The following useful tips and tricks for searching research resources at Thomas Balch Library will help you discover all that the library has to offer in its non-circulating research collection. Thomas Balch Library’s non-circulating collection is available to all visitors and does not require a library card or membership. We do provide ILL services for borrowing items to review in the library, but we do not send items from the library's collection to other institutions. Scroll down to find links to how-to-videos available on our Youtube Channel as well.

The Centennial Catalog is the official name of Thomas Balch Library’s catalog, which was implemented in its current state to celebrate the 100th birthday of the library. This is available via the Library’s website for remote searching as well as in house on patron computers or for use on your own device. As the catalog is hosted through WorldCat Discovery, you are also able to expand your search beyond Thomas Balch Library’s holdings, simply by selecting “libraries worldwide” in your search options.

The full url address is: https://thomasbalchlibrary.on.worldcat.org/discovery

Finding Library Materials at Thomas Balch Library

General Collection

The majority of our published and print material can be found freely accessible to patrons on the shelves in the main reading room of the library, arranged by Library of Congress call numbers, with specific spatial locations denoted in the catalog. In addition to asking a staff member, this map should help you to navigate the layout.

• Stacks (refers to the bookshelves throughout the main reading room)
  • Printed materials with Library of Congress Call Numbers
  • Children’s Collection arranged alphabetically by title; no Call Numbers
• Janney Room (John Janney’s portrait is above the curved window seat in this room)
  • Series, Periodicals, Journals – arranged alphabetically by title
  • Boxed Periodicals –contains folders of serials of which we may only have a few issues

In addition to books and journals, some archival and published collections are available on Microfilm and Microfiche available to the public. These include:

• Newspapers
• Church/Cemetery Records
• Land tax records
• Wills and Deeds
• Vital statistics (birth, death, marriage)
• Personal property tax records
• Military records
• And more: manuscripts, theses, published/unpublished works, etc.

Archives and Manuscripts Collections

Original archives and manuscript collections are retrieved from the Archives by a staff member and are made available upon request for viewing at designated desks to the side of our main reference desk. Some of these materials may require special handling. Most of these collections will have a finding aid listed with a hyperlink to a pdf in the catalog listing*.

Items listed in our catalog as located in the Archives or Ask A Librarian may be requested with a Collection Request Form, available at the reference desk.

These include:

• Archival Collections
• Abbreviations seen in the finding aids/call numbers in the catalog listings:
  • ART = Artifact collection (example: ART 002 – often coexists with a M number)
  • AV = Audiovisuals
  • M = Manuscript collection (example: M010)
  • OM = Oversized materials (example: OM 008)
  • OMB = Oversized manuscript box (example: OMB 022) SC = Small collection (example: SC0189 – often only 1 or 2 folders)
  • VC = Visual collection (example VC0004) can be slides, photographs, postcards etc Some images, but not all, are available to view in our Visual Collections Catalog: https://thomasbalchlibrary.pastperfectonline.com/photo
• Ephemera*
  • (Balch library defines this category as “a subclass of published papers not necessarily intended to last beyond immediate usage” and these may include flyers/tickets/postcards etc)
• Family Files
• Maps*
• Topical Files*
• Unpublished Papers
• Vertical Files

* denotes collections that will not have a finding aid hyperlinked in the catalog but will be described in the catalog record itself.

Newspapers

• Many newspapers are available on microfilm.
• Older newspapers that are not on microfilm AND more recent papers that are not yet on microfilm are listed as archive items with Box numbers. These can be requested with the Collection Request form (pictured above) and viewed at the reference desk.

External Databases

The Centennial Catalog does not search external databases, although Thomas Balch Library provides onsite access to some subscription sites. Details are found on Databases & Electronic Resources portion of our website.

Additional Resources

Search Smarter How-to Videos (watch Thomas Balch Library how to videos on Youtube)

Advance Search Index Codes to use in Thomas Balch Library's Centennial Catalog

Submit Feedback for Catalog Questions/Concerns