Luther Rice University Bertha Smith Library Learning to Use Spectrum Cat

Accessing Spectrum CAT Spectrum CAT is Bertha Smith Library’s computer catalog system. Use it to find books in the Library catalog. There are two ways to access Spectrum CAT :  Find any available Library Computer Lab terminal  Go to the desktop  Double-click the “Spectrum Patrons’ CAT” icon.

Spectrum Cat Layout Spectrum offers a very user-friendly search interface. The tabs along the top of the page allow for easy navigation between basic and advanced searches, searching other libraries’ collections, and latest news. Enter search terms in the search bar. The “Using” buttons allow you to specify if your search term is a Key Word, Title, Author, or Subject. The large buttons at the bottom allow you to pull up the help menu, clear the search bar, browse in the area of your search term, or search specifically for the search term.

Easy Search To do an Easy Search, first be sure the “Easy Search” tab is highlighted. Next, enter your search term into the search bar. Then choose what type of word you are searching—key word, title, author, or subject. And click “Search” Your results appear shortly.

Expanded Search To do an Expanded Search, first click the “Expanded Search” tab at the top of the page. Enter a search term in the first search bar. Then select the search type from the pull down menu to the left. Notice extra options not available in “Easy Search”, such as Call Number, ISBN, and Series Title. Enter a search term into the second search bar And choose a Boolean Operator to define how the words relate in the search: AND may be helpful when you have two topics and you need to find results including both of them. OR may be helpful when you have two similar topics that could both retrieve relevant information. NOT may be useful when you want information about one topic, but don't want any information about another topic included. Click search, and your results appear.

Search Tips Be sure you know how to use each of the search fields correctly to maximize your search’s potential: Key Words The Keyword search is a very general search that looks for the search term(s) in the title, subject, and notes fields. Author Be sure to enter the author’s name with the last name first. Also, you may want to search a second time using his or her initials, or entirely excluding the first name. For example, “Lewis, C. S.” is not the same as “Lewis, Clive Staples”. Because some books by him may be listed in either way, you may want to search simply for “Lewis” to get results for both. Title Title searches look the title exactly as entered (although you shouldn’t include “a”, “an”, or “the” in your searches!). If you don’t find exactly what you are looking for, though, try browsing the title. You might find it in the system slightly differently than you entered it. For example, entering “Resurrection Gospel and other sermons” will yield no results, although “Resurrection Gospel : and other sermons” finds Jesse Kellems’ book.

Search Tips Be sure you know how to use each of the search fields correctly to maximize your search’s potential: Subjects Searching by subject is a great way to begin research, but don’t limit yourself only to the terms you enter. Try entering a general subject and then browsing, rather than searching, it to really refine your searches. For example, you can browse “Bible” and find “Bible-Criticism, Interpretation, Etc.-History” to be a useful heading. Lastly, check the subject headings of any materials that you find useful as they may point you to other resources you may not have considered. Browsing by Call Number: Also, you can “browse the shelf” from the computer, either at home or at the school! After finding a book or other resource, try entering its call number into the expanded search and click “browse.” This will bring up a list of books found before and after it on the shelf. Because similar books on similar subjects are generally near one another, this is a great way to find extra resources.

On the results page, you can sort your results by Call Number, Title Author, Copyright, Type, or Location. The “Copies” column tells you how many are in the Library (first number), versus how many the Library owns (second number). Accessing Results

Highlighting an item you are interested in by clicking it brings up several helpful options. First is the “Lock” option. With your item highlighted, click the Lock button and you’ll notice a small icon appear to the left of the listing. With the item locked, close the window and set up a new search—in this case, we’ll search for materials on Paul and the doctrine of Salvation.

Accessing Results Highlighting an item you are interested in by clicking it brings up several helpful options. First is the “Lock” option. With your item highlighted, click the Lock button A dialog box will appear asking for your account information The new search has the locked document still listed. Use this feature to complete several searches without losing your previous material. You can also reserve books from the results page. With your item highlighted, click the “Reserve” button Enter your information and click “OK” to reserve the item. When it is checked in, you will receive an notification that it has arrived. NOTE: Please do not reserve books that are listed as on the shelf. Only reserve books in which the left number in the “Copies” field is 0 (for example, 0/1 or 0/2).

To get more information about a title, simply double click the name. Alternatively, you may highlight the title and click “Details” On this page you see the call number and bibliographic information. Some items have a description of the contents This page also shows the item’s subject heading(s) and any added entries. Accessing Results

Click the “Card Image” tab to view the same information as a Card Catalog you would find it displayed in a card catalog. Click the “Copies” tab to find out material’s availability. If the “Status” column reads “In”, then the item should be on the shelf. If the “Status” column reads “Out”, then the item has been checked out. You may want to ask the Circulation desk if the book has been dropped off but not yet reshelved, or you may wish to find out its due date. If the “Status” column reads “Lost”, then the item has been misplaced and is being replaced. Accessing Results

Search Tips While the online catalog has all the same features as the on-campus computer catalog, there are some differences: The layout is different. The online catalog does not feature both the Easy Search and Expanded Search tabs. It rather uses only the Expanded Search features. The “Lock” feature is referred to as a “Bookbag” in the online catalog. It works in the same way. Select your item and click “Bookbag”, and the item will be stored and kept in future references. To reserve a book online, click the “Copies” button beside each item on the results page. Click “Reserve” on the following page. Again, PLEASE DO NOT PLACE BOOKS ON RESERVE THAT HAVE COPIES LISTED AS AVAILABLE! In the online catalog, you can show the contents of your book bag in a printer- friendly format by clicking either “Preview” or “Bibliography” at the bottom of the page (both buttons have the same function).

For further help... Congratulations! You’ve completed the Bertha Smith Spectrum CAT Tutorial. If you have any further questions, you can: Congratulations! You’ve completed the Bertha Smith Spectrum CAT Tutorial. If you have any further questions, you can: Click the Help icon on any page, Click the Help icon on any page, See the Guide to Searching Library Databases at any of the on- campus computer terminals, See the Guide to Searching Library Databases at any of the on- campus computer terminals, Request assistance from any of the Library staff, or Request assistance from any of the Library staff, or Send questions to or call ext Send questions to or call ext. Happy searching! Happy searching!