Return to the PAC Home Page.

Using the Public Access Catalog (Version 3.0)

This section shows you how to perform basic search functions using Library.Solution PAC. Library.Solution PAC is a public access catalog that utilizes your computer's Internet Web browser (such as Microsoft's Explorer or Netscape's Navigator). If you are unfamiliar with the navigational features of your Web browser, consult the browser's Help before proceeding with instructions that follow.

Further information on L.S PAC topics is available in the printed User Guide.

In this section you will:

View elements of the Home Page;

Examine the Patron Review feature;

Conduct Community Information searches;

Examine the elements of the Search window;

View the simple search process;

Review available search types;

Perform author searches;

Limit searches by publication date, language, format, and place of publication;

Perform title searches;

Conduct Boolean searches;

Conduct wildcard searches;

Conduct combination searches;

Browse the catalog;

Change the record display;

Download or print MARC records.

Create and print bibliographies;

Place holds in the PAC

Place a Booking Request in the PAC

Access online resources

Note: The following pages describe the standard (default) features of Library.Solution PAC. A PAC Configuration editor allows the library system administrator to determine what features will be made available and how they will be displayed. (See Chapter 10 of the User Guide for more information on modifying the PAC Configuration.)

Recognizing elements of the Home Page

If you are using the PAC in a library, the home page of your public access catalog should already be displayed (Figure 1). (Your home page can be customized to include your library's name and logo, e-mail address, and other information. Additional features can be modified by authorized library staff using the PAC Configuration program.)

From the home page, you can use the following buttons to reach the features of the Public Access Catalog:

• Catalog - View the search features of the PAC
• Patron Review - Check the status of your account (checkouts, holds, fines, etc.)
• About Us - View pertinent information about the library, such as mission, library hours, location, interlibrary loan policy, etc.
• Community Info. - View telephone numbers, notices of programs and events, meeting places, and other information about local groups and organizations.
• Kids' Catalog (optional)
• YouSeeMore (optional) (Figure 2)
• Book Lists
• News and Weather
• Additional Library Information

Examining the Patron Review Feature

The Patron Review feature lets you examine the information in your patron file on the library automation system, renew items, and determine the position of on-hold items on the Holds list. This password protected file includes notification/billing information and the status of holds, fines, checkouts, etc., for your account.

To view your patron information, click the Patron Review button on the home page to reach the request form (Figure 3).

Enter the Patron ID number, press Tab, enter the PIN, and select the Submit Request button. The Patron Information window (Figure 4) will appear. If you have items checked out or on hold, they will be listed. You may renew items from this window by checking the appropriate boxes and clicking the Renew Checked Items button. (If you do not have this information, check with the Circulation Desk.)

NOTE: To ensure security of patron information, the Patron Information window is no longer accessible after any PAC toolbar or the browser Back button is clicked. The patron must login again to access the Patron Information window.

An optional Patron Review button can be displayed from this page. Clicking it reveals a Patron Review page, where you can renew items from the PAC. This feature is not available at all libraries.

Conducting Community Information Searches

The Community Information feature lets you search the library's database of information related to local issues, events, and other resources in your area.

To use this feature: click the Community Information button on the PAC home page to reach the Community Information window (Figure 5). Type your search term(s) in the blank box on the left (for example, "hotlines"). Then select a search category from the pulldown menu on the right and press Enter. If more than one item related to your query is available, a results set will be displayed. Click the results set and select an item from the list to view an individual Community Information record (Figure 6). Use the Save to List and Review List buttons to create a bibliography of community information resources.

Examining the elements of the Search Window

Selecting the Catalog button on the home page displays the Search Selection page (Figure 7). From here you can:

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

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

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. In general, when you perform a simple search you:

• Enter the term(s) to be searched in the appropriate box Figure 8a);
• Select the field to be searched (author, title, subject, notes) Figure 8b;
• Select the type of search to be performed (begin with, contain, closely match, stem from, or sound like) Figure 8c;
• Limit the search by date, language, format, place, collection, and/or branch if necessary by using the Set Limits button Figure 8d. (Limiting by location can be enabled or disabled through the PAC Configuration module.)
• Click the Search button to launch the query and display a list of matches Figure 8e;
• Select an item on the list of matches to display the item record Figure 8f. (In some cases, you will need to select from a second results list before an individual record is displayed.)

Once you have searched the catalog, a History button will appear at the top of the screen. Click it to display a list of your previous searches. If you click an item on this list, the results of this previous search will be shown. Only searches that used the Search or Browse features are recorded. (Search histories are erased when you click the Home button or when the PAC is automatically reset after being inactive.)

Note: The PAC has an optional feature that lets you sort search results by various criteria (such as Title, Author, Publication Date, Availability, and Material Type.) If this feature is available from this PAC, selecting the radio button beside one of these criteria will automatically resort the list.

Reviewing Available Search Types

The results of your search may vary widely depending on the type of search you select.

• Begin with -- selects only items that have the search query at the beginning of the line. Example: A search for titles that begin with Shakespeare retrieves only items with this word at the start of the title field. (Articles such as "A" and "The" are ignored.)
• Contain -- selects items that have the search query anywhere in the field. The results set will include items that would be found with a begin with search.
• Closely match -- finds not only items that would be identified in a contain search, but also words that have some of the same characters in the same position as the original query. Examples: a search for cat looks for cat, cats, calc, and case; a search for apply looks for apply, apple, applied, and April; a search for read looks for read, lead, and real. Search results are organized alphabetically (not by relevance) according to the search type used, and unexpected results may occur.
• Stem from -- finds not only items that would be identified in a contain search but also verb forms and singular or plural nouns with the same root. Examples: a search for scream looks for scream, screaming, and screamed; a search for guitars looks for guitars and guitar; a search for sing looks for sing, sang, and sung.
• Sound like -- finds not only items that would be identified in a contain search, but also words that begin with the same letter followed by similar (or similar sounding) consonants. Vowels are ignored. Search results are organized alphabetically (not by relevance) according to the search type used, and unexpected results may occur.

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 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 8a through 8f. When you are finished, click the Home button to return to the home page.

Performing Author Searches

Library.Solution PAC lets you search your catalog's author, title, subject, and notes indexes separately or in combination. The following examples illustrate the variety of results obtained from a search of William Shakespeare using the single Search feature.

To search for works written by William Shakespeare:

• Click on Search and select Authors from the pull-down menu (Figure 9). This limits your search to authors only.
• Select the begin with option from the next pull-down menu (Figure 10).
• Type William Shakespeare in the empty "word(s)" box (Figure 11) and click the Search button or press Enter. The message Nothing was found for your search may appear. (If the search produced a results set, it will be a small one.) Your search failed to retrieve more results 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 PAC looked for an author whose last name was William and whose first name was Shakespeare.
• Change the begin with option to contain and select Search to relaunch the search. A results list similar to the one in Figure 12 will appear. The search was more 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: Matches 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. This time the search succeeded because authors' last names always appear first in author fields.

Limiting Searches

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 and Collection limiting can be added using the PAC Configuration program.) To use the search limiting features:

• Click on Set Limits on the Search menu. The window shown in Figure 8d will appear.
• Select the Format checkbox and choose Any non-print from the pull-down menu (Figure 13). (You could check any or all of the boxes. You can select more than one option within a pull-down menu by holding down the Ctrl key when you click on an item.)
• Click on the Set Limits button to return to the search menu. Note that the Set Limits link has changed to Change Limits, indicating that one or more limit has been set (Figure 14).
• Enter a search query and choose Search. A new results list will appear (Figure 14) 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:

• Click on the Search image on the Home page or the Search button on the toolbar and select Titles from the pull-down menu or check box list (Figure 15) This limits your search to titles only.
• Select the begin with option (Figure 15).
• Type William Shakespeare in the empty "word(s)" box (Figure 15) (If you would like to see only new acquisitions that match your search query, click the New Items button.) 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 16 will appear.
• 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 17 will appear.
• Click on the first item in the results list to view an individual record similar to the one shown in Figure 18. (The fields displayed in the labeled record can be modified by using the PAC Configuration program.) 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 [Coconut Creek HS], Collection [Non Fiction], call number [792.028 BEN], and shelf availability [AVAILABLE] information is provided under Location Information.
• MARC Display, MARC Download, and Save to List buttons are available at the top of the page. (More about them later.)

Conducting Boolean Searches

In the previous sections you learned how to search for individual words (Shakespeare) or phrases (William Shakespeare) in the catalog. Library.Solution 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 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);
• Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are not case sensitive;
• It works only with searches using the contain (not the begin with) parameter;
• The search must be structured so that the PAC can understand it.

Structuring the Search

When you enter a search query in the "word(s)" box and press Find, the PAC 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 PAC 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 PAC 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

Library.Solution PAC 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 with Quotation Marks

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, and notes 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

Conducting 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.

What's the Difference?

First, the Combination search lets you search three fields simultaneously. The Combination search page has three search entry lines instead of just one (Figure 19). 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.

For example, you want to see if Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote anything about John Brown.

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 20). 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.

Browsing the Catalog

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. (from the local holdings field), Dewey Call No., GPO, ISBN, ISSN, LC Call No., OR LCCN. (These fields CANNOT be searched in combination.)

Second, it creates an alphabetical list of the results for your limited search and displays them 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 21). The results would be available in the form of a word list which you can browse using the up or down arrows (Figure 22).

If you performed a Dewey Call number search (Figure 23), your results would be available in the form of a numeric list which you can browse using the up or down arrows (Figure 24). (To search your own library's call numbers, use Local Call.)

Changing the Record Display

Library.Solution PAC lets you change the way individual records look. The default display option (also known as the Labeled display) is shown in Figure 25. (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

If your library has subscribed to enhanced content for the PAC, the following items may also appear:

• Book Review button (links to book reviews for the item)
• Book Jacket icon (image of book jacket)
• Table of Contents (TOC) button (link to item's Table of Contents)
• Summaries button (links to summaries of the book's contents)
• First Chapter button (links to the first champer of a book)

A Hold Request button may be added to the record display by using the PAC Configuration program.

Underlined text such as Durant, Will, Civilization, or World History indicates a link to additional information.

You may also view the record in MARC record format by selecting the MARC Display button at the top of the screen. A view similar to the one shown in Figure 26 is displayed, showing the individual record fields and their contents. To return to the previous display, select the Label Display button at the top of the screen.

Downloading and Printing MARC Records

Library.Solution PAC lets you save individual records in MARC format to a file for later use. To save a record in MARC format, select the MARC Download button from the top of the record display.

In the browser, a Save window will appear, allowing you to save any record to any available drive, change the file name, or perform other operations on the file. The downloaded record is in USMARC format and can be imported to Library•Solution or other MARC cataloging applications. The record will be available for editing the next time you open the Cataloging module.

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 and Printing Bibliographies

You can save, display, organize, and print records you select from your searches.

To save an individual record to a bibliography:

• Conduct a search and display a record on your screen (such as the one shown in Figure 25).
• 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. (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 or until the screen saver resets the PAC to the home page. Repeat the first two steps until you have saved a few items.

To save multiple items simultaneously:

• Conduct a search and display a results set.
• Click the check box next to each item you want to save.
• Click the Save Checked Items to List button. A new screen will be displayed with the message The checked items have been added to your list.

Then:

• Select the Review List button at the top of the screen to display the current bibliography ( Figure 27).

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.)

• To print the bibliography, use the Print feature on your Web browser.
• 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.
• To start a new bibliography, select the Clear List button. If you want to keep your current bibliography, you should select the Save button before using the Clear List feature.

Placing Holds in the PAC

Patrons can place hold requests for any titles they are eligible to check out. A patron who wishes to place holds must be a registered library patron in the Library.Solution 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.

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 28.

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 or Alternate 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.

Note: Holds can also be placed from the Save List page.

If the hold request was successful, the following message will be displayed:

Your hold has been approved for:

Author .........

Title .........

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. Patrons can select the branch where they wish to pick up the item.

Selecting the Location to Pick up an Item on Hold

Library staff can determine the branches at which a patron can pickup an item she places on hold. When this feature is enabled, a Pickup Branch field appears on the hold form and a drop down menu provides a list of locations the patron can select ((Figure 29).).

Placing a Booking Request in the PAC (Optional)

Does a patron need an item for a two-day presentation next month? Does someone want to show a film at a specific time? Library staff can use the PAC's Booking feature to ensure that the items from their own branch will be available when patrons need them. (This feature is available only when it has been enabled by the library owning the item[s]. The patron type requesting an item must also be authorized to took this type of item at the branch that owns it.)

To use the Booking feature staff will:

• Search for an item in the PAC and click the Book Item button to display the Book Request form (Figure 30).
• Type your Patron ID Number and PIN in the appropriate boxes.
• Adjust the Event Start Date and the Event End Date.
• Click the Submit Booking Request button.

A message will be displayed indicating whether the booking was approved. You can view a list of the items that have been booked through the Patron Review function.

Note: If your branch has NOT selected the PAC Booking option in the System Configuration, the following message will be displayed when you click the Book Item button: "Item cannot be booked."

Accessing Online Resources (Optional)

Libraries often subscribe to a variety of online resources and may wish to limit remote access to authorized patrons. Library•Solution PAC has an optional feature that lets libraries achieve this goal. This feature is enabled through the PAC Configuration Utility. (See Chapter 10 of the L.S User Guide.)

If this feature is available at your library, the home page will include an Online Resources button. Click it to reach the Remote Patron Authentication page and enter your Patron ID number and PIN ( Figure 31). (If you don't have this information, consult the librarian.)

Click the Logon button to reach an Online Resources page that has been created by the library ( Figure 32). Follow the onscreen instructions.

Return to top of page.

Return to the PAC Home Page.