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The OPAC & reading lists

The OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) is the library's public face. Students, parents and staff search the entire collection from the portal, place holds, and follow course reading lists – no librarian needed.

Where to find it — App drawer → Library → Circulation → Reading History.

The public catalogue

The OPAC is reached from the portal under Library. It is read-only for the public except for holds and renewals on a logged-in account.

Searching

  • Simple search – one box matching title, author, ISBN, subject and keywords at once.
  • Advanced search – combine fields (author AND subject), filter by collection, language or year.
  • Browse – walk the shelf virtually by Dewey class or subject heading.

Each result shows live availability: how many copies exist, how many are on the shelf right now, and the shelf location so a reader can walk straight to it.

Acting on a result

  1. A logged-in student can place a hold on any title whose copies are all out.
  2. They can renew their current loans, subject to the renewal limit and any waiting holds.
  3. They can save titles to a personal bookbag for later.
Library catalogue and OPAC
The same catalogue that powers the desk also feeds the public OPAC.

Course reading lists

A reading list ties catalogue titles to a course or subject so students see exactly what their teacher expects them to read. Lists are built by librarians or teaching staff.

  1. Open Catalogue → Reading lists → New.
  2. Name the list and link it to a course, class or subject.
  3. Add titles from the catalogue, tagging each as Essential, Recommended or Background.
  4. Publish – the list now appears on the OPAC and inside the course page in the learning area.
Tip – When a reading list is published, the library can pre-emptively move essential titles into a short-loan Reserve collection so demand spreads across many students at exam time.
Important – Only catalogued titles can appear on a reading list. If a teacher requests a book the library does not hold, catalogue it first (even as an ‘on order’ record) so the link resolves and students can place holds.
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