What’s OPAC?A Guide to Shaftesbury’s

Online Catalogue

What is this OPAC thing? OPAC stands for

Online Public Access Catalogue.

It’s a way of finding books and other resources in the library.

How do I get started? Simple. Log on to any computer in the

library or the computer lab Click on the icon that says “Web OPAC”. On my computer, it looks like this…

Here we go…

Clicking on the icon brings you here. Simply type in what you’re looking for on

the search line, and see what comes up…

Then what? Below is the result from a search on “Riel” Information provided includes:

Call numbers A link to further details about the bookA button that tells you whether a book is in or

not (green means it’s in, red means it’s out)

What’s this “Bookbag” thing? The Bookbag lets

you check off and list which books you want to find.

When you find books on the list that you want to find on the shelf, click the “My Bookbag” icon.

Okay, now what?

When you’ve picked the books you want to find, click the “My Bookbag” button at the top of the screen.

Okidoke. So far so good… That brings you to this page, which

displays only those books you’ve selected. When you’re ready to go, click “Print”

And away you go!

That brings you to this page, which is a printable version of your list.

Print this page off, grab your list from the printer, and start hunting.

But wait!How do I use “Call Numbers”?

Call numbers work like an address for your house: They tell you where in the library to go to find your book.

First, look for the helpful signs around the library that match your call number.

There it is! Often, books will

have the same number.

Because of this, all books have a three letter code beneath the number, to make things even easier.

All books are filed first by their number, then alphabetically by the three letter code.

Done! Now you know how

to use OPAC! If you have any

questions, please stop by the front desk and ask the helpful library staff!