Guide to using the Library Catalogue
- What is the Library Catalogue?
- How can I access the Library Catalogue?
- Why should I 'sign in'?
- My Collection & Endnote Web
- Search Options
- Example searches
- Searching for books
- Placing a reservation (hold)
- Searching for journals
- Search hints & tips
- Need help?
- Other useful features
What is the Library Catalogue?
- The Catalogue allows you to search and locate the Library’s print and electronic collections. Items from our University’s research repository, Opus, are also included.
- It will give you the information you need to locate a print item on the Library shelves and to navigate easily to the full-text of electronic resources.
- The shelfmark used for print books is a mixture of numbers and letters. The numbers represent the subject of the book, so books at the same number are on the same subject. The letters are the first part of the author's name.
- Books are arranged in shelfmark order on the relevant subject floors. As well as helping you locate useful information, the Catalogue can be used to place holds (reserve) on books which are on loan to other people.
- For comprehensive searches for articles in your subject area, we recommend that you use the appropriate databases listed on your Subjects pages.
How can I access the Library Catalogue?
The Library Catalogue is found on the Library homepage.
Why should I ‘sign-in’?
- You can 'sign-in' (log in) to the Catalogue using your BUCS (Bath University Computing Services) username and password. Signing-in will ensure you have access to the widest range of resources available to you. It will also enable you to use the My Collection feature which is discussed below.
- You will need to be signed-in to include search results from some databases, including Business Source Premier, SPORTDiscus and Film & Television Literature Index.
My Collection & Endnote Web
- This feature allows you to keep details of useful items or successful search terms (queries). You have the option to create new folders to organise your results.
- You can also send selected results to Endnote Web (which enables you to save results from multiple resources and to insert citations/references into your coursework): please refer task 4 within the Endnote Web Guide
Search options
- The single search box allows you to enter your search terms, see your results and then refine these using the facets, or limiter options.
- Examples of facet types include: type of material (books, journals, dissertations etc.) and creation date.
- The advanced search boxes give you the option to enter information against criteria in the drop down options, such as 'in the title' or 'as author / creator'. When you get a list of results from an advanced search, as before, you then have the opportunity to refine your results using the available facets.
Example Searches
Please review the following videos to see examples of how to use the catalogue. Link to the Library Catalogue to practise using the directions shown.
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Tip: if you know the author and title you can enter these into the quick search box, for example Kirkup Experimental methods. You can then choose book on the refining options to ensure your results only include books and not a mixture of items types |
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Tip: quotation marks should only be used if you want items which contain that exact phrase in their full text. If you require a wider search on the topic, remove the quotation marks and you will retrieve more results. |
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These videos are in MP4 format: you will need some kind of media player application on your device to view them, for example, Windows Media Player, Quicktime etc.)
Searching for Books
You can use the catalogue to find print and electronic library books.
- If you are searching for resources on a particular topic, type in relevant keywords describing your topic into the search area at the top of the screen and then select Search
- You can also use the Advanced Search options linked underneath the standard search box. Advanced search lets you choose which parts of an item record (for example, author, title) to search and you can also combine terms. Additionally, you can set limiters such as publication date and type of material (for example book, article, journal) before you carry out the search.
- For further help see the Hints for Searching see the section lower on this page.
- If your search finds more than one book, you can select from the options or facets on the left of the screen to limit your results to specific types of materials, dates of publication, authors and more.
- The Search results page will show the floor of the library the item is available on, and the shelfmark to locate it. You might like to refer to the guide to understanding shelf numbers.
- Choose the Shelf Locations option to view real-time information about the loan status of the item.
There are four loan types: reference only, 28-day loan, 7-day loan and short loan.
If all the copies of a book are on loan: you can place a hold to reserve a copy when it is returned to the Library:
Select Place Hold from the right hand menu. Enter your Library card number and Library PIN, and then click on Place Hold. When the book is available, we will email you to collect it from the Issue Desk.
Searching for Journals
You can use the Library catalogue to find journals held in the Library, in either print or electronic format.
- If you know the title of the journal you are looking for, type it into the search box and select Search
- If more than one journal is listed, select Details for full information to identify the specific item you want
- If the words [Online access] appear under the title of the journal, this is an E-Journal. Check the Description tab underneath journal title heading and, if the article you want falls within the subscription dates, connect to the E-Journal website by clicking on the View online link
- For print journals, check the Summary notes under the Details tab to see whether we have the journal for the year you need. For example, the holdings of Transactions of the ASME. Journal of heat transfer are: Vol. 81, no.1 (Feb. 1959) - vol. 129, no. 12 (Dec. 2007) which means that the Library began taking that journal in 1959 and ended the print subscription in 2007. If there was no date after the hyphen (-) that would show the Library was still subscribing to this journal in printed format.
In this example, the print journal title is available at University of Bath Level 3 PER 62
The Shelfmark (PER number) indicates the broad subject of the journal. Level 3 indicates the floor on which the journals are shelved. Use the printed floorplans on each floor or on the Library webpages to identify the general area were you can find the journal you are looking for.
Placing a Reservation (Hold)
You can reserve items which are on loan to other readers by placing a 'hold' on an item:
- Search the catalogue for the item you want
- Find the specific item you want in the list of search results
- Click on "Shelf Locations" to expand that information tab
- Select the "University of Bath" link from the locations tab
- You should be taken to a detailed record view of the item you are looking for
- If all copies of the item are shown as being on loan, click on Place Hold (on the right hand menu) to start the login process
- Login using the Single Sign-On system or enter your Library Number and PIN then select the Place Hold button
- Follow the instructions on the Library Catalogue for placing a hold on an item on the screen.
- You will receive an email when the books become available. Come to the main counter on Level 2 to collect the item.
Search Hints & Tips
- For phrases use quotation marks: "climate change"
- For truncated searches use an asterisk: for example manag* (finds manages, manages, management, managed, managerial)
- To widen a search use OR: oestrogen OR estrogen
- To exclude a term use NOT: cats NOT dogs
- A combination of these can be used: football OR soccer NOT american
Need Help?
- Library staff will help with any enquiry you may have about the Library catalogue. Alternatively, you will find links to helpful information on the Library’s online Help page at http://www.bath.ac.uk/library/help/
- There is also an Ask a Librarian enquiry form where you can email a librarian with your questions.
- Connect to the Library Catalogue
Other Useful Features
- To renew your loans, select Check & renew my books from the Things to Do options on the Library Homepage. Select Renew your loans and follow the instructions.
- To check your position in a reservation queue, or the return dates of your books, select Check & renew my books from the Things to Do options on the the Library Homepage then select Check your borrower record and follow the instructions.
- You can use your Library User ID (starting 110... and your Library PIN or your Computing Services username and password to login and complete these.