OPAC OPAC stands for: Online Public Access Catalog Look for this icon in the Students folder. Double-click on it to open.

When OPAC first opens up you will find a screen that looks like this. Type in your title, author (last name first), subject or keyword in the white text box and select the icon that fits your search.

When looking for a specific topic, it is best to use the “Keyword” or “Power” selections “Power” is a keyword Boolean search.

What is a Boolean search? Boolean searching allows you to narrow down your search by using special terms before your keywords. It's useful because it can help you make sure you don't get thousands of results when you search. So, the next time you search you'll find what you want quicker and easier.

With Boolean searching you use the following: Boolean termWhy? AND To make sure a keyword is included AND NOT (ANDNOT, NOT) To make sure a keyword is not included OR To give alternative keywords

I would like to read a book about dogs. I typed the word “dogs” in the text box and selected “Keyword.” This is the list that came up. (To go back a screen press the “ESC” key on your computer keyboard.)

The small icon of a book means this title is a book. There are pictures of CDs, maps, microphones, videos, newspapers, etc., each listing a type of material in the library.

This is the Title column. This is the Author column. This is the year of publication

This is the Call Number. This tells you where to find the book in the library. All non-fiction books have Dewey numbers, fiction books are marked as “F” and the first 3 letters of the author’s last name, and everyone books are marked as “E” and the first 3 letters of the author’s last name.

The last column is labeled “Status.” This will have either an “Out,” meaning the book is checked out, or “In,” meaning the book is on the shelf.

You can move from title to title by using the arrow bars on the right side of the screen. The small arrow bar on the top and bottom will move the blue line (cursor) up and down one title at a time. The large arrow bar will move the the screen up or down one page at a time.

This screen is called the first page of cataloging. It gives you a lot of information, but you will need more if you are looking for books on a certain topic. From this page you can either double-click on the blue line to find more information on the book, or click on the “Select” button in the lower right corner of the screen.

I would like to learn more about the book Dalmatians. I have highlighted the title and will open up the next page of cataloging.

This is the second page of cataloging. The word “dogs” is highlighted because that is where the catalog found the keyword we asked it to search for.

This page will give you your bibliographic information (Title, Publisher and Date, and Number of Pages). In the “Notes” section you may find a summary of what the book is about and AR information.

Subject headings are very important in doing research. They are excellent ways to narrow or broaden your research and find all of the books on your topic. The call number of the book is listed in the upper right side of the screen and the lower left part of the screen.

On this page anything highlighted in blue is a direct link to another part of the catalog. By double-clicking on the subject heading “Dogs -- Fiction” the catalog will take me to a list of all of the books the library has that are fiction books about dogs.

This screen tells me that there are 208 fiction books about dogs in the library. To find out what the titles are double-click on the blue line or click on “Select” in the lower right corner.

This is the list of titles of fiction books about dogs. Notice the call number. When looking for books on a certain topic I would always look at the second page of cataloging and select the books I would like to look at. I can do that by creating a “Bookbag.”

To create a Bookbag highlight the title you want and click on the “Add to Bookbag” button in the lower left corner, or…

Click on the “Add to Bookbag” button on the right of the second page of cataloging.

After you have viewed all of the titles you are interested in and have added them to your Bookbag, select the “Bookbag” icon at the top and this pop-up window will appear with all of the books you are going to look for.

You can even name your Bookbag. This one is called “Books about Dogs.” Once you have all of the titles in your Bookbag and have named it, you can print it out.

This is what a Bookbag printout looks like. It has all of your bibliographic information on it, the call number, as well as the summary of your book. Make notes on this page, mark off the titles that don’t work, and use the information to file for next year.

To your Bookbag to Ms. Sloggett: 1.Click on “Save to File” 2.Choose a name for your file (i.e. JDavisDogs) 3.Choose the location to save your.txt file. Your desktop works well since it’s easy to find & you can delete it after you it to Ms. Sloggett. 4.Send an to Ms. Sloggett and attach your file. 5.Then, Ms. Sloggett will pull the books for you. (Give me a little time, please! )

If you want a book that is checked out of the library you can place a “Hold” on that book. To place a hold on a book, let Ms. Sloggett know the title and she will put it on Hold for you.

The “AR” icon will bring up this window. Fill out the information you need to search for a book in the text boxes provided. Click on “Search” to find the books that are in the reading range you are interested in.

You have now learned how to use the library’s OPAC! If you have any questions about the program please ask Ms. Sloggett.

This presentation was made possible thanks to the following people who shared their resources… Brenda Clayton, Person High School (Roxboro, NC) Nicole Dunevant, Southern Middle School (Roxboro, NC) Rachel Pruett Grubs, Plum Creek Elementary Lisa Hunt, Apple Creek Elementary (Moore, OK) Charlotte Lesser, Monadnock Regional School District (Swanzey, NH)