Home>>Catalogue Help

CATALOGUE HELP

Introduction to Whekenui

Whekenui is Wellington City Libraries' CARLweb catalogue. You can search Whekenui for books, magazines, CDs, cassettes, DVDs, videos, talking books, CD-ROMs and e-books. You can also view your library card information, such as items checked out, reserves and overdue charges. You can use Whekenui both at the library and from computers outside the library, by connecting to our website at www.wcl.govt.nz.

Whekenui is named after the great octopus that Kupe was chasing when he discovered Aotearoa. The story tells of the octopus succumbing just past Wellington, off the coast of Marlborough.

Recommended browsers

Some browsers do not support all the features used in our Library Catalogue. We recommend:

  • Internet Explorer 5 or higher * Netscape 4.76 or higher * Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or higher

How to search : the Basic search screen

The simplest way to search is to enter the author, title or some subject words and click the "Search" button. The software will automatically execute your search term(s) in the keyword, name and subject indexes, and also allow you to browse titles, subjects and author names. The catalogue is not "case sensitive" - you may use upper case (capital) or lower case (small) letters.

You can also select your search type from the drop-down box. Enter a word or words into the box, then select from the search options.

Which search option should I use?

Try Keyword for a general opening search, or when you have specific search terms which won't result in too many 'hits'.
If you try a Keyword search and the results aren't useful, try searching by subject, or search for an item that you know is good and use the subject headings in that item's record.

If you know the title:
Use Title browse if you know how the title begins or if you want to browse similar titles, e.g. 'harry potter and the'.
Use Title keyword if you don't know all the words in the title or their order, e.g. 'parachute color'. Please note: This option searches all title fields including the main title, variant, original language and alternative titles and also titles of chapters which may be listed in contents notes.

If you know the author:
Use Author or name browse if you know the surname and want to browse through a list of names to find the right one. Type in the surname (last name), then a comma, then the first name or beginning letters, e.g. 'smith, w'.
Use Author or name (keyword) if you want a list of all the items by a specific person and there isn't anyone else with that name, e.g. 'douglas coupland'.

If you know the subject:
Use Subjects (keyword) if you don't know the order of the subject heading.
Use Subject browse if you know how the subject heading begins or want to browse through the headings to find the best, e.g. 'world war'.

Or try:
Series browse - use to find items published in a series, e.g. Criterion collection DVDs and Lonely Planet books.
Call number browse - search the collection as it is shelved. If you find a good book, see what other items are on the subject by typing in the number, including the decimal point.
ISBN/ISSN - ISBN & ISSN numbers are printed on books and magazines when published; only use this when you want a specific edition of an item.

How to search: the Advanced search screen

The Advanced search option allows you to limit your searches by Age level, Format, Date, Branch and Availability. You get to the Advanced screen by clicking on the 'Advanced search option' on the left hand side of the Basic search page.

Age level - select 'Children's" to only search for items in the children's collection.

Format - select Magazine, Large print, Compact disc, Cassette, Video or DVD to search within these categories.

Date - fill in one of these boxes to narrow your search.

To the top

Search tips

Limiting options:
Limit Keyword searches to children's items in by adding 'qjuvenile' to your search terms.
Note: you can limit Keyword searches to these formats in Basic search by adding 'qmagazine', 'qlargeprint', 'qcompactdisc', 'qcassette', 'qvideo' or 'qdvd' to your search terms.
Note: you can limit Keyword searches by date in Basic search with "[d=xxxx]", "[d<xxxx]" (less than) or "[d>xxxx]" (greater than), where xxxx is the year.

Limit by branch and availability
If you only want items that are at your branch or on the shelf right now, try limiting by branch and availability. Type in your keywords or author name; click 'Yes' if you are only interested in items on the shelf at the moment, then select your branch.

Boolean searching
Expand your search by using OR between search terms, e.g. 'teenagers or adolescents'; 'dogs or canines'

Narrow your search by using the words AND or BUT NOT, e.g. 'mountains and geology'; 'viruses but not computers'

Use brackets for complex boolean searches, e.g. 'apples (cookery or farming)'

Proximity searching
You can use proximity and adjacency 'operators' to specify how close your search words are to each other, and in what order. These operators will work for title keyword, subject keyword, series keyword, and author or name keyword searches only.

Use (w) to specify that words must be next to each other (adjacent) and in the order, e.g. cold (w) fusion retrieves cold fusion
Use (#w) or (w#) to specify that words must be separated by no more than the chosen number of words, e.g., five words apart or (5w) or (w5), and in the order specified. The (w) operator may be preceded or followed by a number from 1-99. For example, 'balance (1w) trade' retrieves balance of trade
'Governor (3w) Grey' retrieves Governor Grey and Governor George Grey

Use (n) to specify that words must be adjacent, but in any order, e.g. Edmund (n) Hillary retrieves Edmund Hillary and Hillary, Edmund
The (#n) or (n#) operator specifies that words be separated by no more than the specified number of words, e.g., five words apart, or (5n) or (n5). The words can appear in any order. The (n) operator may be preceded or followed by a number from 1-99. For example, 'cost (1n) benefit' retrieves cost to benefit, benefit to cost, cost-benefit, benefit/cost ; 'hillary (n3) clinton' retrieves Hillary Clinton; Clinton, Hillary Rodham; and Clinton, Bill and Hillary

Truncation
You can use an asterisk * with part of a subject or name to expand the search. This also helps if you don't know the exact spelling of an author or subject. The * character may be used at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a word. For example:
'psych* child*' will find items on child psychology or children and psychiatry
'tschai*' will find items by or about the composer Tschaikovsky
'*house' will find items on house and doghouse
'h*se' will find items on house and hose

Wildcard searching
You can use a question mark ? with part of a subject or name to expand a search. The wildcard character can be used at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a word. For example:
'transport?' will find items on transport and transports whereas 'transport*' (see truncation) will retrieve transport, transports, transportation, etc.
'comput???' will retrieve records containing compute, computed, computer, and computers, but not computation, computerize, etc.
' wom?n' retrieves women and woman

Shortcut keys

You can use quick search terms in instead of the drop-down menus - they are quicker, and good if you get sore wrists from mouse use. Examples: '//wvanity fair qmagazine' or '//wqdvd qjuvenile'.



Search type


Quick search
Keyword*//W
Name browse//NB/
Name keyword//N
Name keyword (results in list of name headings)//NW/
Name/Word//Nname/word
Title browse//T
Title keyword//TW/
Subject browse//SB/
Subject keyword//SD/
Subject keyword (results in a list of subject headings)//SW/
Series browse//S
Series keyword//ED/
Series keyword (results in list of series headings)//EW/
Call number browse//C
ISBN/ISSN//I

All keyword searches result in a list of titles, except where noted.
* Remember, keyword search doesn't search author fields.

To the top

I just want something good to read!

  • Find good fiction by searching the catalogue with Fiction Genres - the main genres are listed on our Fiction subject help page. * Find reviews of our most recent non-fiction and fiction in MyLibrary, and click on the books that look interesting to see if they are on the shelf. * New fiction, DVDs and Videos are listed each month on our Booklists page. * Our Fiction popular topic page features recommended books, as do many other Popular topics pages. * If you want a book similar to one you've read, look up the item you enjoyed in our catalogue and click on the subject or author headings to see what similar items we hold. * Check out our displays of new books and recommended titles, or browse through the 'Returned Today' stands to see what everyone else has been reading.

Magazine searching

You can search for magazines just like books - try a Title browse, Keyword or Title keyword search. You can restrict a Keyword search to magazines using the format term 'qmagazine', e.g. 'gardening qmagazine' will bring up all of our gardening magazines and none of the books.

For further advice on searching for magazines, visit our Magazine pathfinder. There are lists of our magazines available on the website and at most subject enquiries desks. Please ask for assistance if you cannot locate the title - with 100s of magazines, it can be difficult!

Please reserve magazines through the magazine online reserve form rather than through the catalogue. This will ensure that the correct issue is reserved for you.

To search for magazine articles, try our online databases at mygateway.info.

Search results page

After a keyword search you may get a Results page that looks like this:
58 Keyword matches
4 Author or name matches
47 Subject matches
Browse titles begining with "your keywords"
Browse subjects beginning with "your keywords"
Browse names beginning with "your keywords"

You can click on the Keyword, Author or Subject matches to see a list of titles, or click on any of the Browse links to browse the respective index. You can search again by clicking New Search in the the upper right corner.
Note: if your search did not retrieve any results in the Keyword, Author or Subject indexes, you will not see matches on this page.

Title list

The Title List is a display of your search results. From this page you can view the Full Record of an item (including its shelf number) by clicking on it, use the Personal List Manager, Review search history and Display checked records.

Change the order of your search results
The default order of the Title List is reverse chronological order - newest items are first. If you have fewer than 1000 results, you can choose to sort your search results by author or title.

Display checked records
If you want to see the Full records of several items all together on one page, check the box next to each and click Display checked records.

You can search again by clicking New Search in the upper right corner.

To the top

How to use the Full Record

To view a Full Record, click on the linked title.

From this page you can view the Place a reserve, use the Personal List Manager, Review your search history, Email or Print the record.

Information in the Full Record includes:

  • Title * Author (click on their name to see all their works) * Publisher (make sure it's the edition you want) * Paging and size (items over 28 cm may be shelved in a Large Book section) * Subjects (click on a subject heading to see what other items we have on this subject)

Where to find it:

  • Branch - click on the branch or collection for directions, or visit our Branches page * Which floor, Central Library only:
  • GRDFL - Ground Floor * 1STFL - First Floor * 2NDFL - Second Floor
  • Date
  • If the item is on loan, it is due back this date * If the item is available, it was returned on this date
  • Call Number - the dewey number or collection name helps you locate the item * Status:
  • Available - the item is in the library (but may not be shelved yet) * On loan - the item is on loan to a library member * Not for loan - the item is only available for use in the library * In processing - the item is new and not available yet; ask at an Enquiries desk * Reserves Shelf - the item is held for another borrower who has reserved it * In Transit for Reserve - the item has been sent to another library to fill a reserve * In transit to shelf - the item has been returned, perhaps to another library; ask at an Enquiries desk * Missing - the item is not available anymore * No status information was found for this title - the item is lost.

To view another record, either return to the Title List, click on Next or Previous at the top and bottom of the page, or fill in the search box at the bottom of the page.

How to locate items on the shelf

A map of Central Library is available here.

  • Fiction is shelved alphabetically under the author's surname. There are separate sections for Mysteries, Science fiction & fantasy and Short story collections. Central library also has a Graphic novel collection.
  • Non-fiction is shelved by Dewey number. At Central, adult non-fiction 000-899 is on the First floor, and 900-999 is on the Second floor.
  • Biographies are arranged alphabetically by the subject's surname. Check the catalogue in case the biography you are after has a Dewey number.
  • If an item is 28 cm or taller, look for it in the Large book section at Central, Miramar and Newtown. Other libraries shelve large and normal-sized items together.
  • There are separate Reference collections at every library. Catalogue records say "Ref" at the beginning of an item's Call number, and 'Not for loan' under the Status. More information about Central collections is available here.

But it isn't there!

  • Check the size in case it is 28 cm or over, and check if Large Books are shelved separately at your branch. Also, some smaller books get shelved with the Large books by mistake. * Check when the item was returned - items returned during the past few days may be on Returned Today shelves or on shelving trolleys. * Check display shelves. * Ask a staff member for assistance, sometimes a second pair of eyes helps!

To the top

Placing a reserve

Find the item you want in the catalogue and click on it to see the Full Record page (with full title, subject and location information). Click the Place a reserve button on the left side of the Full Record page. You will be prompted for your Borrower information, then taken to the Branch Pickup page. Select the branch, change the date if you want the reserve to begin or end at a specific date, and click Place reserve. We will notify you by telephone or mail when the item is ready to collect.
Please note that a fee of $2 applies to each reserve placed by adult borrowers ($1 for Community Service cardholders). If you select 'Courier' as your pickup branch, additional fees will be payable.

Reservation problems

If your reservation did not work,

  • Check that you typed in the correct card number and name. Contact us if you are unsure that we have your current details. * Sometimes there is a temporary glitch with the catalogue; try placing your reserve again. * Fill in the online reservation form and we'll place the reserve for you.

Review your previous searches

To redo a previous search, click on 'Review search history' on the left-hand side of the screen. Locate the search you want to repeat and click on the link.

Personal list manager

To reserve several items simultaneously or mark records to return to, you can use the Personal list manager.

When in an item record, click on 'Add this record to list'
When in a Title list page, select items by checking the boxes and then click 'Add checked records from this page to list'

Click 'View personal list' anytime you want to see your selections. You can reserve some or all of the items at any stage.

Note: the Personal list manager will not save your list beyond this session - if you leave the computer idle for several minutes, it will disappear.

Searching the catalogue in Māori, Samoan or Chinese

To view the catalogue in either Māori, Samoan or Chinese, click on the appropriate button at the top of the page. The catalogue instructions and buttons will be in your choice of language, but item information will still be in English.

Check your details

You can access information on your loans, overdue items, reserves and money owing. Either click on 'Check your details' on the catalogue menu screen, or 'Check your library card' at the bottom of all catalogue screens. Then type in your library card number (e.g. C1234567) and surname. Click 'submit query'.

  • On loan: what you have out and when it is due back. * Overdues: your overdue items. * Reserves: what you have on reserve. 'Request pending' means the item is not available yet; 'Ready for pickup' means you can collect it. You can cancel a reserve by selecting the title, then clicking 'Cancel this reserve'. * Charges: information on charges such as overdue, interlibrary returns and reserve charges. * Borrower status: if it says 'Restricted', you may have money owing or we may require some information from you. Please ask at your local library.

Quicksearch

An easy way to browse our catalogue is to use the Quicksearch links. We have set up many popular searches such as DVDs by branch, music and fiction genres, and graphic novels.

Subject help

To help you locate library material, we have designed subject guides for many of the most popular and complex areas. Visit our Subject help pages for information on topics such as Annual reports, Business directories, Family history, Magazines and Newspapers.

To the top

Library Catalogues | About the Site | Copyright