This website has a search box where you can enter different search criteria. Enter a term in the box and then use the drop-down menu to select whether you want to search by Keyword, Title, Start of Title, Series, Author, Subject, Class Number (genre or class number) or Advanced Search. Ensure that the next box displays ‘in Library Catalogue’ and then click ‘Search’.
To search by ISBN you can select Keyword and use either the 10 or 13 digit ISBN. Do not add in the hyphens or spaces when doing an ISBN search.
To combine keywords, use AND, OR, NOT. For example, fish AND cooking.
You can narrow your results by selecting options from the left-hand ‘Narrow your results’ menu (on desktop) or by clicking ‘Filters’ (on mobile device).
How do I do an advanced search?
Enter your search term in the search box on the homepage, select Advanced Search from the drop-down menu, ensure that the next box displays ‘in Library Catalogue’ and then click ‘Search’. You will be presented with the Advanced Search page with several search fields. In each field, you can type the keywords you want to search for. Each field is accompanied by a drop-down menu that lets you specify the type of data (title, author, etc.) you are searching for. The ‘Add Search Field’ button may be used to add additional search fields to the form. You may use as many search fields as you wish.
You will also have the choice of applying optional filters such as library availability, format, language, or publication year.
How do I search by genre?
If you are only interested in searching for items in a particular fiction genre, it is possible to limit your search using the Class Number option from the drop-down menu. Enter the abbreviated genre - for instance CRI if you are interested in crime - in the search box on the homepage, select Class Number from the drop-down menu, ensure that the next box displays ‘in Library Catalogue’ and then click ‘Search’.
You can narrow your results by selecting options from the left-hand menu (on desktop) or by clicking 'Filters' (on mobile devices).
What are the different fiction genre abbreviations?
ADV - Adventure
AF – Adult fiction
CLA – Classics
CRI – Crime
FAM – Family (try also SAG)
FAN – Fantasy
GRA – Graphic novels
HIS – Historical
HOR – Horror
ROM – Romance
SAG – Saga (try also FAM)
SCF or SF – Science Fiction
SEA – Sea stories
SHO – Short stories
THR – Thriller
WES – Westerns
How do I search for a particular format?
When you have performed a search, you can narrow your results by selecting options from the left-hand menu (on desktop) or by clicking ‘Filters’ (on mobile device). If you want to search for a particular format e.g. Audiobooks, Large Print, Music Scores, click the 'Format' option in the menu to select the format(s) that you require.
How do I search for an exact phrase?
In the search box you can enclose a string of words inside quotation marks; this will match the search to an exact phrase, for example, "end of the game".
Need more help?
Please see our information about reserving an item.
If we don't have the item that you're searching for, you can request an item using our online form.
Or you can make a suggestion in your local library.