Introduction to the Library Catalogue ZSL Library October 2004

Welcome Familiarsing yourself with the Catalogue now will save you time when searching in the future. Use the Catalogue to search the Library’s holdings. This means books, journals, and other material owned by the Library. The Catalogue can be accessed on the Internet at:

Searching the Catalogue The default screen is the welcome page. Three options are listed which allow different levels of searching – Simple, Browse, and Power Search

Welcome Page

Simple Search This search allows you to search for any keyword or phrase. It is best not to use words such as the, a, or an as these will slow down the search. The Catalogue will return a list of results that relate to the search terms you chose.

Simple Search

Browse Search This allows you to search by a specific category such as Author, Title, Subject etc. To look for journals you must choose to search by Title Search results appear in alphabetical order beginning with the closest match to the information you entered.

Browse Search

Power Search This enables you to combine different fields such as Author, Title, Subject etc. when searching for books. The advantage of this search is the ability to perform very precise searches. Between the field boxes are connectors – AND, OR, AND NOT. This enables you to broaden or narrow your search.

Power Search

Wildcards Using $ in the middle of a word will tell the Catalogue to search for variant spellings. For example: behavio$r will find behaviour and behavior organi$ation will find organisation and organization

Displaying Records Your search results will be displayed as a list of possible matches. To view a record in full simply click on the title. To look at a selection of records click the box for each title you want to display then click on the View button.

Results Screen

Complete Record - Books The Record tab contains bibliographic details including author, title, publisher etc. The Copies tab gives information on the number of copies held and whether the item is on loan. Clicking on subject terms in blue will link to related items held in the Library. To find the book you want in the Library you need to make a note of the Call Number e.g. WRR

Complete Record - Books Record TabCopies Tab

Journals Journals are available in print or electronic format - some titles are available in both. To search for a specific journal use Browse Search and search by Title.

Complete Record - Journals The Record tab will give you the title and holding information. The Issues tab allows you to see which parts have been received. If a journal is available electronically there will be a link on the Record tab. (Some titles are available at ZSL only but many are open access.) To find the journal you want in the Library you need to make a note of the Call Number e.g. A667

Complete Record - Journals Record TabIssues Tab

‘My Account’ Function This allows you to check – how many books you have on loan – whether you need to renew your books – which books you have reserved – if you have any fines outstanding To use this you will need to have a User Name and Password. Please contact the Library to set this up.

‘My Account’ - Sign In Screen

Help Using the Catalogue There is a help button available throughout the catalogue. There is also a link to the FAQ pages on the ZSL website. We hope you have found this introduction to the Catalogue useful. If you have any queries concerning the Catalogue, or any of the resources available in the Library… Please ask!