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OCLC Wise Support EN

Catalog searching

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Learn how to search for items in the staff client and OPAC catalog.

Introduction

There are numerous ways to search for items in Wise. This guide demonstrates basic search functions in the Wise staff client and in the OPAC. For a more thorough description of the various methods of searching and ways that you can refine searchers or preform advanced searches, please see the catalog documentation.

Basic search in the staff Client

For more detailed information please see our search the catalog documentation.

Getting started in the catalog

To search for an item in the catalog via the staff client:

  1. Navigate to the catalog in the staff client by either clicking the Catalog icon or by clicking Catalog from the top navigation bar.
  2. You are presented with a search screen:
    1. Search drop-down list - select a search option from the Search drop-down list of search options. These options may vary by library system but might include:
      • a = Title - Title search works best when the full title being searched is entered. Only the title field is searched when this search type is selected.
      • b = Name - All authors/creators. Indexing is done in last name, and first name order. It is possible to search by first name, and last name. Wise does not have an index by keyword with both authors and titles.
      • c = Words - Words searches in all of the indexed fields. Words containing only one character are not included in the word index and stop words are omitted. A term must consist of at least two characters. For more information, see Search using words. 

         Note: The Words index does not contain data on titles that have been moved to the back catalog.

    2. Subcatalog selection drop-down list - Select a subcatalog from which to search from the drop-down field next to the Search field. When a section of the catalog is selected to search besides the General catalog, the search screen may change.
    3. Term(s) field - Enter search terms in the Term(s) field. The catalog can be searched using a variety of terms and entries. Entries available in the catalog may differ across library systems and may also vary within your library system, depending on login and account configuration. Click on the blue arrow to the right of the Term field to view the search history of the current session.

Search by title

  1. Type in your search terms By Title.
  2. Double click the entry that indicates the correct format.
  3. You will see the Item Records associated with that Title Record populate.

     Note: In the bottom left corner of the screen are three Group icons. These icons filter item results, based on branch availability. A library may decide to use Group 1 to show only items available at the home branch, Group 2 to show items in the branches closest to the home branch, and Group 3 to display items available at the main branch of the system.

Search by name

  1. Type in your search terms By Name.
  2. Double click the correct record.
  3. You will see all items with the author you typed listed.
  4. Choose which item you want and see the holding record.

Using Searchlight

The searchlight enables you to easily see which titles meet selected criteria. For more information please see searchlight and filter documentation.

To search only items that are books and held at your current location:

  1. Open the catalog.
  2. Click on the Searchlight button at the top of the catalog window. Searchlight settings will open in a small pop-up window.
  3. Choose which branch you would like to search for items.
    • Select the "searchlight on this branch" option to have the system automatically choose the branch you are currently logged into.
    • Select the media type from the Media drop-down option.
  4. Click OK
  5. Search for the item
    • All returned results (in green) are titles that are held at the branch that has been searchlighted.
    • Titles that are not highlighted in green are not at the branch.
    • To return results only at the searchlighted branch, check the box only show titles of this branch in the searchlight options box. After clicking OK and redoing the search, your results will return ONLY green highlighted results that are held at the searchlighted branch.
  6. When you are done using searchlight, click the searchlight button again and click Searchlight off.  Note: Searchlight will remain ON until you turn it off.

Using filter

The filter you select use the Boolean AND. If both Youth and Adult are selected in the filter, the search results will show only titles with that phrase in the indexed field. For more information please see our filter documentation.

  1. Open the catalog. The filter button is found at the top of the catalog screen. When the filter button is clicked, the Search filter settings screen opens. On this screen, you can set your filter settings.
  2. Click on the Filter button to open the filter option window.
  3. Select your options from the drop-down menus. Click OK to turn on the filter.
  4. Set your search terms in the catalog and search for your item by selecting Search or Enter. Tip: using search c=Words can be especially effective when filtering.

     Note: Search results remain the same, but if you double-click on a title that does not meet the filter requirements, a message appears: No titles found.

  5. To turn off the filter, click the filter button again and select Filter off.

Searching the OPAC

To learn more about searching in the OPAC and how the title details are laid out, please see the documentation found here.

 

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