Do you like the way Google or Amazon often find what you’re looking for, even when you don’t have all the info?
Later this month, our new catalog system will bring you a better search function. Created by the library software company III, this proprietary search algorithm brings the best results to the top while still allowing you to sort by title or date. You’ll also have a number of new ways to narrow down your search and find just what you’re looking for.
New Search features include:
- Popular Results – Quick view of which search results are most popular with other users
- Useful Limits – Too many results? Narrow your search to show only what’s available today, only kids’ books, or even only Nonfiction books currently shelved at Central Library
- Did you mean? – Searches are compared against the words in our catalog (not the entire dictionary, as our current search does) to catch misspelled words and author names. The new search will also catch titles that are spelled correctly but yet aren’t quite right (ex: a search for “Harvey Poster and the Wizards Rock” will suggest “Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone”)
- Advanced Search – If you like our Classic view, you will love Advanced Search. Create complex and Boolean searches with an easy form
- More Searches Like This – Don’t see what you’re looking for? Try these similar searches suggested based on your terms
- Other Libraries – You can expand your search to include other libraries with one click (via World Cat)
Our new system from III isn’t just the catalog – it’s an integrated library system, linking together the catalog search, patron records and accounts, behind-the-scenes operations including everything from purchasing to holds, 8 physical Library locations and our “online branch”.
Stay tuned for more updates on our homepage, Twitter and Facebook.
I am really impressed with the coming changes and the library's efforts to publicize them. As usual, good job, library staff!
From your promo page: •Useful Limits – … Narrow your search to show …only kids books …How about being able to EXCLUDE children's books? Will users be able to do that? Also, there should be an apostrophe after "kids" to show the plural possessive: kids' books .
@ Anonymous February 5, 10:09 AMYou can limit a search to "Just Adults", "Just Teens", or "Just Kids". Advanced Search allows you to limit by any combination of the three. And thanks for the apostrophe catch!
In order to streamline questions and answers, we've moved comments/question about the new catalog system and transition to the Library Catalog Transition FAQ.