 using the library library catalog a library catalog is an organized list of all the materials and resources a library owns traditionally these lists were kept on cards filed in drawers online library catalog nowadays most libraries store their list of materials and resources online you can search for library materials in an online library catalog using a computer search an online library catalog is used to search for library materials search means to look for something using a keyword or phrase will make your search go faster keywords keywords are words related to a topic that can help you find information using keywords makes searching for resources in the online library catalog easy phrases a phrase or key phrase is a group of two or more words related to a topic you can search for resources in the online library catalog using key phrases database a database is a collection of data or information that is usually stored on a computer the library online catalog is an example of a searchable computer database catalog record each library resource will have a catalog record a catalog record tells you information like the title author number of pages and also where to find that item in the library search box to do a search type a keyword or phrase for your topic into the search box you can search the library's database or even online for information and resources results results are the list of items that come from doing a search if you used a keyword or phrase your search results will give you a good list of resources related to your topic the end