Searching for BooksIn CUNY, there are many ways of searching using the on-line CUNYPLUS catalog.

CONTINUE To Ways to SearchCONTINUE TO BASIC Searching

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

There are 5 ways begin to search for items in CUNYPLUS. They are:

BASIC SEARCHGUIDED SEARCH

COMMAND SEARCHRESERVE SEARCH

JOURNAL TITLE SEARCH

The most common ways to search for items are Basic Search and Guided Search.

Searching for Books in General 1

When searching, it is possible to search the holdings of any specific library, or all CUNY libraries at one time. If searching a library other than the home library, it is possible to request that a circulating items be sent the library using CLICS.

When using the basic search to search for an item, it is possible to search by Title (begins with or the entire title), Author (last name, first name), subject (as defined by the Library of Congress), a keyword in the author, title, or subject, the MeSH (medical) subject heading, children’s subject heading, call number, ISBN or ISSN.

Searching for Books: Geneeral 2

Searching for Books: General 2

In the guided search, a user can designate more specific information; thus possibly narrowing the retrieved items. The narrowing can be done on the basis of language, record type, year(s), format type, and location (within the library).

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Basic Search

The default for searching for books within the CUNYPLUS on-line catalog is the basic search.

The first choice is to search for an item in all fields. This is equivalent to searching by keyword. It must be noted the CUNYPLUS is not a smart system, and synonyms must be searched separately; it is not done automatically.

Basic Search: An Illustration

Basic Search (Illustrated)

Ways To Search Within CUNYPLUS

Basic Search: Title Begins With

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, searching for an item can be performed by typing in the beginning of the item title (excluding ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘an’). Remember: CUNYPLUS is not an intelligent system: it will not find items that are not specifically what the user types in using this (or any other) option.

Title Begins With: An Illustration

Title Begins With (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Author. Last Name First

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, to find items written by a specific author, a search of the author’s name can be performed. Using this option, the author’s last name preceeds the author’s first name, separated by a comma.

Author Search: An Illustration

Author. Last Name First (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Subject Begins With

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, it is possible to search for an item using the Library of Congress defined subject heading. It must be emphasized that the Library of Congress subject heading is not always the term the is commonly used.

Subject Heading: An Illustration

Subject Begins With (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Keyword in Title

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, searching for an item using the keyword in title is possible. Remember, CUNYPLUS does not find synonyms!

Keyword in Title: An Illustration

Keyword in Title (Illustrated)

Ways To Search Within CUNYPLUS

Keyword in Author

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, it is possible to search for an item using a keyword in the author’s name. This is often not very useful.

Keyword in Author: An Illustration

Keyword in Author (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Keyword in Subject

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, searching for an item using a keyword in the subject is possible. It should be emphasized that the subject is the Library of Congress’ subject heading, and is often not what is commonly used to describe an item.

Keyword in Subject: An Illustration

Keyword in Subject (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Children’s Subject Begins With

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, it is possible to search for items using the beginning of the children’s subject heading.

Children’s Subject Begins With: An Illustration

Children’s Subject Begins With (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

MeSH Subject Heading Begins With

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, MeSH subject headings can be used, MeSH subject headings are usually medical-related.

MeSH Subject Heading Begins With: An Illustration

MeSH Subject Heading Begins With (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Call Number

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, it is possible to search for items using its call number.

Call Number: An Illustration

Call Number (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Browse ISBN

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, it is possible to search for an item by ISBN (International Standard Book Number)

Browse ISBN: An Illustration

Browse ISBN (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Browse ISSN

Using the CUNYPLUS basic search, it is possible to search for an item using its ISSN (International Standard Serial Number).

Browse ISSN: An Illustration

Browse ISSN (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Command Search

CUNYPLUS can be searched using Command Search. Abbreviations permitted in a Command Search are listed on the Command Search screen.

Command Search: An Illustration

Command Search (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Guided Search

A user can get more specific in searching for item(s) by using the Guided Search (rather than the basic search). Within the Guided Search, the user can specify many things, including keywords (in several fields), the language to be retrieved, the record type, format type, and location (within the library).

Within keywords specified, it is possible to indicate whether or not the words are a phrase.

Guided Search: An Illustration

Guided Search (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

All CUNY Libraries

In any of the searches, a user can designate to search for works within a specific CUNY library, or within All CUNY libraries by simply clicking on the phrase on the top right hand portion of the CUNYPLUS display. The searching is identical when searching in a specific library or within all CUNY libraries.

All CUNY Libraries: An Illustration

All CUNY Libraries (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Reserve Search

It is possible to search for items on Reserve in a library. It should be noted that not all reserve items may be listed in the on-line catalog. It is possible to search this listing by Professor’s name, course number, and many of the possible search items of the basic and guided searches.

A reserve search is for items in the CUNY catalog, and are not limited to a specific library in terms of searching.

Reserve Search: An Illustration

Reserve Search (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

Journal Title Search

It is possible to search the CUNYPLUS on-line catalog for journals by title, etc. Many of the search routines for books in the CUNYPLUS catalog are available when searching for journals.

Journal Title Search: An Illustration

Journal Title Search (Illustrated)

Ways to Search Within CUNYPLUS

CLICSWhen requesting a circulating item from a Library not your home

Library, the CLICS system can be used. The user name and password are the barcode number on the back of your York ID card.

It usually takes between three and five days to have a CLICS item delivered to the Library. Sometimes, it takes longer than three to five days.

CLICS will not work on Reference or Reserve materials. At the present time, it is not available for journal articles of any sort. It will also not be available from a patron’s home Library.