The Library Catalog is also a database. There is an underlying index of descriptive data (metadata) which helps to link your search terms with items in the library's physical collection (Books, DVDs, Audio Books, etc.) and in the library's virtual collection (Ebooks, Articles from databases, streaming videos, etc.). Since this tool searches virtual collections, it is sometimes referred to as a discovery tool.
While you can search without logging in, to take full advantage of the system, sign in using the PHSC Portal Login (SSO)-- your PHSC email and password. This will allow you to request books, access your library account to check due dates, renew items and so much more.
Sign in using the link in the upper right corner area.
Choose the Single Sign On (SSO) PHSC Portal login option
Strategic SearchingTo be most efficient you need to think about what you are looking for.
Everything: This will search pretty much everything the library has both physically and online. It is the broadest search but you can use the options in the left sidebar to limit your results based on material types, locations, etc.
Library Catalog - Books and More: This will search books, and some ebooks, plus things such as videos. It eliminates articles from your search (no journal or magazine articles).
Articles and eResources: This will search electronic resources for articles as well as some ebooks and some streaming videos. It eliminates any physical library material (print books, DVDs, print magazines, etc.).
Statewide Catalog: This will search for material held by all 40 state universities and colleges and allows you to request books from other institutions via UBorrow. It takes longer to get material from other schools (7-10 business days) so it is better to search using Everything, Library Catalog, or Articles and eResources first before searching the Statewide Catalog.
Course Reserves: This will search for items (books and things like anatomy models) that a campus library has designated as a course reserve. These items can only be used in the library for a limited time - usually 2 hours. Although we try to keep the system up to date, you can always call ahead to make sure the item you need is on the shelf.
When you are searching for library material think about what format and what type of source you want to find. If you are looking for books or ebooks you will be much more efficient if you search under Books & More so you don’t have to scroll through lots of articles that you aren’t looking for.
Some systems use a drop menu to select what part of the library system you are searching and others use Tabs. At PHSC, Books & More is like the traditional library catalog – this is where you will easily find materials at any of our campus libraries. Books & Articles will be the broadest search and allow you to find physical and electronic resources, but you will have a lot more results to go through.
When you start a search, all options will be shown -- you can click on the area you want to search.
After your initial search, the different areas are available in a drop menu. 
Field SearchingTo use field searching, you will need to click on the Advanced Search button. In addition to limiting your search by type of material (Books & More instead of Everything or Articles and eResources if you don't need articles), you can also limit where your keywords are searched -- or what data field the word must appear in.
Some of the options you have are:
Anywhere is the broadest search. The words could be in the title, an author's name, a note field, etc. All the other options will limit your search. If you are searching in the title field your words must appear in a title or subtitle of an item for it to appear in the results.
Title Author SearchIf you were interested in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, you could search Books & More for great gatsby and you would have results for the novel, books about the novel, videos, etc.
If you knew you wanted the novel to read, you could do an advanced search and search for great gatsby in the Title field and Fitzgerald in the Author field.
If you wanted to completely avoid videos or ebooks, you could also use the options or facets in the left sidebar to further limit your results. You can use the "material type" menu to limit your search as well.
Under "Tweak your results", if you select "available on shelf" you will only see print books (no ebooks) that are at one of the PHSC campus libraries and are available (not missing or checked out). Here there is also an option to limit to resource type (which is similar to material type).
Subject SearchYou read The Great Gatsby for your literature class and now need to do some research about that work. Rather than needing the actual title The Great Gatsby, you need literature criticism or works about The Great Gatsby.
Instead of searching for great gatsby as a Title or Anywhere, you can search for great gatsby as a subject heading.
When this search is run we get a very useful result list of items about The Great Gatsby including Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel by Bob Batchelor and So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to be and Why it Endures by Maureen Corrigan.
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Once you conduct a search in the Library Catalog, you need to go through the results and find the items that will meet your information need. There are tools built in to help you navigate and limit the results but you need to understand how to use them.
Below is a screenshot of the results screen from a Subject Heading search for great Gatsby under "everything". This will show lots of results that are not books but will include eBooks. There are many options you have to further limit your results and help you pick the items you need.
The options for narrowing by availability include Open Access and Peer-Reviewed Journals because the "everything" search will include electronic resources such as magazine and journal articles as well as eBooks. Narrowing by Resource Type will allow you to select only books if you don't want to see journal articles. If you want to specifically search newspapers, there is a separate search link at the bottom of the Resource Type facet.
If you conduct the search for great Gatsby as a subject but select Library Catalog - books and more, you will not see any of the articles in your results.
Immediately above your results there is a line which indicates how many matching items were found -- the number of results. In the first search under "everything" we had 289 results that included many articles. In the second search under "library catalog - books and more" there are only 27 results because we eliminated all of the articles. Both times there is an option in the left side to tweak your results under availability to select items available online.
Faceted Navigation
The left sidebar of the results screen has many options to help you limit and fine-tune what results show up.
Under "Tweak your results" you have options including:
Sort by: The default is to sort by relevance but you can sort by date too.
Availability: This allows you to limit to only items available online, or only on the shelf. It also has options for Open Access or Peer-Reviewed Journals if any of those are included in your search results.
Resource Type: This gives you options to limit to articles, books, book chapters, etc. There is also a link for a newspaper search if you specifically want newspaper articles.
Library: If you are looking for a book at a specific PHSC Campus, you can use this to limit to just one campus. Note, you can request books from a different campus to be sent to the PHSC campus library of your choosing.
Creation Date: You can change the range of dates if you only want to see items created during a specific time period. This is useful if you need to limit your sources to items published in the last 5 years.
There are many options in the left sidebar to help you be more efficient in your searching.
Hold RequestBy default, your search for material will search all campuses rather than limiting your results to a specific campus. If you need to see what is available on a specific campus, you can use the faceted navigation options. However, if the book you want is not on your campus, you can "request it" and have it sent to any PHSC campus for you to pick up.
In the above image, the book is available at East campus and West campus. If you don't go to East or West campus and don't feel like driving to Dade City or New Port Richey, you can click the link to "request it". You must be logged into the library to do this.
When you click that link, you select the campus where you want to pick up the book. It usually takes 1-2 business days to get a book from another PHSC campus.
UBorrow - Interlibrary LoansAnother feature of the New Primo Library Catalog is the option search for items in the Statewide Catalog. This allows you to borrow books from other colleges or universities in Florida. In the image below we have searched for great Gatsby in the Statewide Catalog.
When you search the statewide "union" catalog, you are searching a combined catalog of all the items in all the Florida public colleges and universities. You can "tweak your results" to show just the items available on the shelf -- the books that would be available for your to request through UBorrow.
Each item will have a link for you to check for available services -- to see if you can request this via UBorrow.
If the item is available for a UBorrow Request, you will see that option just like you saw the "request it" option from another PHSC Campus. You want to search for items at PHSC first and use the "request it" option as you will get it faster from one of the PHSC campuses. However, if we don't have the book at PHSC, search the Statewide Catalog and click the UBorrow link and select which PHSC campus you want as the pickup location. The book will be sent there for you. Keep in mind this can take 7-10 business days so give yourself plenty of time for your books to arrive.
On the New Primo / Library Catalog page, there is a link in the upper right to sign in. When you sign in using your PHSC Portal login, your name should appear. If you click on your name, you will have a menu to view your "library card" or account, any loans, requests and favorites.
My Account / Library card is an important tool for personal management of Library Resources access, and materials you have checked out or requested. When you click on My Library Card you will be able to view any overdue items, see your loans, your requests, and fees you might owe (if you have a lost book), any blocks or messages, etc.
In the image below you can see the due dates for items on loan and the option to renew. The requests area will show the status of any request -- if they are in progress or have arrived. In the image below there is a request on the hold shelf waiting to be picked up. After that hold shelf date, an item may be returned to the owning library.
Loans/RenewalsYou can click on My Loans directly from the Library Card menu, or you can click the loans tab in My Library Card. When you do so, you will see a list of books you have checked out. There are warnings if an item is overdue and you can see if you can request to renew a book or not. In the screenshot below, the items are overdue so it says "not renewable".
The Loans tab will show you all of the books you have checked out including the campus the book is from and the due date. You have the option to renew a book by clicking the renew button to the right of the title. In the image below one of the items is renewable the others are not. There is a limited number of times you can request to renew a book.
Note: In order to renew books this way, it must be before the due date, otherwise the system will not let you renew this way and you must come into the library or call us to request a renewal. There may also be other restrictions that will prevent an automatic renewal of an item. In this case, contact us and we will work with you.
RequestsYou can click on the My Requests link directly from the My Library Card menu or the Requests tab when My Library Card is open. You can see the Request Status, the Pickup Location you requested, etc. Once you get the item and it is checked out to you, it will show in the Loans tab. In the image below the requests are "in process" and you can choose to cancel a request if you no longer need it.
In the next image the requests list shows the requested item has arrived and is waiting on the hold shelf to be picked up.
FavoritesWhen searching the new library catalog, you have the ability to "pin" your favorites. Most item records will have a pin icon you can click on to mark it as a favorite. If you are not signed into the library this will only be saved for that session. However, if you click sign in / or your name shows that you are signed in, these "favorites" will be saved under the "my favorites" section of "my library card". The pin icon shows at the top right of the Primo screen near where the login link is or your name if you are already logged in.
This allows you to quickly mark an item (a record for: a print book, an ebook, a journal article, etc.) and be able to find it again. This does not mean that the book would be available, but you would be able to find the record. For example, if you "pinned" the record for a print book that was available at the time, but you did not request it, the next time you look for the book, it might be checked out on loan to someone else.
In the results list, items will have a pin to "add this item" to your favorites.
After you add it, the icon will give you the option to "remove it"
Using the favorites pin is a great way to quickly mark items you might be interested in requesting (print book) or looking at more closely later (journal article available online). Then, before you are done with your research session, you can request any print items that you want, and use the "my favorites" saved items to help you find the articles again later.
If you open up your list of favorites, you can select items and add a label to them. For example you could label items you are interested in for a specific class or research project.
After you add a label you will see the label for the item and also a list of all labels and unlabeled items in your favorites list.
In this example the label "Ancient History Paper" has been added.
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How to Read Call Numbers in an Academic LibraryYou have learned that library catalogs (Books & More) are good for locating resources carried by a particular library. In a contemporary, web-based library system you are given the information that identifies the resource by things like author, title, and subject. You are also given information about the specific location of the resource within the library and whether or not the resource is still on the shelf, or whether it is at a different campus than the one you are usually at.
The information concerning the specific location of the resource identifies exactly where the resource resides on the library’s shelves. The methods libraries use for organizing the location of resources on shelves is called a classification system. Classification systems represent methods for organizing library resources according to the subject matter. Public libraries typically use the Dewey Decimal system, a system of numbers used to describe subject areas. College libraries more often use the Library of Congress system, a system that uses a scheme of letters and numbers to describe subject areas. The combination of letters and numbers used to organize resources on a library’s shelf is referred to as a call number. As Pasco-Hernando State College libraries organize resources by the Library of Congress system this section will help you understand how to read call numbers in order to locate the resources you need.
The image below shows part of the result page from a library catalog search. The call number shown for the book, Caesar's Gallic Wars, 58-50 BC is: DG264.G55 2003
Below, you will find how a call number is broken down in greater detail.
Anatomy of a Library of Congress Call Number
Book title: Uncensored War: The Media and Vietnam
Author: Daniel C. Hallin
Call Number: DS559.46 .H35 1986
The first two lines describe the subject of the book.
DS559.45 = Vietnamese Conflict
The third line often represents the author's last name.
H = Hallin
The last line represents the date of publication.
Tips for Finding Books on a ShelfRead call numbers line by line.
LB
Read the first line in alphabetical order:
A, B, BF, C, D... L, LA, LB, LC, M, ML...
2395
Read the second line as a whole number:
1, 2, 3, 45, 100, 101, 1000, 2000, 2430...
.C65
The third line is a combination of a letter and numbers. Read the letter alphabetically. Read the number as a decimal, eg:
.C65 = .65 .C724 = .724
Some call numbers have more than one combination letter-number line.
1991
Here is a shelf of books with the call number order explained. 
How to Find Where Your Book Would Be on the Shelf
At the bottom of the box is a simplified outline of the Library of Congress Classification System. It can be helpful if you want to browse the shelves for books on a particular subject but is not something you need to memorize. If you are trying to find a book on the shelf, look up the book in the library catalog (Books & More) which will tell you the call number of the book as well as the campus where the book is located. Then you can either go to the shelves with the call number and find the book or request the book from another campus if needed. If you really want to dig deeper, for more information check out the Library of Congress classification list from the Library of Congress.
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URLs and DomainsThe URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address for a website. It is made of different parts including the top level domain. Here is a brief list of some common top-level domains:
Using this information, you can limit your search to the top level domain most appropriate to your research need. Just as you limited your search in the Library Catalog to Books & More if you were looking for a book, you can limit by domain in an Internet search.
ExampleYou are looking for some government information on the habitat of bobcats. Instead of searching all domains, you can limit your search to just .gov sites.
If you are using Google, do a search for: bobcat habitat site:.gov
"Bobcat" and "habitat" are keywords, and "site:" will limit your result list to site from a specific domain.
site:.gov -- only government (.gov) sites will show
site:.edu -- only education (.edu) sites will show
This type of search will allow you to efficiently find some credible sources on the habitat of bobcats such as Connecticut's Department of Energy & Environmental Protection page on the bobcat.
Boolean SearchingJust as in library databases, you can use the Boolean search operators (AND, OR, NOT) to help in an Internet search. Refer to ILM module section 5.5 for details on Boolean searching
Field Searching and Phrase SearchingJust as you can limit a search in the Library Catalog to a specific data field such as Author, Title, Subject, etc., Internet search engines allow you to search for words in a website title or in the URL. Also, you can specify that words are searched for as a phrase, just as you can in the Library Databases.
The following chart outlines some of the search syntaxes for field and phrase searching on the Internet.
Goal |
Common Syntax |
Example Searches |
Syntax for Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| To limit search to an exact phrase | "A" | You're looking for the phrase health care reform. | "health care reform" |
| To specify that your search term should be found in the title of the Web page | intitle: | You're looking for sites that have Wonder Woman in their Web page titles. | intitle:"Wonder Woman" |
| To specify that your search term should be found in the URL of the Web page, including paths and subdirectories | inurl: | You're looking for sites that have NASA in their URLs. | inurl:nasa |
| To limit your results to a particular domain or site | site: |
|
|
| To limit results to a particular type of document (e.g. Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PDF, etc.) | filetype: | You only want Microsoft Word documents (doc or docx) |
filetype:doc filetype:docx
|
Creating Effective Search StatementsThe table below demonstrates how the field searching techniques can be combined to create effective search statements. These allow you to filter out the thousands of unneeded sites in an Internet search and focus on more valuable material for your research.
Search Query |
Search Techniques |
Search Statement |
|---|---|---|
| You want government sites that discuss bioterrorism | domain searching | bioterrorism site:.gov |
| A friend told you about a great site on elephants that had wildlife in the URL and Africa in the Web page title | URL searching, title searching | elephants inurl:wildlife intitle:africa |
| You need an Excel spreadsheet with statistics on international adoption | Boolean operator, phrase searching, file type searching | statistics AND "international adoption" filetype:xls |
These are just a select sample of search techniques commonly available for search engines. For additional search features, read the HELP file of the search engine you are using.
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SummaryTo summarize all of this, there is a PowerPoint at the bottom of the box comparing Library Resources to ones you might find doing an Internet search.
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After viewing the material in 5.6, 5.7,5.8,5.9,and 5.10 try the self-check quiz.
Note: you will need to access the PHSC Library Catalog/ Primo VE to answer some of the questions.