Use the online catalog (OPAC) to search for books, music CD's, journal titles, and other resources in the library's collection. You can also search your instructor's course reserve list.

When you access the online catalog, the opening screen will look like this:

By clicking on one of the three tabs, Simple Search, Keyword Search, or Course Reserve, you can choose which type of search to perform.

Simple Search will allow you to search for resources by

1. subject = Type in a word or phrase. Ex. mammals
   
2. title = Type in the title without the beginning article (a, an, the). Ex. lord of the rings not the lord of the rings (You do not have to capitalize. The catalog program is non-case specific.)
   
3. author = Type in the last name of the author first, followed by a comma and the first name.
   
4. call number = Type in the call number of the specific item for which you are searching.
   
5. journal title = Type in the name of a magazine or journal to check if it is owned by the library.

• Type in the word or phrase (title) and select (highlight) the type of search.
  
• Click on the search button at the bottom of the search box or press the Enter key.
  

Keyword Search will allow you to search for information resources using several keywords to define the parameters/limits of your search. NOTE: Keywords are selected words that describe the type of information you are seeking. The screen will look like this:

Example of a Keyword Search: If you wanted a book about how schools deal with children with disabilities, the best keywords would be children and disabilities and education. (Using education rather than school will produce a more focused hit list.)

1. Choose several keywords to narrow the search to specific resources. The more specific your keywords, the more relevant the hits will be and will eliminate the need to scan a long list of results looking for just the right resource. Ex. Using the example search above, if you only used the keyword disability, your search would result in hits not related to children or education.
   
   
2. Try more than one way to word a keyword search. Use synonyms or phrases to express the same search.
   
   
3. Choose the Boolean operator (and, or, not) that will best connect your keywords for the results desired. Usually, you will want to connect your keywords with and. Occasionally, you may want to eliminate a specific word from your search. Ex. If you wanted information about Wild West cowboys in the Dallas area of Texas but do not want anything to do with football, you would use cowboys and dallas not football.
   
   

Clicking on the Course Reserve Tab will allow you to search for material placed on reserve in the library by instructors. You may search by

1. Instructor's name
   
2. Course title
   
3. Department
   
   

The fourth tab, New Items, will bring up a screen from which you may view a listing of new books, music CDs, videos, journals, and other items recently added to the library's collections.