Searching the Library’s Online Catalog

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The Catalog -- What does it contain?

• The library catalog is a searchable database of all of the books, journals, videos, etc., available in the library or accessible online through a subscription.

• It also includes our largest collection of e books, eBook Collection on EBSCO

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• It is also called an OPAC, for Online Public Access Catalog.

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How do I get to it?

• To get to the Catalog, start at the Library’s Homepage, http://library.rpcc.edu/ .

• You do NOT need to login to use the Catalog, whether on or off campus.

• Under “Resources,” click “Library Catalog.”

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RPCC Library Services Home Page

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CAUTION: When searching in the catalog, be sure to use the “Go Back” link here rather than the browser’s back button. Using the browser’s may cause the loss of your previous search results.

… and you will come here.

Clicking “Search/Home” in the grey menu bar will also bring you to “Advanced Search” This Help link is context sensitive and will offer information relevant to what is on the screen.

Note that the green bar appears at the top and bottom of the screen. Links here will change depending on where you are in the catalog.

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Search/Home : Advanced Search These options are interchangeable; you may use all six or only certain ones or in various combinations.

With Advanced Search, users may set certain criteria and combine various search types (e.g., author, title, etc.).

These are Boolean operators; they’re used to connect or limit searches. They include “AND,” “OR,” “NOT,” & “XOR.” These are more options that can be used to limit searches.

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Advanced Search in Detail

Click on these arrows to change any search option.

Click on these to change Boolean operators.

“sort by” can be very helpful. You can leave it as “None,” or choose such options as “Author,” “Title,” etc.

You can also click these to see what other options are available, but using them is not required.

“item type” allows you to limit your search just to books, e-books or other specific types of items.

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Basic Search Option While offering the same six search options as the Advanced Search, Basic Search is limited to only one option at a time and allows for no limits.

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Search Option – Keywords anywhere

• The most commonly used search type • Searches all parts of a record that can be searched • Best option to use in most cases

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Search Option - Author

• Searches only for authors in a record • Useful if you are looking for a book BY a specific author • Do NOT use this option if you want to find information ABOUT a person; instead, use Subject; using “keywords anywhere” will find items by them as well as about them

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Search Option – Title

• Searches only for titles in a record • Useful if you know the title of the book you need • However, a search using a part of a title may include irrelevant items that may not be what you need

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Search Option - Subject

• Only searches for the subject terms in a record • Uses a specific list of subject terms or headings established by the Library of Congress or other authority • If the search terms used are not in the list, you may not get results that you would expect • TIP – You

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use this, however, if you need a book ABOUT a person; “keywords anywhere” will find books by them as well as about them

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Search Option - Series

• • “Series” refers to several books published as part of a set having some common traits or themes

Taking Sides

, for example, is a series that looks at opposing sides of controversial issues, such as gun control • Use this if you know the title of the series that you want to find

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Search Option – Periodical Title

• Looks for titles of magazines, journals or newspapers • Useful if you need to find a particular magazine, journal or newspaper • This will NOT find the articles that are published in magazines, journals or newspapers – for this you will need to use the Databases; see the tutorial “Using the Databases” for more information

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Other Search Options

Other Catalog Search options include: Call Number Search and Browse Search.

Note: Choices listed here will vary depending on the current search.

Here are examples of search terms using the various options.

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Other Search Options – Call Number

Call Number Search can be used if you know part of an item’s call number. Using the first 1 or 2 characters will list all items that start with those characters. Case does not matter.

You may also set some limits.

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A sample search for call numbers starting with “HV” Use these links to go back and forward through the list.

Click on the call number to get more info about the book.

This is the first item in the catalog with an HV call number.

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Other Search Options – Browse Search

A Browse Search allows you to search for a term as either an author, title, subject, series, or periodical. Again, case does not matter.

No limits may be set.

A browse looks at the first few characters and will retrieve those items that are exact matches or are close.

Let’s look at the results for a browse for “Cujo” as a title.

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Other Search Options – Browse Search

Here’s your title, but the list also includes other items that start with at least the same 2 first letters. The only things that these items have in common with your original title are those 2 letters. Otherwise, they may be unrelated.

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Sample Advanced Search Catalog search for “domestic violence” as “keywords anywhere.” Then click here.

Changing “sort” to “New to Old” will list the records by date of publication, with the newest titles first.

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Your results … Too many? Look here for ways to refine your search and narrow your results.

Let’s try . . .

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Your new results … You now have 12 titles. If these aren’t what you need, you can choose another category, here. This will use the original list of 81 titles and find items that fall into another category.

You can also click [return to full results] to go back to the original list and try other options.

Clicking on suggested terms here will do a new search for those terms within the selected category,

“Family, Marriage, Women,”

in this case.

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Limit Search You can also limit your search by clicking “Limit Search” above or scrolling to the bottom of the page to set your limits.

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… then click “Search” If you only want a print book, change “type” to “Book,” …

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This search limited to books found 19 titles. Remember that this is a keyword search, and some results may not be as relevant as others. You can refine your search further by using these categories again, if needed or you could start a new search.

Clicking here will open a Google search in a new window for your original terms. Note that these are outside Internet sources and we cannot guarantee their content, etc.

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Ok, I’ve got results – now what does it all mean?

Call number – where the item is located on the shelf.

Title & author If available, where it can be found.

If not available, when it is expected back in the library.

Click on the title for more information about the item.

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A few more details under “Item Information” These can be used to find other related items.

A bit more information . . .

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And even more under “Catalog Record” While some parts of a Catalog Record (such as the title) will be included for every item in the catalog, others may vary.

Some, may include the contents of an item. This can help you decide if it will be useful for you.

These are Library of Congress Subject & other terms; clicking on them here will find other items that also use them. This is another way to refine your search.

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What else can items in a result list tell you?

Parts of a record in a list can tell you more about an item before you take a closer look.

An electronic resource can be an E-book, a CD-ROM, or some other electronic format.

This item is a video in either VHS or DVD format and is in the Audio-Visual collection.

This is a reference item; it must be used in the library.

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An E-book will include “eBook Collection” as the location as well as a URL.

But not all items with a URL are E-books! This URL will take you to some other information about the item. Remember, if it doesn’t say eBook Collection, it’s NOT an E-book!

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Need to make a list of items?

Click the check box to add items to a list. This can be used to help keep track of sources that you use in your research.

Click “Remove” to take an item off your “Kept” list.

Then click Kept in either of the green bars to see your list.

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Here’s your list of titles.

Here, you can choose some options for viewing, printing or e-mailing the list.

“Brief” will include the title, author, call number, location, etc., the same information that can be found under “Item Information” by clicking on the title.

“Full” will include the same information under “Catalog Record”, including subject terms and contents (if available).

“All” will include much more information, ISBN, etc.

Choose “Brief” or “Full” for best results.

Note that a Kept list is not permanent; items will stay here as long as the session is active. Idle sessions will time out, so you should print or e-mail your items when you are finished searching.

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Clicking “View” or “Print Formatted” will result in 2 versions of the list, the web list, as well as a text version that may be saved or printed.

You may need to allow pop-ups for the text version to appear.

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To e-mail the list, simply enter your e-mail address and click.

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The Library catalog includes other useful features. Please see our Tutorials page for more detailed information on using these features.

See what may be on reserve for your course; search by course or instructor.

Click here to renew your items or just to check your due dates.

Click these links to go to other Library pages. These will also open in new windows.

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