Using the Library catalogue

Searching the Library catalogue

On this page:

Basic search
Perform a basic search
Basic search results
More record details
You can feature
What if the resource you want is already on loan?
Advanced search
Course Readings Collection search

Basic search

Use Search the Library catalogue when you know the author, title, shelf number or subject heading.

Note: Journal articles are not found in the library catalogue. Only journal titles can be searched in the library catalogue - not the title of a journal article.

Perform a basic search

To conduct a browse search follow the steps below:

Choose the Books, DVD's & more tab on the Library home page
Type the details into the search the Library catalogue box
From the drop down box, select what to search for (e.g. All Fields, Title, Author, Subject, Shelf Number etc)
Click on Find
From the search results list provided select the record you require by clicking on the title link.

Basic search results

The results screen will display a list of the resources based on your search:

filter your search - on the left provides filtering topics to fine tune your search
e.g. Format, Location or Publication date
suggested topics - an area at the top of the screen gives alternatives of similar information
title - title link that provides full details of the resource
alternate title - some resources have an additional or alternate title
author - author details if one is provided. Click on the authors name for other items by this author.
shelf number - how you find the item on the shelf in the Library
location/availability - where and if this item is available for loan, e.g. Toowoomba: 1 in Library
item format - such as Electronic or Printed
relevance - an indicator on the right of the screen shows how relevant your search is based on your selections
edition - edition information of the item
add to MyLibrary - adds items to your own personal Library for future reference.

More record details

The record details screen is accessed by clicking on the title link on the search results screen. The information displayed in the record details screen varies based on the format of the resource as electronic reources contain different information to printed resources.

format - how is the resource available, e.g. printed book, eBook, eJournal etc
shelf number - where is it located, in the library, online etc
other authors - additional authors or who produced the resource
published - publishing details
subjects - subject types assigned to this item
table of contents - not available in all items and formats
holdings tab - information varies for different item formats, e.g. Printed, electronic etc
link to electronic item such as an eBook to read online or
location - for example, Toowoomba Main Collection, availability
a request item link for items, to request an item that is not available
more about this tab
item descriptions
ISBN details
media format
language
more like this tab
a list of similar items to choose from in a range of formats.

You can feature

Additional features are provided in the You can section on the right of the search screen:

add to MyLibrary - add resources to your own personal area to find later. You need to login to MyLibrary to use this feature.
cite this - produces an APA citation that can be copied and pasted into a document
email this - will email the record information to an email address you specify
tags - add a public tag for anyone to use to find and filter resources

What if the resource you want is already on loan?

The holdings tab of the item allows an item to be requested if it is not available.

if the status of the resource has a due date then this resource is already on loan
you can place a request by clicking on the Request Item link and entering your details once you are logged in
complete the request details and click on Submit Request
you will be notified when it is returned to the library
or you can find other resources on the same subject by clicking on the more like this tab
if you are an external student, place a request through DocEx.

Advanced search

Use an advanced search when you don't know the author, title or subject heading.

On the advanced search screen the All Fields drop-down boxes give you the choice of searching by author, title or subject and many more. If you don't know any of these, leave the selection set at All Fields.
Next to the drop lists are Search For boxes into which you type your search words or keywords. Use one, or all of these boxes after choosing the appropriate item from each drop list.
Connect your search words by selecting AND OR NOT from the drop-down boxes.
Use the Limit To selections to limit to locations or formats.
Click on Find.

Search tip	Instructions	Search Example
Combine keywords (using AND)	In the top Search Box type: culture. In the middle Search Box type: tourism. Leave AND as the connecting word in the drop-down box on the right.	Looking for resources on the effects of tourism on the culture of a country.
Not enough results?	Try thinking of words with a similar or the same meaning as your keywords, and use OR to connect them. A search using journalism AND Asia will produce less than 10 results. Try thinking of other words for journalism, for example, media. In the top Search Box type: journalism. From the drop-down box select OR as the connecting word. In the middle Search Box type: media. From the drop-down box select AND as the next connecting word. In the bottom Search Box type: Asia. The search strategy, (journalism OR media) AND Asia, should produce over 20 results.	Looking for resources on journalism in Asia
Too many results?	Narrow your search by adding more keywords connecting them using AND. Searching using the words, tourism AND culture, will produce over 60 results. Add another word to your search terms to restrict your results and make them more focussed. The search strategy, tourism AND culture AND Japan, will produce less than 10 results.	Looking for books on tourism and its influence on the culture of a country.
Want to exclude words from your results?	Another way to narrow your search is to exclude certain words from your search results using NOT. To find resources on Pollution but excluding Water Pollution. In the top Search Box type: pollution. Select NOT from the drop-down box, as the connecting word. In the middle Search Box type: water.	Looking for resources on Pollution but excluding Water Pollution
Truncation	Use the * symbol to save you time. Typing an asterisk at the end of a word stem, will give you all the variations of the word. Instead of searching for pollution OR pollutes OR polluted OR polluting just type pollut* and this will also search for all the different endings.	touris* and cultur* and Japan*
Wildcards	Use the ? symbol to save you time. Typing a ? within a word will stand for one letter. This is useful for the American and British spelling. Organi?ation will retrieve results containing both organisation and organization.	organi?ation
Want only videos or DVDs?	From the Format List under Limit To. Select Videorecording. Then enter your keywords in the Search Terms box as normal

Course Readings Collection search

The Course Readings Collection is located separately from the Main collection and consists of items which are in high demand:

course textbooks
recommended readings
lecturers' materials.

Search the Course Readings Collection following these steps from the link available only on the Books, DVDs & more link on the Library home page:

Choose the Course Code e.g. AST1000, from the drop down list and click Find.
This will take you to the Course's Recommended Readings and Text results screen.
Click on the title link to see the loan durations for each item. Texts can only be borrowed for three hours, and Recommended Readings for one day.