How do I locate a particular book?

The PrairieCat library catalog is a powerful tool that will help you locate all types of information quickly and easily. You can:

• Search your library and other libraries for books, magazines/journals, and more
• Place holds on materials
• Cancel your own holds if you no longer need the material.
• Renew your own materials online
• View a list of materials you have checked out
• Check on the status of items you placed on hold

PrairieCat is web-based and is available through the Flagg-Rochelle Public Library District website from any computer with an Internet connection.

Using the PrairieCat Library Catalog

The main screen of PrairieCat's Encore catalog provides you with a single search box. This basic search is based on 'keyword' access - so enterning the term "LINCOLN" into the main seach bar will get you items ABOUT Lincoln, with Lincoln in the TITLE and books WRITTEN BY Lincoln and other Authors such as Lincoln Child.

On the main results screen: 

• On the left, you see a graphic of the item's format such as: BOOK, DVD, AUDIO BOOK CD, LARGE PRINT BOOK, etc. with the publication date listed under the graphic.
• On the right you will usually see a picture of the item's cover.

The search results screen lists the title, author, and a drop down list of all of the PrairieCat libraries that own the item.  Clicking on the + symbol will open a list of the libraries that own the item.

ENCORE works like an inverted pyramid. To help you narrow your search, PrairieCat provides a series of facets located on the left-hand side of the screen.  These facets help you narrow your search and eliminate items that are not relevant.

• Availability - shows whether an item is currently checked in.
• Format - You can choose the format you are looking for – such as BOOK, DVD, MUSIC CD, AUDIO BOOK CD, LARGE PRINT BOOK
• Libraries – Use this facet to select a specific library to search
• Found In - This facet allows searchers to see where the search term was found and drill down. For instance, a search for J.K. Rowling might mean someone is looking for a biography or for Harry Potter. This facet allows the searcher to easily drill down to the area they are looking for.
• Publish Date - Use this facet to limit by publication date
• Language - Pick the language you are looking for to easily find bilingual titles
• Tag - This facet shows subjects
• Setting - This facet shows the setting of the book

To search for materials owned by the Flagg-Rochelle Library….

After your initial search,

• find the Libraries facet on the left
• since the libraries are listed alphabetically you will usually have to click on ‘more >’ to open the Libraries box
• scroll down until you see ‘Flagg-Rochelle Public Library’
• clicking on our name will change the screen to show ONLY items this library owns.

Unfortunately, the software cannot remember your request to limit your searches to our Library only and you will have to use the Libraries facet with each search if you want only Flagg-Rochelle Library materials.

If you only want a specific type of material (such as Audio Books) you would search for the item first

• Select the FORMATS facet along the left-hand side.
• click on MORE at the bottom to see all of the formats
• select the format you want

This will scope your selection to only AUDIO BOOKS.

The other way to find specific formats is to look for the symbols     

To determine if the item is available -- or checked out:

When you have located the item you would like:

• click on the small + sign to open the drop-downlist of libraries that own the material
• search for the Flagg-Rochelle PL item
• under the Status
• you can see if it is available to be checked out -- or when it is due back