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Library Search User Guide

Instructions for using BGSU's new library search.

Pin Favorites

Library Search uses a pin icon for options to save items and searches. Sign in to your account so that Library Search will remember your saved items for future sessions and to access additional features.

orange drawing of pushpinIn the 'Favorites' area, you can search your saved items, set alerts, manage tags, and export citations.

Individual Citations

Copy to clipboard (single item only): select the quote mark icon (“citation”) to generate a citation in APA, Chicago, or MLA style that you can copy and paste.

screenshot of record item's 'send to' options. This is featuring the citations that are generated for an item in library serach. users can select APA, Chicago, or MLA citation style.

 

Save Library Search records 

To save one record: use the pin icon (“save item(s)”) in the record.

To save multiple records: use the checkboxes in your results list to select items. A pin icon will display at the top of your results list: use this to save all of your selected items.

Note: there is no warning message when unpinning an item!

Pro Tip: Favorites is best used as a short-term option. Citation management software offers more functionality for organizing your materials and generating pre-formatted bibliographies. It also allows you to save items from all over the web, not just Library Search. 


Organize Saved Library Search records with labels

You can use labels to organize your saved items. In the “saved items” area of “Favorites,” you will find options to add labels and to view items associated with one of your labels. You can add more than one label to an item. 

When saving multiple items, you will have the option to add a label to all of them. 

Share a search outside of Library Search

Library Search URLs are durable. 

This means that you can simply copy and paste the URL to save, share, or link to a search.

Save a Search:

  • Save your current search: select “Save Search” (pin icon) that appears at the top of your results after you run the search. You can access your saved searches in “My Favorites.”
  • Review your recent searches: in "My Favorites," under “search history,” you can access the most recent 100 searches you've conducted while signed in.
  • Stop saving searches: under “My Settings,” you can set a toggle to stop automatically saving your recent searches.

Search Alerts - RSS or email

Set an alert to be notified when a new item is added to Library Search that match your search criteria.

  • Under “Saved Searches,” you will find an option to set an RSS or an email alert for each saved search