Library Catalog Search:

Library Catalog – Frequently Asked Questions

5/27/10 (rev. 11/10/11)

See more information about the Library Catalog

Why login to the catalog?

When you login to the library catalog:

1. Your “home” library will be your default pick up location for holds.
2. You can renew materials you have checked out.
3. You can see the due dates of materials you have checked out.
4. You can see your bills for overdue fines and fees and see fines that are accumulating for items still checked out.

How do I Login?

How do I search the catalog?

1. Choose the search tool you want to use:  “Catalog Search”, “Power Search”, “Discovery Search” or “Find It Fast!”
2. Type your search words in the appropriate text box or boxes. Select search limits from the pull-down menus where needed.
3. When you are finished entering your search terms and setting search limits, click on the Search button.

How do I view my checkouts?

1. Login in the upper-right corner of any catalog screen.
2. You will see blue Welcome Message box with your name and a link to "MY ACCOUNT" and "My Lists".
3. Click “MY ACCOUNT” in the blue Welcome box.
4. Click “Review My Account”.
5. Click “Checkouts”.
   

How do I place a hold?

1. Login in the upper-right corner of any catalog screen.
2. Perform a search.
3. Click the “Place Hold” link next to the item.

How do I view my holds?

1. Login in the upper-right corner of any catalog screen.
2. You will see blue Welcome Message box with your name and a link to "MY ACCOUNT" and "My Lists".
3. Click “MY ACCOUNT” in the blue Welcome box.
4. Click “Review My Account”.
5. Click “Holds”.

How do I cancel my holds?

1. Login in the upper-right corner of any catalog screen.
2. You will see blue Welcome Message box with your name and a link to "MY ACCOUNT" and "My Lists".
3. Click “MY ACCOUNT” in the blue Welcome box.
4. Click “Review My Account”.
5. Click “Holds”.
6. Click the check boxes to the left of the holds you wish to cancel.
7. Click “Cancel Selected Holds”.

How do I change my hold pickup location?

1. Login in the upper-right corner of any catalog screen.
2. You will see blue Welcome Message box with your name and a link to "MY ACCOUNT" and "My Lists".
3. Click “MY ACCOUNT” in the blue Welcome box.
4. Click “Review My Account”.
5. Click “Holds”.
6. Uncheck the "Cancel Selected" check box to change the "Cancel Selected Holds" button to a "Edit Selected Holds" button.
   
7. Click the check boxes to the left of the holds you wish to edit.
8. Change the "Hold pickup location:" to the library you choose.
9. Click “Edit Selected Holds”.

How do I renew items online?

1. You can renew checked out items twice if they are not on hold for other patrons.
2. Login in the upper-right corner of any catalog screen.
3. Click “MY ACCOUNT” in the blue Welcome box.
4. Click “Renew My Materials”.
5. Click the check boxes to the left of the items you wish to renew.
6. Click “Renew Selected Items”.
7. (You can also renew items if you click “Review My Account”, then "Checkouts".)

How do I find “My Lists”?

1. Login in the upper-right corner of any catalog screen.
2. You will see blue Welcome Message box with your name and a link to "MY ACCOUNT" and "My Lists".
3. Click “My Lists” in the blue Welcome box.

How do I place Holds from “My Lists”?

1. Login in the upper-right corner of any catalog screen and click "My Lists" in the blue Welcome box.
2. Click “Details” under the item you wish to place on hold.
3. Click “Place Hold”.

How do I add items to “My Lists”?

1. Login in the upper-right corner of any catalog screen and click "My Lists" in the blue Welcome box.
2. If you have more than one My List, be sure the list you want to add items to is the Active List.
   
3. Search the library catalog using Catalog Search or Power Search.
4. Click the check box next to “+ My List” for the item you wish to add.

What is “Catalog Search”?

• Click on “Catalog Search” in the yellow menu bar.
• Catalog Search is the traditional library catalog with a single search box.  You can search the catalog with keywords or browse and you can limit by Library. 
• After you have search results, you can limit the results by format, material type, location and other criteria.
• You can login into your account to place or cancel holds, review your checkouts, renew items and add items to your “My Lists”.

What is “Power Search”?

• Click on “Power Search” in the yellow menu bar.
• Power Search is the traditional library catalog but with multiple search boxes and more options to limit results before you perform the search.  
• You can also leave the search boxes empty and retrieve all items in for one or more of the limits.
• For example, you can search for all Juvenile DVD’s published in 2009.
• You can login into your account to place or cancel holds, review your checkouts, renew items and add items to your My Lists.

What is “Discovery Search”?

• Click on Discovery Search in the yellow menu bar.
• Discovery Search is a non-traditional  library catalog search.
• It has a simple search box and the "Did You Mean?" feature checks your search words and suggests alternatives for possible misspellings.
• Search results display with facets, which are all the Authors, Dates, Subjects, Locations, etc. associated with your search results. It is easy to limit a search by selecting facets.

What is “Find It Fast!”?

“Find It Fast!” is a visual catalog that lets you find items by clicking on picture icons to find materials on popular topics.

Which browsers work best with the new catalog?

The new catalog works best with Internet Explorer 8 or 9 and recent versions of Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. It has full functionality with Internet Explorer 6 and 7 but has minor display problems. To upgrade your Internet Explorer to the latest version, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/worldwide-sites.aspx and follow the instructions to download and install the current version. If your computer operating system does not support newer versions of Internet Explorer, you may want to try another browser.