Don’t know how to find what you’re looking for in the library? This handy guide will make you a pro at searching our catalogue.
Infiniti is our library OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue), which has all the information about every resource in our library. To access Infiniti, simply click here to get to the Library Senior Canvas page, and select ‘Catalogue’. You will then be on the Infiniti dashboard:
Infiniti dashboard
In the dropdown menu where it says ‘Keyword’, you can change your search criteria to match your needs. Here’s a breakdown of when to use which search term:
Keyword :
Use words or phrases to describe your topic.
Title:
Use Title search when you know exactly what title you are looking for.
Author:
Type author’s surname first and first name last, separated by a comma. For example , if you’re searching for books by Malcolm Gladwell, type in:
Gladwell, Malcolm
Media type:
Use the following search terms to find relevant media types in the library:
Audio Disk (for physical disks)
Audio File (for mp3 files)
Video Disk (for DVDs)
Video File (for Clickview videos, etc.)
eBook
Notes:
In the catalogue, the Notes field is used for any additional information, such as translations, previous editions, etc. You will not often need to use this filter.
Publisher:
Use tie filter if you want to search for a specific Publisher, such as ‘Pan Macmillan’, or ‘Bloomsbury’.
Series:
A handy search if you want to find a series, simply type in the official series name, e.g. ‘Harry Potter’, or ‘Skulduggery Pleasant’.
Subject:
This is an extremely handy filter to use if you are not searching for a specific book but rather a subject. All records in the catalogue have subject headings that reflect the subject matter in a resource. For example, if you have to find books on dictators, simply start typing ‘Dictators’ into the search bar, and a menu will drop down to give you a whole list of similar subject headings. You can pick the most relevant one, and it will give you ALL the resources that have information about dictators. This is a great way to get a range of sources for your bibliography.
Additionally, once you’ve done your subject search, you will see on the left-hand side there is also a list of similar subject headings. You can just click those rather than do another search.
Don’t forget you can reserve resources that are on loan (or not on loan! Go to the resource you want to reserve, and click the button highlighted below. Then just type in your name and reserve!
Still having trouble? Ask one of our friendly librarians – we are always more than happy to help!
