An introduction to Library Search.

Now that the returning students are back and classes underway again. We thought it would be good to have a quick introduction to the university’s Library Search system. This provides the best way for you to access the study materials you need for your coursework. If you’re new to the university, then this will be a great way to learn how to use one of our most helpful services. And any returning students can see this as a nice refresher as they get stuck into studying again. We’ve made sure to include plenty of screenshots to help while we talk you through all the aspects of Library Search!

You can access Library Search through your account page on MyNapier. Or with the student app, by pressing the yellow Library Search tile.

What is Library Search?

Library Search can be used to browse all the reading materials the library provides you access to. Whether that is the physical books in the library’s collection. Or material available online. Looking up a book or subject in Library Search will show you all the available resource that are related to the subject matter you searched. For example, looking up “Scots Law” will show all the results related to Scots Law, or any titles which include the phrase.

Library Search Results

As you can see, each result will show you basic information related to the book, such as author, edition, and publication date. As well as if the book is available in a physical or online format. Results for physical books will show which campus library the book is held in. And the collection the book is part of. And the class mark so you can find the book within that collection. For example, we can see here that “Human Rights and Scots Law” can be found in the Law Hub of our Craiglockhart library, while “Scots Law for Journalists” can be found on our Merchiston library as part of the main collection.

You will also see if there are multiple versions of a book available, which happens if there are different editions of the same book as part of our collection. Selecting “See all versions” will show these different versions.

You can see here that these are all the same book, but different editions and each held at a different campus library.

At the side of the search results there are also options for filtering results. You can use to narrow down your search to specific formats, libraries. Or even sort the results by date or alphabetically.

When you open select one of the search results for a book you will be shown a more in-depth profile for the book. With further information such as page number. And how many copies of the book the library has and how many copies are available, as well as any links that can take you to an online copy of the book.

Requesting a book

From here you can also request to place a hold on books. This means that our library staff will keep the book on a separate shelf near the help desk for you to collect. This can be a handy way to make sure you can get a copy of books that are in high demand. Especially books that are core texts on reading lists. Simply select “Request” and you will be able to choose which campus library you would like to collect the book from. You will receive an email from the library team to let you know when the book is ready for you to collect.

Please keep in mind that you can only request copies of physical books. Any e-books the library has can be accessed using a link on the book’s profile.

From the book’s profile you can also create citations for the book so that you can cite it in an assignment. You can make hyperlinks or even QR codes to serve as links to the book’s library search page. And or email a link to yourself or others.

What else is available on LibrarySearch?

Alongside being able to browse what is currently in our catalogue, Library Search includes links along the top of the page. These links to browse subject reading lists, the academic databases and journals the university has access to. Or to request an item through the university’s inter library loan service. These allow you to carry out a more in-depth search of the academic journals the university has access to. As well as letting you request to borrow a book from another institution the university is partnered with.

Additionally, if you are in one of our libraries and would like to search only the physical books available. You can use the library catalogue machines. These can be found in all our libraries. And are set up to only search the physical books in our collection.

We hope you’ve found this quick tour through the basics of Library Search to be helpful. And that soon you will be well on your way to using one of the most important resources the university can offer you.

You can browse Library Search

And previous articles to help you nativigate Library Search

By Matthew Ferrie