Libraries Australia Step-by-Step Guide

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Introduction

About Libraries Australia

Libraries Australia is a comprehensive catalogue and search service run by the National Library of Australia that allows you to locate items held in both Australian and international libraries. You can search for an item, view its bibliographic details and locate exactly which library in Australia holds it. If Curtin Library doesn't hold the item, you can request it via inter-library loan through Document Delivery if you are a staff member, postgraduate, honours or distance student. Or you can recommend we purchase a copy by going to Suggest a Book. Libraries Australia is available to all Curtin staff and students.

About this guide

This guide will cover searching and locating various types of references in Libraries Australia and how to save, email, and print them. It will also cover how to export references to EndNote. Libraries Australia allows you to link to a range of online bookshops should you wish to purchase the item online for yourself. There is a section at the end of the guide on how to construct a search strategy if you are unfamiliar with this.

The guide should take you about 30 minutes to complete. You may like to print it so you can refer to a printed copy while you are working online; it is about 7 pages long.

This guide is divided into the following steps:

Step 1 - Getting started
Step 2 - Advanced search
Step 3 - Locating the item and using document delivery
Step 4 - Searching for various types of material
Step 5 - Online ordering
Step 6 - Saving, printing, emailing and exporting to EndNote

Help with search strategies

Step 1: Getting started

A simple way to access Libraries Australia is via the Databases A-Z link on the Library homepage. You will need to enter your Curtin ID and Password.

You can also access Libraries Australia via Gecko: Gateway to Library Databases (once you have logged in, select the Title tab and search for Libraries Australia). If you are having trouble using Gecko, you may like to look at our Step-by-Step Guide.

When you reach the basic search page of Libraries Australia, you will notice several features:

You can limit to different types of material (e.g. books, journals, conference proceedings etc) by ticking the appropriate box.
The Select Databases button which allows you to search international library catalogues besides the Australian catalogue. The default is Australian Library Collections (Australian National Bibliographic Database) but you can tick as many different catalogues as you wish.
On the left-hand side of the page there are links to National Library subject resources and search engines.
Find a Library will locate and provide the details of Australian libraries using the Australian Libraries Gateway.
On the right-hand side of the screen is a featured library's profile and the option to link to their website.

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Step 2: Advanced search

Click on the Advanced Search tab at the top of the screen. This search screen enables you to enter your keywords or search terms separately in the boxes provided and choose in which parts or fields of the record you want to search.

A sample assignment topic is:

Discuss the effects of violence in the media on children.

We will be using Boolean searching, truncation and wildcards so if you are unfamiliar with these concepts, please see the Help with search strategies section at the end of this guide.

In the first box, type violence
In the next search box, type media TV television
In the next box, type child?

Make sure that you change the drop-down menus on the left to Any Keywords instead of Title and make sure AND is selected between each row. For the second row, change the all of these drop-down menu to any of these. This will find at least one of the words media or TV or television. Do NOT type OR between these three words as you can in other databases and the library catalogue. If you do, Libraries Australia will include 'or' as one of your keywords.
If you know what type of material you are looking for, tick the relevant box or, if you know when it was published, select a publication range from the When Published drop-down menu.
The Where Held section will locate items in particular states and either only in Curtin Library or only libraries outside of Curtin. Ticking the following boxes should therefore give you these results:

√in my library = items held at Curtin.
√ in my library and √ WA = items held either at Curtin or another WA library.
√ not in my library = items not held at Curtin.
√ not in my library and √ WA = items not held at Curtin or in WA.

(Note: Although you may wish to select only WA items, interstate items may still appear in your search.)
If you wish, you can click on Select databases and choose to search international catalogues as well.
Click Search.
The number of items you have found will also be shown which will give you an idea if you need to refine your search. To the left of your search results are the edit query and save query options. Click on the Saved Queries tab to see the list of queries you have saved.

You can sort your list of results by Author's Surname, Title or Date by clicking on the Sort by drop-down menu.

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Step 3: Locating the item and using document delivery

Locating the item

When you look at your list of search results, you will notice that after each record there are brackets containing the number of libraries that hold the item e.g.(at 10 libraries). Click the Get this item button to see the list of locations for the item.
Each library that holds the item will have an Expand button next to their name. If you click on this, you will be given the option to go the library's website or catalogue. Make sure you check out the Will supply to libraries link which will let you know that particular library's inter-lending policy and if they are willing to lend the item you require to other libraries.
Click on Further information relating to this library for information regarding that library's policy, opening hours and information regarding their collection.

Library Information screen

Please Note: The link Request this item from the library's catalogue will NOT allow you to request the book directly from that library. You will need to request the item via Curtin Library's Document Delivery service.

Document Delivery

Once you have found an item you want to borrow, you may choose to put in a request using Document Delivery. Curtin staff, postgraduates, fourth year honours and distance students are eligible for this service and there is a fee involved. Please see the Document Delivery webpage for more details.

Suggest a Book

If you find an item that you feel should be in Curtin Library's collection, then you may Suggest a Book.

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Step 4: Searching for various types of material

As you have seen, Libraries Australia gives you the opportunity to search many different types of references by ticking the relevant boxes. Books, journals, conference proceedings, theses and manuscripts are just some of the references you can search for.

Searching for a Book:

Search for the title Liverpool of the South Seas, making sure you select as a phrase from the drop-down menu. If you don't select this, it will search for each word individually.
Tick Books. Restrict the search to WA and in my library to find the book either at Curtin or another WA library. It be more convenient to see if the book is at Curtin first before looking interstate. Click Search.
You should get two results. After the brief bibliographic details, the first record should say (at 25 libraries) and then second should say (at 5 libraries including your library). Click on Get this item for the second record as this has found the item at Curtin.
In the At Your Library tab, you can link to the Curtin library catalogue and website and find out about our inter-library loan policy.
If you click on the At Other Libraries tab you will notice that although the search was restricted to WA libraries only, interstate libraries are still listed. Click on the first record that had 25 libraries holding the item and you will see that UWA, Murdoch, ECU and the State Library of WA are listed. It is recommended that you still check all holdings to get a thorough idea of which libraries hold the item.

Searching for a Manuscript:

Try searching for a manuscript by Elizabeth Jolley by selecting Author from the drop-down menu, typing in Elizabeth Jolley and searching as a phrase. Tick Manuscripts then Search.
You should get around 3 results. To get more, change Author to Any Keywords and the results will include manuscripts that Elizabeth Jolley has contributed to.

Searching for a Journal:

You can search for journals by title or keywords. Like in the Curtin catalogue, you can only search for a journal title, not an article title.

Searching for a journal title

Select Title, type Journal of Marketing Research and search as a phrase. Tick Journals, select WA and in my library.
Click the Get this item button next to the first record that says (at 38 libraries including your library).
The Online tab allows you to link directly to the database JStor which Curtin subscribes to so you can access this journal online.
Click the At Other Libraries tab. Some of the libraries list their holdings so you if are looking for a particular article from this journal, you can see what volumes and issues are available. If they have the journal in print, you can request a photocopy of the article via Document Delivery. It is recommended you go to the catalogue of the library that holds the journal for a more detailed list of their holdings.

Searching for journals by keywords

Select Any Keywords, type economics finance and choose all of these. Tick Journals and Search.
If you get too many results, try changing Any Keywords to Title to find journals with those terms in their title.

Searching for a Conference Proceeding:

You can search for both Australian and international conference proceedings by a particular organisation or by searching on a topic.

Searching for conference proceedings by organisation

In the Advanced Search screen, select Author, type in Australian Society of Accountants, search as a phrase, tick Conference, in WA libraries, then Search.

Searching for conference proceedings on a topic

Select Subject, type in mechanical engineering and search as a phrase.
If you want to search international databases, you can click the Select databases button and tick as many boxes as you wish. On the left hand side of the page it will say how many results are from each database and there is the option to view the results from just one of the selected databases.

Searching for a Thesis:

Searching for theses by title

Select Title, type in Kimberley schools: a search for success, search as a phrase and tick Theses that are in my library. This is a Curtin thesis that is available online.

Searching for theses on a topic

Search for rural AND youth by Any Keywords and tick Theses.

Generally, theses are not available for loan but must be purchased. Contact Document Delivery for details.

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Step 5: Online ordering

Libraries Australia also gives you the option of ordering the item for yourself by providing links to online bookshops.

After you have clicked the Get this item, click on the At Other Suppliers tab.
There are a number of options but, for example, choose Buy through an online bookshop.
This will give you the option to order online through bookshops such as Amazon or Angus and Robertson. You will then have to search that bookshop's website to see if you can order the book from them.

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Step 6: Saving, printing, emailing and exporting to EndNote

Saving

Tick the records you wish to save. You can do this one-by-one or there are Select all and Deselect all options above the list. Click Save and a message will pop up in red saying how many records have been saved.
To view the list of records, go to the Saved Records tab.

NOTE: Currently there is a problem with the Saved Records section displaying other Curtin users' saved results besides your own. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.

Printing

Tick the records to be printed and click Print for a printer-friendly version.
Choose which version you wish to print, click Go, then press print from the toolbar.

Emailing

Tick the records to be emailed, then press Email.
Type in your email address (or that of a friend), any notes and select a format.
Click Go and you will get a message letting you know the selected records have been emailed successfully.

Exporting to EndNote

Tick a record, press Download, choose RIS (e.g. for EndNote) format, click Go and save the record (records.txt) to the desktop.
Open your EndNote library and go to File/Import.
From the Import Option drop-down menu, choose Reference Manager (RIS).
Click the Choose File button, select records.txt and Open. Then click Import.
The reference will appear separately in your EndNote library. Double click on it to check that the information has been placed in the correct fields. To merge the new reference with the rest of the library, go to References/Show All References.

For help with EndNote you might like to look at our Step-by-Step Guide or View-it Tutorial.

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Help with search strategies

For this guide, you will be searching for journal articles on this sample assignment topic:

Discuss the effects of violence in the media on children.

You will need to search for articles that discuss all of the main concepts in this topic. Exclude words that are not likely to be useful, for instance, the words "discuss" and "effects" are likely to be used in so many articles that they are redundant as search terms. Focus on the words that are specific to your topic.

What are the main ideas or concepts of this topic?
violence media children

What are some other keywords that describe these same ideas?
violence                   media                  children
                               television             child
                               TV                       child's

How can we use these concepts or keywords in searching?

To get the best results from a database search, you have to follow some basic rules. Most databases use Boolean logic, which is a simple set of rules used to combine search terms and develop precise search queries. In Boolean logic, the words AND and OR have special meanings.

You use the word AND to search for references containing all the search terms.

For example: violence and media and children

You use the word OR if you want to search for references containing either one term or the other.

For example: media or television or TV

For more on this, go to InfoTrekk and read Trek 1: Analysing a topic and Trek 2: Finding keywords.

Please Note: Most databases let you type the Boolean operators AND and OR between your search terms but in Libraries Australia you will need to use the drop-down menus to the right of the search boxes and all of these for your AND terms and any of these for your OR terms.

e.g. violence media children all of these - this will find look for items containing all three terms.

media TV television any of these - this will find at least one of these terms.

This is outlined in Step 2: Advanced search

The use of truncation and wildcards help simplify the search process. For example truncating the word children with a ? (i.e. child?), it will pick up children, childhood and child in one search.

Wildcards are useful when considering the different spellings of a word e.g. color or colour. If the letter in question is replaced with a # (i.e. colo?r) the computer will pick up both spellings of the word.

Please note: Truncation and wildcard operators vary from database to database and you may need to check which symbol is used for the particular database you are searching. Libraries Australia uses the ? for truncation and the # for a wildcard but many databases (including the Curtin library catalogue) use * for truncation and ? for a wildcard. Check the database's Help section.

We hope you now feel more confident about searching Libraries Australia for your own topics. If you are unsure, librarians can help you get started and develop effective search strategies to find the information you need.

If you need more help with information searching on Libraries Australia or other databases please contact the Library Enquiries Desk.

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