Your Library’s Online Catalogue, found at mycatalogue.tbpl.ca, or from links on our Web site (www.tbpl.ca), is a versatile tool you can use to find items in the Library’s collection, manage your Library card account and more. The best thing about our Online Catalogue is that it’s available 24/7 from any computer, tablet, smart phone or other device with internet access and a browser.
When you arrive at mycatalogue.tbpl.ca you will see two drop-down menus beside the search box. The first is for the type of search you want to do. You can search by title, author, subject, keyword, call number, series title and ISBN (International Standard Book Number). The second drop-down menu allows you to limit your search to location, collection or type of item.
Call number searches are handy if you want to browse a collection. For example our fiction books’ call numbers all start with FIC, followed by the first three letters of the author’s last name. So to browse the fiction section online, do a Call number search for “FIC AAA” and choose “Books only” from the second drop-down menu. Scroll down until you see the first Fiction title, click through to its full record, then “Next” to see the title which would be beside it on the shelf if you were at the Library. You can also use “call number” to browse the DVD collection online. Use the call number “DVD AAA” for fiction titles, and “DVD 000” for non-fiction.
Click the button “My Library Card” in the top menu of the Online Catalogue to log in to your Library Card account. Once you are logged in placing holds is simplified, as you don’t have to enter your Library Card number and PIN for each hold. Also when you are logged in you can manage your Library Card account by viewing what you currently have signed out, renewing items, paying your fines, changing your PIN and updating your email address and phone number. Further, you can opt in to “My Reading History”, which keeps track of items you have signed out, and lets you search for items you have not yet borrowed.
“Preferred Searches” is another useful feature of “My Library Card”. When you are logged in and do a search, you will see the “Save as preferred search” button. This is handy if you tend to search for the same author, subject or keyword often. Once you have saved a search, you can re-run it from “My Library Card” by clicking on that search under “Preferred Searches”. Also, you can click in a box next to the search to “Mark for Email”. Then, when the Library adds an item to its collection which matches your search criteria, you will receive an email. This is a great way to keep informed about new title by your favourite author, on a topic you’re interested in, or our new DVDs.
Speaking of new DVDs, another feature of our Online Catalogue is the “New DVDs, books and more...” section. Find it on the bottom right hand side of the mycatalogue.tbpl.ca home page. Click on the link and you’ll see “Featured Lists” which are updated weekly, and give you access to new and hot items at the Library.
In addition to all these wonderful features, we have an online catalogue just for kids. The Kids’ Catalogue is available from a link on the bottom centre of the mycatalogue.tbpl.ca home page. The Kids’ Catalogue is great for visual learners of all ages as it’s picture-based. You might just recognize someone in one of the pictures! Our staff worked hard to make the pictures relevant to the children of Thunder Bay, and added many categories of local interest.
If you have any questions about our Online Catalogue, please ask!
Joanna Aegard
The "@ Your Library" Column appears in the Sunday edition of the Chronicle Journal newspaper. The Column is written by staff at the Thunder Bay Public Library. Library staff also write for other publications, and those columns will occasionally be posted here as well. This blog helps us share our writing with a broader audience, and provides our readers with a forum for feedback. We welcome your comments!
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