Shelcat Scottish Health Libraries Catalogue Training guide, March 2009

Search across all Boards & services, or click a Board link to search individual libraries Limit to format or publication year

Enter your search term(s) and specify which field they should be in: title words, author name, subject, etc. Click ‘Go’ button, or hit Enter or Return on your keyboard

You are now in the Results tab: this list will remain here until you run a new search. By default, results are ordered by most recent publication year … click on Author or Title to re-order alphabetically by those options. To view the full record, inc. possible extras like book cover and contents page, click on the title … … or click on the library link to go straight to the item information. (1/0) = 1 item is held, 0 currently on loan, so 1 item is on the shelf

Clicking on a title in the Results list will display the full record view. Check this information to verify it is the item you want, and for other useful details, e.g. comes with CD-ROM. If a book cover is displayed, click on it – a window will open up with further information such as Contents Page, Summary, Reviews, where available. Note the brief item details: click on All items or a single library link to view the full item record.

The Holdings (items) page contains brief title information and full item information. Note that you must be logged-in in order to place a request for a local (i.e. Board) copy or to submit an inter-library loan request for a copy held elsewhere. If an item is out on loan, the due date will display

Other search options: Advanced, Browse, and Other Libraries

Other search options: Advanced, Browse, and how to save records Choose more than one term for a combined search, e.g. on author name and title. Advanced Search tab

Browse tab Alphabetical browse searches are useful if you’re not sure how to spell an author’s name, or want to look through the full list of subject terms

Author browse: the number of books by that author is shown – No. of Rec[ord]s Click on an author’s name to view all their publications.

Subject browse: click on the subject link to view all records catalogued with that subject term.

How to save records for print or

You can save your results, either to save / print or to them to yourself, for reference. In the Results list, check the boxes and click Add to My Records … … or, from a full record view, click Add to My Records.

You can give your saved set a name (as a useful label), or just ignore this option and click Go. After saving, you can find them in the My Records tab Check the records you wish to save or , then click Save / button

Choose the format you want the records saved as: citation, full, brief, etc. If you just want to save the file onto your PC or print it, click Go. If you want to the record information to someone or to your own account, enter an address and then Go.

Click on Save Selected button to confirm A window will open asking if you want to open the file (for immediate printing) or save it on your PC. You can set your preferred file type for dealing with these.sav files by going into Windows Control Panel / Folder Options. Note: your records will only be saved permanently in My Records if you are logged-in.

In the Other Libraries tab you can search other library catalogues. Enter a search term, check the libraries you want to search, and click Go.

Journal searches and SFX

If you run a journal title search … … click on the SFX links to see if there are full text articles available from the eLibrary

The SFX window will appear, and may offer article-level search options.

You can also click on a title to view holdings information.

Special features for logged-in users 1. Placing requests

Click on the Log in button On the log-in page, enter the barcode as shown on the back of your Shelcat library card, plus password, and click the Log in button.

Once logged-in, you will see your branded ‘home’ environment, plus My Account and Request tabs Notice also that the search options are specific to your Board or circulating unit, for searching by single libraries … … and you can always choose which Board and/or single library to search by using the quick links or Advanced Search.

Types of request 1. Local Request This is a request for an item held at your home library (i.e. if an item is out on loan, you can request it so that you’re notified when it’s available again) or at another library within your Health Board or circulating unit (so that it can be sent to your home library for collection and loan). For example: Board / Circulating unit = NHS Fife Borrowers registered at any library in NHS Fife will make Local Requests to: Victoria Hospital (Kirkcaldy) Stratheden Hospital (Cupar) Lynebank Hospital (Dunfermline) Queen Margaret Hospital (Dunfermline) Public Health Library (Leven) Health Promotion Centre (Leven)

Types of request 1. External Request This is a request for an item which is not held at your home library or Health Board or circulating unit, i.e. a request between any of these units or outside all of them (e.g. the British Library, universities, etc). External Requests also include requests for journal articles, also known as ILL (Inter-Library Loan) requests. British Library

In the items page, you will now see options to place a Local Request for items held within your Board or your home library: this is so you can request items which aren’t held by your ‘home’ library (but in another Board library), or to place a reserve on an item which is out on loan. If there are any Local Request options available, this is what you must use in order to request the item. Do not use the External Request button: this is only to be used for requesting items which are not held in your Health Board or home library.

Remember you can search all Shelcat libraries. If the item you want is not held within your Board or home library (i.e. there are no Local Request options), you can then use the External Request button and your home library will attempt to get a copy for you.

After clicking the External Request button, the ILL Request form will display. You can choose to request a photocopy of a part of a book (fill in the details), or the whole book as a loan. You must check the Copyright Declaration box, then click Go.

If there is no copy of the book you want on Shelcat, or if you want to request a journal article via document delivery, click the Request tab at the top of any page to open a blank form. By default the journal article request form will open; click Book ILL form if you are requesting a book.

Complete as much detail as possible; you will receive confirmation of your request after submitting it. The request has been sent to library staff at your ‘home’ library for processing. Always remember to search the eLibrary for full text options before submitting an article request to your library!

Special features for logged-in users 2. My Account

Click on the My Account tab. In this area you can check which items you have out on loan and when they’re due back … … a list of your previous loans … a list of active Local Requests … a list of active External / journal article requests and recently closed External requests Click on the numbers to view the details. You can also set your own password

In Current Loans you can check due dates, and renew some or all items to extend your loan. Once you view an option, all other options are then displayed as buttons. Note: there will be a limit as to how often you can renew your items online – check with your library staff for details.

In Local Requests you can check the items you’ve placed requests / reserves on. Click the underlined numbers in the No. column to see further details and for the option to cancel the request. In ILL Requests you can check the status of journal article requests and External book requests You can use the request number in communications with the library

If you are using a public PC, always remember to log-out of Shelcat – your address details and loan history will be on view to other users if you forget, and they may maliciously use your account.