Research 101: Great Library and Ontario Courthouse Libraries Catalogue User Guide

If you want to learn more about any of your results, click anywhere in the box on the results page. 

Click through the images in the following pages to learn more about what information the record tells you.

Library Locations

If the resource is available in print, the Library Locations section tells you the library location with the call number.

Virtual Browse

The Virtual Browse section lets you see what is next to or near the resource on the actual shelf in the library!

Links

Some resources have a Links section. Often, this will just have the source record which is only relevant to the librarians (or the curious). Sometimes it will have other links out, such as the table of contents, item in Google Books or Amazon, and more.

Add Items to Favourites

Click the Pin button next to the item that you want to save in the search favorite results during your search session.

Favourite search results are not retained between browser sessions.

Location Items

Location Items indicates library location, call number, copies and volumes held, and/or retention notes.

Information in Your Brief Display

The Brief Results page displays all of the items that match your search query. For each item, the following information displays:

• Resource Type – the format of the item, such as book, looseleaf, journal, pdf document and so forth.

• Title, author, creator, and publication date.

• Availability at – Displays the call number used to retrieve the item. 

• Check for online availability – This appears when a digital copy of the item exists. Please note that for some of these items, digital access is limited to the physical proximity of the library.

Information in Your Full Display

Details provides a full, labelled display for most fields in the record.

• Bibliographic Information
  The following information will display if present in the record:
  • Author displays the name of the person or group responsible for the work.  All name headings display as hypertext links. Selecting the link launches a search for related items.
  • Title displays the full title of the work and the statement of responsibility.
  • Available Online displays hypertext linked information leading to an electronic item or an electronic version of the item.
  • Related Titles displays the uniform title, if present (e.g., [Civil Code of Lower Canada (1988-1989)]).
  • Variant Title(s) displays additional titles (e.g., spine title, citation title).
  • Continues, Continued by, etc. display preceding entries, succeeding entries, or other information that identifies related items.
  • Edition displays the edition of the work.
  • Publisher displays information about the publication of the item, including the publisher, place of publication, and date of publication.
  • Frequency and Former Frequency display the interval at which a serial is issued (e.g., weekly, monthly, quarterly).
  • Numbering displays the volume numbering and/or chronological designation of a serial.
  • Format displays the edition of the work and information about the physical qualities of the item, including an indication of extent (e.g., number of pages, number of volumes, whether it is loose-leaf or includes forms, etc.), dimensions, and accompanying items.
  • Series displays the series and any subseries for the work.
  • Subject(s) displays subject headings for the item. Most subject headings display as hypertext links. Selecting the link launches a search for related items.
  • Notes displays additional useful descriptive information.
  • Table of Contents displays a contents note.

Availability

If the resource is available online, the Availability section tells you where you can access the full text. For databases, make sure you check the available date range under the title.

Send To

Send To functions allow you to email an item, print an item, export your results in Excel and create persistent links, either through permalink or QR code. 

Persistent links (also called permalinks, stable URLs, or durable URLs) are web addresses that remain consistent and do not change over time, allowing you and others to consistently access online content.  Clicking on the permalink button will provide a persistent link for you to copy and paste anywhere.

QR codes work similarly. They also provide persistent links.