Using the catalogue

You need to use the catalogue to search for books and ebooks recommended for your course. You can find the book and journal titles held by the library either on the library shelves or by links from the catalogue to the electronic versions.

To find ebooks, select Search only electronic books by clicking the box on the search screen.

To start searching, select Find books or eBooks in the I want to: menu. The toolbar at the top of the catalogue screen lists options: Search, Advanced Search, Browse, Reading Lists and New Books Lists. The My library account box to the right of the screen allows you to review your account, renew your loans or change your PIN.

Search

The default search is by Keyword(s), but you can also search by Title, Author, Series, Journal title or Reading List keyword. Enter your search term(s) and click Search or press Enter. To find only ebooks, select Search only electronic books

Tip : the truncation symbol is $  For instance, the search term "econ$" will pick up titles including economic, economics, economical, economist

Looking at details

You can look at individual books on your results list by clicking the book title. To go back to the full list or search screen, use the Go back link on the blue toolbar at the top of the screen, not the buttons on your browser toolbar. Don’t use the back button on your browser or you will lose your search results.  

The Catalogue Record tab includes all publication details, plus details of Reading Lists (Module descriptors) with direct links to complete lists and individual titles. The Item location tab shows number of copies available, while A Look Inside shows a summary and table of contents.

Placing a hold

If you check Item location and find that all copies of the book you want are on loan, click Place Hold in the box on the left of the screen under the small illustration of the book cover. You will be asked for your library number and PIN. When the book is available an email will be sent to your Caledonian email address. To cancel a hold, click on the My Account link on the toolbar, go to Review My Account and follow the instructions above.

Renewing books

Click the Renew my loans link in the My library account box to the right of the screen (or Renew your books under Quick Links on the Library home page), then enter Library or Matriculation Number and PIN, then click List Items on Loan. All items issued to you are displayed, with due dates. Select the ones you wish to renew (or Renew all), then click Renew selected items. The new due date will display. Click OK to go back to the catalogue.

Advanced search

Power Search allows you to enter up to seven search categories at once, connected by And, Or, Not, or Xor.  You can change the search categories in each box from the drop-down menu, using for example three keywords - such as nurs$ AND geriatric NOT dementia.

Reading lists

You can search by instructor, course number or course name. Click the Reading Lists link on the blue toolbar, enter your search term in the box and then click the relevant button below. You will then see either a list of reading lists to choose from, or the actual list itself. 

For example :

• SOCP439 (not case sensitive) click Module code - this takes you to the actual list of books
• Research Methods in Health Care click Module Name - this takes you to a browse list headed by the list for this course
• Ring Patrick (surname first) click Lecturer - this takes you to a list of lecturer's names. Click on the name to see a browse list for this lecturer

My Library Account lets you:

• Review My Account - enter Library or Matric Number and PIN. You can click Display User Information, which displays any outstanding Holds (reservations) for you, and allows you to select and cancel.  You can also see the due date of item(s) on loan.
• Renew my Loans - enter Library or Matric Number and PIN, then click List Items on Loan.  All items issued to you are displayed, with due dates. Select the ones you wish to renew (or Renew all), then click Renew selected items. The new due date will display.
• Change my PIN - enter Library or Matric Number and PIN, then enter new PIN twice and click Change PIN.

Journals

You can search for Journals in the catalogue by following the Basic Search instructions above, selecting Journal Title as your search category from the drop-down list.  Limiting your search by choosing sort by = Title at the bottom of the search box results in an A-Z list. We recommend using our Journals service, Serials Solutions, rather than the Library catalogue.  On the library home page, click Find journals or ejournals by title in the I want to.., then type in the journal title and click Search. You will need to enter your Athens username and password to get to the full text.

Other Options

Compiling a booklist

When you have a list of titles on the screen, you can select those you wish to keep in a list by clicking the Mark button beside each title.  To see the whole list click Marked on the toolbar at the top.  From here you can either print the list using the print button on your browser, or email it.  Note - this list is temporary and will not be saved after the end of your current searching session.

We keep a few digitised examples of undergraduate student projects on GCULearn. To find them, use the keyword search in the library catalogue. For example, type in dissertation MSc computer, then click the link in the catalogue record.

If you need more information, please contact Your librarian