The Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) can help you find the books you’re looking for. You can look under the Title heading, the Author heading, or the Subject heading. If you only know a general idea of what you want, the Keyword heading is probably what you want. This is what the screen will look like when you begin your search.

Let’s say you want to locate information in our Library Media Center on Abraham Lincoln for a report. You would type “Lincoln” in the long box at the top of the screen and click the Subject button.

This example shows that the Library Media Center has three books about Lincoln. You can choose one or all three of them by highlighting each and clicking on either the Select button or the Add to Bookbag button.

If you select more than one book, you may want to store them in the OPAC Bookbag until you are ready to go and get your books. You may do so by clicking the Bookbag button on the right side of the OPAC screen.

You may then write down the information you will need to locate your books in the Library Media Center or print it. Please remember you must have permission from a teacher or the Librarian before you print.

On this screen you can see the student chose the first book about Lincoln. This screen displays the book title, the author, the year the book was written, the call number, and the status, so you will know if it is available for check out.

If you double click on the book you want, the OPAC will display a screen that tells you many details about that book.

You may also search perform an author search by typing in the author’s last name, a comma, the first name, then clicking the Author button. If the Library Media Center has books by that author, they will appear on the OPAC screen so you can make your choice.

If you are searching for something in general, like cats, you would type in the word “cats” and click the Keyword button. You would then see a screen showing all the resources in the Library Media Center on cats.

Those are the basic steps to get you started using the Online Public Access Catalog. Enjoy reading!

Works Cited “OPAC Lesson 1.” 07 Feb Feb. 09 “Searching the LMC Shelves Using Follett’s OPAC.” 06 Feb OPAC%20Follett%20student%Tutorial.ppt “Technology Connected Lesson Plan.” htmHttp:// htm. 06 Feb. 09 Zachary, Teresa. “Instructions for Using the OPAC.” Personal interview. 29 Jan. 09.