Did you know that the library catalog contains records for almost 2 million titles in more than 200 different languages? We’ve expanded the language options to allow you to limit your search results to the 30 most popular languages in our collections. Some of the new options for language limiters include Nepali, Farsi (Persian), Urdu, Hindi, and Middle French.
How to use the Language Limits
There are two options for limiting your search by language:
Start with an Advanced Keyword Search
The Advanced Keyword search page offers you a number of limits to add to your search up front, including type of material (text, audio, video), audio and video formats (streaming, DVD, CD), location, and fiction or non-fiction in addition to Language.
Or, Limit your Search Results
Once you have conducted a search and wish to limit the results to a specific language, look for the Limit/Sort Search or Modify Search buttons.
Interpreting Results
I wanted a mystery by Stiegg Larsson in the original Swedish. Why did the catalog give me only English translations?
A very good question! Catalog records tend to be very complete. In the case of some translations, both the original language (Swedish) and the translation language (English) are coded in the record. That can be perplexing when you only want items in the original language.
If you do want an item in the original language and the Libraries do not own a copy, we can usually borrow it for you on Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad). Use the WorldCat database to locate materials outside our collections. It has language limits, too.
Why do my searches find so much music and video?
Another good question! Often audio recordings or scores can have multiple pieces in multiple languages. So only one song on the album matches your language limit. Videos can be in one language with subtitles in another.
If you want only books (textual materials) in your search results, use the limit for material type=text.
Many results seem to be from the Center for Research Libraries. What’s that?
The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is a “library’s library.” They collect obscure and international materials so that member libraries can share them. CRL has begun a campaign to digitize their holdings “on demand” as member libraries ask for items. As members of CRL, the University Libraries can offer you access to these online collections through the links in our catalog. Or, search the CRL catalog directly for full listings of millions of items in print or online. We can borrow anything you find on Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad). And the CRL catalog has the same function to limit materials by language on their Advanced Search page.
How can I find ALL the materials in my language?
Use the Advanced Keyword Search option. Enter an asterisk (*) as your search term and then limit to the language of your choice. Note that your results will be limited to the first 32,000 records.
I don’t see my language listed. How can I get that added to the limits?
Contact us and we’ll be happy to add a language if it has matching records in the catalog. Sorry, we currently have no titles in Vulcan or Valyrian.