What’s an OPAC and How Do I Use It?

When you want to find a specific book in the Library Media Center, OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) is here to help.

You know what a computer is. Well……the OPAC computer is just for helping you find a book even if you don’t know the name of it.

When you first look at the OPAC computer screen, it will look like this,

You will use the buttons Keyword, Author, Title, or Subject to begin your search. In this example, the student was looking for a book on the subject of Lincoln, so he typed “Lincoln” in the long box and clicked on the Subject button.

On this screen, you can see the Title of the book, the Author, the Call Number (the numbers that help us locate the book on the shelf), and the Status (if the book is checked out or not).

The OPAC search returned with the resources the library had on the subject of Lincoln. These could be books, videos, reference or any other kinds of materials. It will show this information under the “Call Number” heading. F=Fiction Ref=Reference book CD-ROM VID=Video

If you want to search by author, you would type in the author’s last name, a comma, and his or her first name. When the author button is clicked, the OPAC will show a list of all the books in the library by that author. You can scroll down and highlight the book you want.

If you wish to look for a specific subject, such as spiders, type the word “spider” in the long box above the main buttons. Click on the keyword button and next you will see a screen showing all the books in the library on that subject.

When you find the book you want, you can double click on it. Then you will see a screen that describes that book in detail.

When you have made your selections, you can store them in the “Bookbag”. That is a button on the right side of the computer screen.

You may then either print the information or write it down so that you can locate the book in the library.

I hope you understand how to use the OPAC now. It’s a card catalog of the “old days” inside a computer. Let’s answer some review questions for practice.

1.Bill Wallace is your favorite author. You want to find all the books in the library by this author. What should you do? A.Type in the name of your favorite Wallace book and hope the other books show up there, too. B.Type in Wallace, Bill and click on the author button. C. Type in Wallace, Bill and click on the title button.

The answer is: B.Type in Wallace, Bill and click on the author button.

2. You want to learn all you can about horses. How could the OPAC help you? A.You could type in the word “horses” and click the keyword button. B.You could type in the word “horses” and click the author button. C. The OPAC cannot help you. Go find the librarian.

If you answered: A.You could type in the word “horses” and click on the keyword button. You are absolutely, positively correct!

3. You are looking for information on Martin Luther King, Jr. What would be the best way to search for it? A.Start looking through the book shelves where you know the biographies are shelved. B. Go to the OPAC and type in Martin Luther King, Jr. C.On the OPAC type in King, Martin Luther and click on the subject button.

Did you choose: C.On the OPAC type in King, Martin Luther and click on the subject button. I hope you did.

4.If you find several books that you want to check out, what should you do? A.Get and pencil and paper from the teacher and start writing them. B.The computer will store them automatically for you. C.Click the Bookbag button after each book you select. When you have finished your search, you can print your list.

The right answer is to: C. Click the Bookbag button after each book you select. When you have finished your search, you can print your list.

Those are the basics of what you need to know to search for books and information on the Online Public Access Catalog computer. It’s so easy, everyone’s doing it.