how to use the opac
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TRANSCRIPT
How to use the OPAC
UWI Mona Medical Branch Library
Prepared by Faith McKoy-Johnson, Librarian (Information from UWI Mona Library Catalogue Tutorial was incorporated in this
presentation.)©UWI Mona Library, 2010
Introduction
• Online Public Access Catalogue
• Provides access to the Library’s collections, e.g. books, journals, theses, CDs, videos, links to e-books and other electronic resources etc.
• Location and availability of Library resources
Where do I find the OPAC?
• The Library’s homepage at www.mona.uwi.edu/library
• Click on the “Catalogue” link and the OPAC search page will open up.
Library Homepage
OPAC Default Page
Searching & Browsing
• Two ways to find information in the OPAC– Search– Browse
• Search: Use of keywords or phrases to find items containing those keywords or phrases
• Browse: Scrolling through an alphabetical list of items, e.g. authors, call numbers
Searching by Keyword/Topic
Searching by Title
Words from a Title
Searching by Collection
Searching by Collection (Cont’d.)
BROWSE
• Use this option to search alphabetical lists (indexes) of – AUTHORS (surname first) – TITLES (omit articles -- A, An, The -- at the beginning of
titles in English, Spanish, etc.) – SUBJECT HEADINGS (Library of Congress Subject
Headings) – CALL NUMBERS (including Library of Congress Call
Numbers)
Browsing the Author Index
Browsing the Author Index (Cont’d.)
Browsing the Author Index (Cont’d.)
Browsing the Author Index (Cont’d.)
Browsing the Call Number Index
• Call Number – Usually a unique number assigned to each item in the Library
• A call number – Identifies the item in the collection– Helps you locate the item on the shelves– Serves to group books together according to
subject
Browsing the Call Number Index (Cont’d.)
• Browsing by call number on the OPAC allows you to virtually browse the library shelves from your computer
• You need to know an item’s call number to locate it in the Library
Browsing the Call Number Index (Cont’d.)
Browsing the Call Number Index (Cont’d.)
Finding the Items You Need• Collections– Open Shelf– Course Reserve (RBC)– Periodicals– West Indies Collection (WIC)– World Bank (Main Library)
• Libraries– Main– Medical Branch– Science Branch– Western Jamaica Campus
Finding the Items You Need
Finding the Items You Need
Checking Availability of Item
TitleAuthor
Full View of Record
Full View of Record
Filling Out Request Forms Collection Request form?
Course Reserve (RBC) YES
West Indies Collection YES
World Bank (Main Library) YES
Periodicals NO
Open Shelves NO
To learn more about using the catalogue….
• Read the Search Hints and the Help pages. These provide information to make your searches more productive.
• Read the Library’s notice boards for training sessions on advanced searching.