The Newton Library Catalogue contains records for all Chinese books and periodicals in the Library; however for the contents of most cong shu it is still necessary to consult the List of Cong shu in Cambridge Libraries or the card catalogue. Three kinds of records are currently available:
(1) Records in romanisation only (40%), e.g.:
Xu Zhi-mo nian pu (1981).
(These records contain author name(s) (usually family name only), title, place of
publication and date.)
(2) Romanised records with links to full Chinese script records (50%), e.g.:
Xu Zhi-mo shi quan ji (1992).
(The linked records contain Chinese subject headings which can be
searched in the UK Union Catalogue of Chinese Books.)
(3) Records containing Chinese script (10%), e.g.: Xu Zhi-mo de shi qing yu shi yi (2001).
As searches using Chinese script will only find type (3) records, it
is recommended to search using romanisation. The pinyin system
is used; syllables are not aggregated, except for polysyllabic
elements in Chinese author names and place names (e.g.: Mao Zedong,
Sima Qian, Beijing, Shijiazhuang), unless these occur in titles, when
they are hyphenated.
Hyphens and capitalisation may be ignored when searching.
For example, ¡¶Ðí¼ÒÍÍÏã¸Û»ØÒ伡·may be found by entering
Xu Jia-tun Xiang-gang hui yi lu,
Xu Jia tun Xiang gang hui yi lu OR
xu jia tun xiang gang hui yi lu BUT NOT
Xu Jiatun Xianggang hui yi lu, etc.