Tips for Using the Online Catalog
The "front page" of the catalog contains a tab for each kind of search you can do. To start one of these searches, just click on the tab. The catalog will default to a keyword search. Help is available on each search screen. Search buttons include:
Author: Use this when you know who wrote or illustrated the book, who composed or performed the music, or who stared in the movie.
Title: Use this with the name (title) of a book, video, play, or magazine, start with the first word of the title, excluding words 'a', 'an' or 'the'.
Author/Title: Use this if you know part of the author's name and part of the title, it is helpful for prolific authors or for common names or titles.
Keyword: This is used for general subjects, or the name of a song, or just a few words from the title. This is a phrase search. Otherwise, use AND, OR, NEAR, and NOT in between words
Subject: Use this search for exact subject headings
Journal Title: Use this search when looking for magazines
Other Searches: Alternate searches, information about the library you are searching in, and list of other libraries you can search.
Once you have started your search, you can modify the results in several ways by using the 
button at the top of the screen.
Limit This Search:
- by publication date
- by material type (videos, books, large type, ebooks, etc.)
- by language (Spanish, English, French, Russian, Vietnamese, etc.)
- by location (any other libraries in the Western Mass. Regional Library System)
- by words in title, author, subject, and publisher fields
- to sort results by year
Search Tips:
- click on the blue title link to get the call# and location
- check your spelling if you don't get the results you expect
- keyword searching acts as a phrase search. If you don't want a phrase search, use AND in between words.
- to get back to a list of results, click the
button - use the
and 
buttons to move around a list of results - once you find a suitable book, follow the subject links at the bottom of the record to find similar items
- use the ** for truncation
- Boolean searching is available in the keyword field only (using AND, OR, NEAR, and NOT)
- use the drop-down menu to change a Title or Subject search to a Keyword search
- use the drop-down menu to search in a different library or in all Western MA libraries
- use the
button to expand the search to both Central and Western MA libraries. - Ask a Librarian for help!
Catalog features include:
- Ability to search the holdings of the Monson Free Library or any other libraries in Western or Central Mass.
- Access to your library record online (see below for details)
- Place holds on materials you are interested in and have them sent to the library of your choice for pickup.
- Boolean searching in the keyword field only (using AND, OR, NEAR, AND NOT)
- Truncation with an **
- Links to free electronic books
- Create a list of marked records and email them to yourself or someone else!
Your Library Record:
You can view your library record online, including items you have charged out, fines you may owe, and items you have on hold. You may also renew materials you have borrowed. The first time you access your record online, you will be prompted to choose a PIN (Personal Identification Number). Choose a word or set of numbers that you can remember easily. If you forget your PIN, go to the Circulation Desk at your local library for assistance.
