OPAC FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is the OPAC ?
OPAC is the Online Public Access Catalog. It is the automated software used to provide electronic access to the library's collections. Use this system to find records of books & other materials located at the COB Libraries.
What are the OPAC's most important features?
It is easy to learn and use.
Users with Internet access can easily access the OPAC from anywhere. An onsite version of the OPAC is available for individuals without Internet access. This version is available through computer workstations at the various libraries.
Authors' names and subjects appear as hypertext links within a record. Users can click on these links to initiate new searches.
Bibliographic Records can be printed and/or emailed from the OPAC terminals.
Can I use the OPAC to find articles in journals and magazines?
No. The OPAC is used to search for books in COB Libraries' collections. To search for articles, use one of our print journal indexes in Reference or one of the Databases of Electronic Journals on CD ROM or online.
Can I search the OPAC from home?
Yes. As long as you have a computer with Internet access you can search the online catalog by visiting the Library's Resources Web page at http://www.cob.edu.bs/Library/LIMSResources.php and clicking the link to the OPAC.
Searching the OPAC
Connect to the COBWEB site.
Click LOCAL CATALOG
Select the search option for the type of search you want to perform.
Search Options
- Keyword Search
A keyword search displays word(s) located anywhere in a record. For example, a keyword search on the word "abuse" would return all the titles which contain the word 'abuse' anywhere in the record.
To perform a keyword search:
- Type the words you want to search in the text field.
- Click the LIMITS icon if you want to limit your search. For additional information, see the Limits section below.
Search results are returned in a relevance ranking order.
- Look at the search results and select any record desired by clicking on its title,
OR
- "Mark" a number of records on the results page to display or email. Press the Enter key to display all marked records.
- Use the Back Arrow when ready to the search screen
TIP
Setting Location Limits and Marking records is only possible in the Keyword Search.
- Heading Search
You can search COBWEB for books by Subject, Author, Title, or Call Number.
To perform a heading search:
- Click the Heading tab.
- Click on the type of heading search you want to perform (Subject/Title/Author/Call Number).
Type the information in the search box.
- If necessary, click the limit button to limit your search (You cannot limit Subject or Author Heading searches).
- Click Do Search
Searching by AUTHOR:
- Enter the author's last name first, followed by the first name. e.g. Saunders, Gail
Searching by TITLE:
- Always omit initial articles - A, An, or The.
- Search the first few words of the title
e.g. a book titled The History of the Bahamas would be searched as "history of The Bahamas"
TIP
If you are not certain about some descriptive aspect of a particular item and just want to know what COB Library has that matches certain criteria, then do a KEYWORD search.
- Command Search
This option allows you to search for combinations of words or phrases by using Boolean operators AND/OR/NOT
You must type Boolean operators in upper case.
e.g. computers AND education
- Course Reserve Search
Use a course reserve search to locate items placed on reserve by lecturers.
* Search by INSTRUCTOR, COURSE NAME, DEPARTMENT OR SECTION
Limiting Your Search
You can limit your searches by:
Year
Language
Location
Limiting your search is very important to your search strategy. You may start as broadly as possible, and then limit the initial broad search in carefully designed steps.
TIP
You are not able to limit by author or subject index searches.
- To limit your search by Year, type the year in the box in the 4-digit format YYYY. Then click the appropriate button for the date range that you want to find. For example, to find all texts published before 1850, type 1850 in the textbox and then click the button next to the less than symbol (<).
- To limit your search by Language or Location, click on the appropriate drop down list and select the limiting criteria.
- Click the Set Limits button to begin your search.
- Click the Reset button to clear the search page.
Additional Search Tips
To perform a search, you can either click on the Search button or hit the enter key after you have typed in your search term.
Punctuation & capitalization do not matter, but always leave a space between words.
There is automatic end truncation in all types of Heading searches. If you get no or too few results, try typing in fewer words, but always include at least the beginning of the heading.
If you are looking for an item that you know exists, it is preferable to search by author or title, rather than by keyword.
For further assistance, ask a Reference Librarian for help or call the Reference Desk at 302-4517.
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The College of The Bahamas :: Oakes Field :: P.O. Box N-4912 :: Nassau, The Bahamas :: Tel (242) 302.4300 :: Email cob@cob.edu.bs
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