Today's Catalogue Tip
Click on the Home icon at the top left to start a new search.
- Click on an item title to see the full record and holdings.
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Using the Catalogue
The catalogue uses fuzzy logic to find terms similar in spelling to that which you typed. It also ranks titles containing your search terms higher in the result list than authors or subjects containing your search terms.
Using various searches
- All fields is a good place to start with an author & title search. For example, if you want only the Star Trek books by a certain author, type star trek byrne. Also, use when subject searches haven't paid off.
- Title is used when you know all or most of the title. Note: one-word-titles with subtitles can be tricky to find if you don't know the subtitle.
- Author is used to find titles by a specific author. Type in the name, no need to use last name first.
- Subject is useful when you are confident that you know the exact word or phrase for the subject you're seeking. Keep in mind that this is a "controlled vocabulary" so the term in your head might not match the one used in the catalogue.
- ISBN is great for when you find a book in a store or article, where the ISBN is listed. It's a quick and exact way to look for a title.
Searching for exact phrases
- Place the phrase you want to find inside quotation marks.
- For example, a title search for The Help returns 235 results, vs "The Help" returns only 5.
Using punctuation
- The catalogue reads punctuation as a space,
- Make sure you type the punctuation in phrases or substitute with a space.
- "Uncle Tom's Cabin" or "Uncle Tom s Cabin" will find results, while "Uncle Toms Cabin" will NOT.
Variations of the root word
- If you're not sure whether you want to find mystery, mysteries, or something mysterious, just type myster to allow the catalogue to show all the variations.
- Note: this works best with subject searches.
Searching by material type (format)
- Leave the search type set to All Fields
- Type videorecording for DVDs etc, or
- Type "sound recording" for CDs, audiobooks etc, or
- Type "large print" for large print books
- Click Search
- Refine the search results by using an option in the left menu
- Shelf location is a useful way to refine the results
- If you want a specific author, title or narrator, type that inside quotation marks before typing the material type
- Example: "Harry Potter" videorecording
Holds
Hold charges are $2.00 per item.
You will be sent a notice by email or post when the item is available for collection.
