • How do I start the cataloging training modules?
Begin the NPS LIBRIS Cataloging training by visiting the NPS Libraries Training & Support Center-- Catalog Your Collections section.  
Note to VIPs and other partners: if you cannot access this site because you do not have a PIV card, please send an email to the NPS Library program, using the email options at the top of this page.  Be sure to copy your NPS supervisor or work leader on the email request.  The Library Information Services team will respond with information about how to access the NPS LIBRIS Cataloging Training modules