Searching the GCLS Library Catalog

Using our e-Library catalog, you can search for books, movies, audio CDs, video games, and other library materials for all member libraries of the Libraries of Gloucester/Salem Information Network (LOGIN).

Beginning Your Search

1. On the catalog homepage, you'll see a green highlighted search box to begin your search. By default, this will be a keyword search which is the most broad search. This is usually a good place to start, so leave the keyword search box selected.

2. Type your search terms into the box. You can search by title, author, subject, etc.

3. You'll see a dropdown box on the right of the search box that is defaulted to "words/phrase." This is an extremely broad search that will likely return unecessary results. It is recommended to click on the box and select another search option. You can choose from title, author, subject, series, or periodical title.

4. Next, select a library to search. You can search a particular library or you can choose to search a group of libraries. To do this, scroll to the top of the list to see the library groups.

5. Now, you are set to search! Click on the blue search button to be taken to the results list.

Searching Tips

1. Not sure what you are looking for? Keywords are a good way to find materials if you are uncertain how to locate what you need. It is best to use as few keywords as possible and keep them as broad as possible. If you are looking for materials on caring for cats, do not type "how to take care of cats" into the search box. Why? Because the catalog will try to find materials that have every single one of those keywords which shrinks the possible results. To get the most results possible, instead search "cats AND care." This will return a much larger volume of materials.

2. Know what title or author you are looking for? Great! Type the title or author in the search box. Don't forget to change from "words/phrase" to "title" or "author" using the dropdown or your search may not return relevant results.

3. What's a Browse Search? This search may often be performed by a librarian who wants to browse the catalog alphabetically. If you do a Browse Search for "A Tale of Two Cities," you will see the all items that exist in the catalog before and after the book alphabetically. This search is very literal and will search for exactly what you typed in the order it appears. Keywords do not work here!

4. What's an Exact Search? This search should be used very sparing, if at all. It is the most literal search possible and will look for exactly what you typed in perfect order even down to spaces and punctuation marks. Librarians will often use this search to locate an item by a specific library barcode number.

Things to Avoid

1. Do NOT use your web browser's Back button. This will cause the catalog to timeout and return a page that may say "Document Expired" or something similar. Instead, use the "Go Back" button in the blue toolbar of the catalog.

2. Do NOT favorite or bookmark any items in the catalog as the catalog will clear out the session in an hour and you will lose your bookmark. Instead, click on "Link to Page" in the blue toolbar to get a permanant link to the item that will never expire.