Poplar Bluff Public Library

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How To:

Note: The following sections describe the standard (default) features of our catalog. A configuration editor allows the library system administrator to determine what features will be made available and how they will be displayed.

Recognizing Elements of the Search Window

From the catalog home page you can:

  • Perform a general search of the catalog;
  • Search the catalog (search only author, title, subject OR notes, subjects OR authors, titles OR subjects, or all of the author, title, subject, or notes fields);
  • Browse (move forward or backward through a word or number search list);
  • Combination search (search author, title, subject AND/OR notes simultaneously); or
  • Get Online Help.

To perform a general search of the catalog, type anything in the search query box on the home page and click Search. The results returned are based on searching all categories in the catalog (author, title, subject, and notes). (Search results are interpreted in the following pages.)

To perform a simple search, select Search. A new page will appear (Figure 2). The following search elements are available:

  • Home button - Returns you to the home page;
  • Help button - Opens the Online Help page;
  • New Search - clears any search terms entered and limits set;
  • Browse - Opens the Browse search query page;
  • Combination Search - Opens the Combination Search page;
  • Find: lets you select Titles, Authors, Subjects, Notes, Authors or Titles, Subjects or Authors, Titles or Subjects, or any field to search;
  • Return pulldown menu - lets you select the number of results that will be displayed per page;
  • Begin with / contain pulldown menu - lets you search for items in the catalog that begin with or contain the search query;
  • The word(s) query box - the place where you enter your search terms;
  • The Set Limits option - lets you narrow a search by Date, Language, Format, Place, and Collection; and
  • The Search button - launches a search.

Viewing the Simple Search Process

Understanding the options available in the simple search process (the Search option) will help you plan your search strategy and obtain consistent search results. A sample search is shown in:

Figure 3a

Figure 3b

Figure 3c

Figure 3d

In general, the following steps (Figure 3a through 3d) are performed:

  1. The parameters on the main search menu are set;
  2. The search is limited if necessary;
  3. The search is launched and a list of matches is displayed;
  4. An item on the list of matches is selected and the item record is displayed. (In some cases, you will need to select from a second results list before an individual record is displayed.)

The Home and Help buttons are available throughout the search process, the first returning you to the PAC home page, and the second providing access to online Help page. (The New Search, Browse, and Combination Search buttons are also available and are described later.) Notice that some of the text on various pages is underlined, indicating that additional information is linked to selected text. If you wish to look at the screen previously displayed during your search, select the Back button on your web browser.

This is a good time to practice navigating through the PAC. Follow the sequences displayed in Figures 3a through 3d. When you are finished, click the Home button to return to the home page.

Performing Author Searches

Our catalog lets you search your catalog's author, title, subject, and notes indexes separately or in combination. Although searching is a simple, straightforward process, understanding the elements of search and display features will help you obtain reliable, consistent results.

The following examples illustrate the variety of results obtained from a search of William Shakespeare using the single Search feature.

Author Searches

To search for works written by William Shakespeare:

  • Click on Search and select Authors from the checklist menu (Figure 4). This limits your search to authors only.
  • Select the begin with option from the next pulldown menu (Figure 5).
  • Type William Shakespeare in the empty "word(s)" box (Figure 6) and click the Search button or press Enter. The message Nothing was found for your search should appear. (If the search produced a results set, the author's name in the record was entered incorrectly.) Your search failed because the begin with option searches for the terms you entered at the beginning of a line and in the order they were typed. In other words, the catalog looked for an author whose last name was William and whose first name was Shakespeare.
  • Change the begin with option to contain and select Find to relaunch the search. A results list (Figure 7) will appear. The search was successful because the contain search option does not care about word order or the position of the search term. Note that:
    • Your search window remains on the page, ready to launch another search;
    • A numbered results list shows the items that match your search query;
    • If multiple results were found for a search term, the type of search and the number of items returned is displayed. For example, [Author: Returns 98 items].
    • Underlined portions of the display indicate that additional information is linked to an item.
  • Now modify your search so that the begin with option is selected and the query box contains Shakespeare, William. (You may omit the comma, and you do not need to capitalize letters.) Launch the search. The same results set shown in Figure 7 should appear. This time the search succeeded because authors' last names always appear first in author fields.

Limiting Your Search

So far you've seen that author searches can be limited by word order and word position. They also can be limited by date of publication, language, format, and place of publication. (Branch Collection limiting can be added using the Configuration program.) To use the search limiting features:

  1. Click on Set Limits on the search menu. The window shown in Figure 3b will appear.
  2. Select the Format checkbox and choose Computer File from the pulldown menu (Figure 8). (You could check any or all of the boxes. You can select more than one option within a pulldown menu by holding down the Ctrl key when you click on an item.)
  3. Click on the Set Limits button to return to the search menu. Note that the Set Limits feature has changed to Change Limits, indicating that one or more limit has been set.
  4. Enter the search query you last used (Figure 7) and select Find. A new results list will appear (Figure 9) showing only non-print items. The following message appears at the beginning of the results list: Results filtered according to Limits.

Performing Title Searches

To search for works with William Shakespeare in the title:

  1. Click on Search select Titles from the checklist menu (Figure 10) This limits your search to titles only.
  2. Select the begin with option from the next pulldown menu (Figure 10).
  3. Type William Shakespeare in the empty "word(s)" box (Figure 10) and click the Search button. (You are searching for only titles that contain William Shakespeare at the beginning of the line.) A results list similar to that shown in Figure 11 will appear.
  4. Now change the begin with option to contain and press Search. (You are now searching for titles with William Shakespeare in any position.) A results list similar to the one shown in Figure 12 will appear.
  5. Click on the first item in the results list to view an individual record similar to the one shown in Figure 13. (The fields displayed in the labeled record can be modified by staff with appropriate security). Note that:
    • Underlined text shows links from this record to other information.
    • The Set Limits option may be used as it was for Author searches.
    • Location [TLC], Collection [Dewey Collection], Call number [822.3 Sha], and Availability [AVAILABLE] information is provided under Location Information.
    • MARC, Download, and Save to List buttons are available at the top of the page. (More about them later.)

Conducting Boolean Searches Using the Search Feature

In the previous sections you learned how to search for individual words (Shakespeare) or phrases (William Shakespeare) in the catalog. L.S. PAC also lets you search for words and phrases in certain combinations. This feature is known as Boolean searching, and the symbols used to connect words and phrases are called Boolean operators. The following table illustrates the operators available, sample searches, and the desired results.

Operator Example Explanation
AND or & Shakespeare & Bard Search for both Shakespeare and bard anywhere in the same field
OR or | Shakespeare OR Bard Search for Shakespeare or bard anywhere in the same field
NOT or ~ Shakespeare ~ Bard Search for Shakespeare and not bard in the same field


Before you try your hand at Boolean Searching from the Search the Catalog page, remember that:

  • It can be used for searching any available fields author, title, subject, notes, all of those fields, or any combination;
  • Words being searched are not case sensitive (shakespeare, Shakespeare, and SHAKESPEARE are all intepreted the same way);
  • It works only with searches using the contain (not the begin with) parameter;
  • The search must be structured so that the catalog can understand it.

Structuring the Search

When you enter a search query in the "word(s)" box and press Find, the catalog reads your entry from left to right, using the Boolean operators and other symbols. It does not combine adjacent words into phrases unless you give it further instruction. For example, if you entered

William Shakespeare AND Julius Caesar

as a search query, the catalog would search for records that contained all four words in any order. This problem can be solved by nesting words within parentheses. For example, the query

(William Shakespeare) AND (Julius Caesar)

would cause the catalog to search for occurrences of William Shakespeare and then search among the results for records that also contained Julius Caesar. Try using the two search queries presented above to see if different results are produced. Can you figure out what the following query would retrieve?

((William Shakespeare) OR (Julius Caesar)) NOT (George Lyman Kittredge)*

*Find the phrase William Shakespeare or the phrase Julius Caesar where it does not appear with the phrase George Lyman Kittredge.

Conducting Wildcard Searches

The catalog allows you to search for partial words in the search query box by using the wildcard symbol * to the right of a word stem. For example, a search of titles that begin with sales* might return a results list with titles starting with Salesperson, Salesmanship, or similar words. A contains search on titles using the query sales* might return a results list with titles such as Death of a Salesman or Effective Sales Management.

You may also use the * character in a search as a substitute for any individual character. For example, a titles search on wom*n will return results that include both woman and women.

Exact Phrase Searches

You can designate exact phrases to search by enclosing them in quotes ("All's Well that Ends Well").

Searching: Putting it all together

So far you have learned how to

  • Perform author and title searches;
  • Set the begin with and contain parameters
  • Use the Set Limit features; and
  • Perform Boolean searches.

The skills you have developed can also be applied to subject, notes, and any items searches. Try the following searches to expand your skills:

  • Notes that contain the phrase William Shakespeare
  • A subject search for William Shakespeare and either drama or poetry
  • Only titles in French containing William Shakespeare


Performing Combination Searches

You have just learned how to perform a Boolean search using the Search option. This section shows you how to perform Boolean searches using the Combination search function.

First, the Combination search page has three search entry lines instead of just one (Figure 14). For each entry line, you can select the type of entry to be searched. Click the down arrow beside each selection box on the right and choose Title, Author, Subject, or Note. After the first and second entry lines, select one of the Boolean operators AND, OR or NOT to determine the relationship between a search term and the term following. If you use two different operators select the radio button that describes how search terms should be grouped:

(Term 1 OPERATOR Term 2) OPERATOR Term 3

Term 1 OPERATOR (Term 2 OPERATOR Term 3)

Second, while Search performs a single search, the Combination search performs up to three individual searches and combines the results according to the relationships you defined among the search terms.

Using Search, you could build a search query that looked in the author and subject indexes for Nathaniel Hawthorne AND John Brown (Figure 15). The results would display items for which both Nathaniel Hawthorne and John Brown were joint authors and subject entries which listed both Nathaniel Hawthorne and John Brown. (You would probably get few, if any, results.) You could also search the author index separately for works written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the subject index separately for John Brown. (You would probably get plenty of results, but you would have to review them to see if any were relevant.)

Using the Combination search feature, you could build a search query that looked only in the author field for Nathaniel Hawthorne and only in the subject field for John Brown (Figure 16). You could also specify that both conditions must be met before results are displayed. (To do this, select the Boolean AND between the first and second entry lines.) Depending on the contents of your library catalog, you could find the relevant item quickly and easily.

There is no difference between the way individual search queries are built in Search and Combination searches. You can use boolean operators within a search query (search for Nathaniel Hawthorne AND John Brown) as well as use wildcards (*), and phrases (enclosed in quotation marks). You can also Set Limits in either search mode.

Using the Browse Feature

The Browse feature gives you a different way to search for and display results than the Search and Combination search options.

First, it lets you select Titles, Authors, Subjects, Notes, Local Call No., Dewey Call No., GPO, ISBN, ISSN, LC Call No., OR LCCN. (Only one field can be searched at a time.)

Second, it creates a list of the results for your limited search and displays then in the form of a list in which you can move up or down (browse).

For example, you could perform a Title search for works containing Shakespeare (Figure 17). The results would be available in the form of a word list which you can browse using the up or down arrows (Figure 18).

You could also perform a Dewey Call number search (Figure 19). Your results would be available in the form of a numeric list which you can browse using the up or down arrows (Figure 20). (To search your own library's call numbers, use Local Call.)

Changing the Record Display

The catalog lets you change the way individual records look. The default display option (also known as the Labeled display) is shown in Figure 21. (Since the display is configurable by Library staff, the screen you view may differ slightly from this illustration.) Note that the labeled display may include:

  • Author
  • Title
  • Imprint (place of publication, publisher, and date of publication)
  • Subject

Information about the item's location is also shown, including:

  • Branch or library name
  • Collection name
  • Call number
  • Availability

You may also view the record in MARC record format by selecting the MARC button at the top of the screen. A view similar to the one shown in Figure 22 is displayed, showing the individual record fields and their contents. To return to the previous display, select the Label button at the top of the screen.

Note: If you wish to know more about MARC record format, consult the L.S Cataloging module's Cataloger's Reference Shelf.

Downloading and Printing MARC Records

Our catalog lets you save individual records in MARC format to a file for later use. (This feature is designed primarily for persons who catalog items using L.S Cataloging.) To save an individual record in MARC format, select the MARC Download button from the top of the record display. If you do NOT have the catalog open, the following message will appear: MARC Record saved to L.S Cataloging queue. and the record will be available the next time you open the Cataloging module. If Cataloging is open, the record will be placed in an Edit window.

You can use the Windows Print feature to print files you have saved, and your browser print feature to print records displayed on screen.

Creating a Bibliography

You can save, display, organize, and print records you select from your searches. To save a record to a bibliography:

  1. Conduct a search and display a record on your screen (such as the one shown in Figure 21).
  2. Select the Save to List button at the top of the screen. A new screen will be displayed with the message The item was added to your list. Note that the display now includes a Review List and a Clear List button. These buttons will remain on your screen as long as you have saved records during this session. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have saved as many items as you want.
  3. Select the Review List button at the top of the screen to display the current bibliography (Figure 23).
    • Entries are divided into two columns, the left column containing the basic bibliographic information and the right containing information about each item's location. The current date is displayed at the top of the screen, indicating the time at which the information was current.
    • Note that the top of the display includes a Sort by menu bar, enabling you to reorganize the list according to Title, Author, Publisher, Date, and Number of Pages. Try sorting the bibliography by these different parameters. (Use the Back button on the browser when you want to return to the previous display.)
  4. To print the bibliography, use the Print feature on your Web browser.
  5. To save the bibliography as a file, select Review List to display the information, then use the File | Save As feature on the browser's menu. Select the location where the file is to be stored, give the file a name, and save it as a text (txt) file. You will then be able to edit the list using a word processor.
  6. To start a new bibliography, select the Clear List button. If you want to keep your current bibliography, you should save it before using the Clear List feature.

Placing Holds in the Catalog

Patrons can place hold requests for any titles they are eligible to check out. A patron who wishes to places holds must be a registered library patron in the L S Circulation module and must know the assigned Patron ID (barcode number) and PIN.

The hold request option is configurable, so the system administrator can choose whether or not to make the Hold Request button available. For more information, see Chapter X: Configuration, sections E.5 and E.10 in the L.S. Manual.

To place a hold, if holds are permitted, search for the title of interest. When the title is displayed in the Labeled format, select the Hold Request button. The request form is displayed, as shown in Figure 24.

If items of the title are available, the locations will be shown under the author and title display. Patrons can place requests even if items are currently available.

Enter the Patron ID number, press Tab, and enter the PIN. Press Tab again and Enter, or simply select the Submit Request button. If the Patron ID or PIN is not correct, a message similar to this will be displayed: Your hold request failed for the following reason(s) : The Patron ID number or PIN is not valid. If the patron is not eligible to check out an item of this type, according to the checkout rules established by the library in the Circulation module, a different message will be displayed. For more information, the patron should check the registration information with library Circulation staff. If the hold request was successful, the following message will be displayed:

Your hold has been approved for:

Author .........

Title .........

The hold on this item will expire on 06 - Nov - 98

(The date is derived from L.S Circulation rules and can be changed by library staff.)

When the requested item is available, library staff will contact the patron. The item will usually be available for pickup at the patron's "home" branch, that is, the branch where the patron first registered for a library card.

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