The CMC Library Consortium

The CMC Library Consortium is a cooperative organization of the libraries in Rutherford County and Polk County, North Carolina.  Members include Isothermal Community College Library; Rutherford County Public Library and its branches (Haynes and Mountains); the municipal libraries of Rutherford County (Mooneyham, Norris, and Spindale), and the Polk County Library and its branch (Saluda).  The Consortium maintains an online union catalog of holdings of all member libraries, accessible from any Internet-connected computer at http://www.cmclibraries.org/catalog.

Using the CMC Library Consortium Public Access Catalog (PAC)

The CMC PAC is a public access catalog that utilizes an Internet Web browser (such as Microsoft Explorer or Netscape Navigator) to search the catalog.  If you are unfamiliar with the navigational features of the Web browser, consult the browser's Help before proceeding with the instructions that follow.  The PAC lets you search by author, title, subject, and notes indexes separately or in combination.  Although searching is a simple, straightforward process, understanding the elements of search and display features will help you obtain reliable, consistent results.

Performing a Keyword Search
To perform a search, click the Search button on the first page of the catalog.  The search window on the following screen includes a number of choices, as well as a place to type the search term.  Note that:

• You may limit your search to only items which contain your search term in one or more categories (Titles, Authors, Subjects, or Notes) by clicking the appropriate checkboxes;

• You may choose to search only for items that begin with your search term, for any items that contain the term, terms that closely match, stem from, or sound like the search term entered. (The begin with option searches for the terms you enter at the beginning of a line and in the order they are typed.  The contain option does not care about word order or the position of the search term);

• You may choose to search the holdings of all libraries (“All Branches”), or limit your search to one or more libraries, by clicking the appropriate checkbox(es).

Click Search when you have set up the configuration you desire to search.  A numbered results list then appears, showing items that match your search query, the library in which they can be found, and the call number under which they are filed.  (Note that when multiple results are found for a search term, the type of search and the number of items returned is displayed.)

Results List
To view the complete record of any item in the results list, click on it.  At this screen you will find the Labeled Display, which includes Author, Title, Imprint (publication info) and Subject headings fields for the item.  Note that:

• Underlined text indicates links from this record to other information.

• Location, Collection, Call number, and Availability information is provided under Location Information.  (For help in locating an item with a Library of Congress (LC) call number, see Locating Books Organized by the Library of Congress System.)

• Some items in result lists may indicate that they are available on netLibrary.  See Page 6 for information on using NC LIVE to access netLibrary.

• Your search window remains on the lower part of the page, ready to be used for another search.  If you wish, you may refine the search to produce fewer, more relevant results.

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Refining Your Search

Subject Searches
To search for works with William Shakespeare as the subject:

• Click on Search and select Subject by clicking in the checkbox.  This limits your search to subjects only. (To enter or remove a check, click once on the appropriate checkbox.)

• Select the begin with option by clicking on the button next to it.

• Type Shakespeare William in the empty "word(s)" box and click the Search button or press Enter.  (It is necessary to type in the last name first when searching by subject because authors' last names always appear first in subject fields.  Capitalization and punctuation are optional, however.)

• A results list of items will appear which match your search settings. 

Author Searches
To search for works with William Shakespeare as the author:

• Click on Search and select Authors by clicking in the checkbox.

• Select the begin with option by clicking on the button next to it.

• Type Shakespeare William in the empty "word(s)" box and click the Search button or press Enter.  (Authors' last names always appear first in author fields, too.)

• A results list of items will appear which match your search settings.

Title Searches
To search for works with William Shakespeare in the title:

• Click on Search and select Titles by clicking in the checkbox. 

• Select the contain option by clicking on the button next to it.

• Type William Shakespeare in the empty "word(s)" box and click the Search button.  (This search will locate titles with William Shakespeare in any position.)

Limiting Your Search in Other Ways
Searches also can be limited by library collection, date of publication, language, format, and place of publication.  To use the library collection search limiting feature:

• Select the library collection(s) you want to search by clicking the appropriate checkbox(es).

• Click the Search button.  The result list will include only items in the library collection(s) indicated.

For other search limiting features:

• Click the Set Limits button.

• Select the Format checkbox and choose, for example, Any non‑print from the pulldown menu. (You could check any or all of the boxes. You can select more than one option within a pulldown menu by holding down the Ctrl key when you click on an item.)

• Click on the Set Limits button to return to the search menu.

• Enter the search query you last used and click the Search button. A new results list will appear showing only non‑print items. The following message appears at the beginning of the results list: Results filtered according to Limits.

Exact Phrase Searches
You can designate exact phrases to search by enclosing them in quotes ("All's Well that Ends Well").

Other Searches

• Clicking the Advanced button on the front catalog screen will allow you to create a very specific search combining multiple terms, using and, or & not.  (This is called Boolean searching.)

• Clicking the Browse button on the front catalog screen allows you to search for a specific identifier in titles, authors, subjects, call numbers, etc. and browse forward or backward in the order indicated.
  

Patron Review

Clicking the Patron Review button can link you to your library records in the CMC Library Consortium patron records database, where you can

• Review a list of the items you have checked out at all CMC libraries

• Check the dates your materials are due

• Check the status of Holds you have placed

• Review the accuracy of your contact information.

To access your patron record, you must first visit a CMC library and give the library staff your own Personal Identification Number (PIN) to use as a password.  When you click the Patron Review button in the CMC online catalog, have your library card and PIN number ready to enter, and then follow onscreen instructions.

View Reserves

A new View Reserves function is now available from the catalog. This feature allows access to lists of materials currently placed on reserve at the Circulation desk by Isothermal instructors.

To view a list of materials an instructor has on reserve:

• Go to the CMC Library Consortium homepage (http://www.cmclibraries.org)

• Click Search the Catalog in the blue column on the left

• Click the oval blue Search button (available on both the main consortium catalog search page and the individual libraries’ search pages)

• Click the button labeled View Reserves in the row of buttons for Home, Search, Browse, etc., located at the top of the page.

When you reach this point, you have the option to view items currently on reserve by Instructor, Department or Course. You may limit the search to any one of these options or any combination of two or more options.

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