Use Orbis to search for materials on plays, people, genres and topics that the library has acquired since 1977. For earlier publications it is still necessary to check in the SML Card Catalog. To find materials that Yale does not own, you can use these same subject headings to search in WorldCat or Eureka. Use the REQUEST feature in Eureka to request these items through Interlibrary Loan.

Subject Headings are used to describe the content of materials with consistent terminology. They are drawn from a "controlled vocablulary" produced by the Library of Congress. For instance, the correct Library of Congress Subject Heading for FILM is Motion Pictures. Always look at the subject headings in any catalog or index to make sure that you are searching with the most relevant terminology.

For more information about using Orbis and the other Yale Library Catalogs see: About the Yale Library Catalogs.

TIME SAVER: You can often save yourself work by looking at existing bibliographies, which often include both books and articles. Criticism never goes out of date (there are lots of Aristoteleans out there), and you can locate the most recent research by using article indexes and Orbis.

Research about a person can be found in Orbis using a subject search (LastName FirstName). If you do not find anything using a subject search it may mean that your spelling or form is not the same as the Library of Congress form. When this happens, look for a message telling you to search under another entry, as is the case below with George Bernard Shaw.

Studies and information about specific plays, as well as the plays themselves, can be found in Orbis. Use a Title search to find the text of the play, and a Advanced Keyword search limited to subject to find information about a play.

Use a Keyword search to look for genres and topics, especially if you are unsure of the Library of Congress Subject Heading. A keyword search finds the term anywhere in the Orbis record. When you do a keyword search, be sure to look at the subject headings used to describe this topic and then also search by the correct Library of Congress Subject Heading. Also, use a keyword search if you have multiple concepts or topics to search.

There are three key subject headings to use: Theater, Theaters, and Drama. Use theater to describe works as acted on the stage, theaters to find information about facilities used to stage drama, and drama for plays as a literary form. Other subject headings of interest include Acting, Performance Art, and Stage.

NOTE: When you search Library of Congress Subject Headings, use the spelling THEATER, not THEATRE.

Also, most genres and geographical areas can be searched using subject headings, such as: