Using the search features

The default selection of the Quick Search is to search for products in all formats, but you can also search for catalogues or return matches that are specifically print or digital products. Click the dropdown list to choose the type of Quick Search you want to run.

The ISBN List search below the search bar can return matches for a list of up to 1000 ISBNs.

By default, the Quick Search box is set to look for matches for your search terms across title, subtitle, contributor, series, subjects, publisher, and imprint. The search returns matches showing the newest titles first. You can change the sort order of the titles, set a number of titles to display per page, and when you are logged in you can Export the title list to Excel or add the list of titles to a catalogue.

CataList no longer limits results to only forthcoming and available titles, so you can now easily see if titles have been postponed or cancelled. If you want to limit the result set, you can use the refine tools to filter the list of results to only the titles you are interested in. See the Refine results section for more information.

When Catalogues is selected as the search type, CataList will look for matches for your search terms in catalogue name, company and imprint names. If you keep track of your catalogues by ID number, you can also search for catalogues by their ID number.

The ISBN List search returns the titles that match the ISBNs that you enter into the box.

To search using a list of ISBNs

1. In the navigation bar, click ISBN List. A search box displays.

2. Enter up to 1000 ISBNs.

3. Click Submit to run your search.

CataList returns the matching items in the system. By default, book matches are presented in the same sequence as your original list. ISBNs with no match in CataList will not display.

You can sort and filter these list results as desired, and when you are logged into the system you can also export them from the system or add them to a catalogue.

Click on any image to view at full size

You can access the Advanced Search at any time using the Advanced Search link below the Quick Search box. Clicking the link brings you to the Search page, with the Advanced Search form open.

If you run a Quick Search for book results, you'll also see the Advanced Search bar at the top of the search result page. You can click the bar to expand the Advanced Search form at any time on that page.

The basics of running an advanced search:

• Set up the parameters of your search and click Run Search.

  • Once your search returns, you can reopen the form to refine the parameters of your search. Alternately, use the refine boxes in the left sidebar to refine your result set.

• Click Clear All to clear all parameters from the form and start a fresh search.

At the top left of the form, use the text boxes to find text matches according to your selected data field. The search results rely on publishers providing names and series data consistently across titles.

When you’ve set your parameters, click Run Search at the bottom left of the form.

Boolean search examples

Use the ‘Add another parameter’ button and the AND, OR and NOT operators to expand or limit results:

• Use the AND operator to match across indexes. For example, books with a subject containing the word “Crafts” AND a distributor “Scholastic”

• Use the OR operator to find books where either criterion is met. For example, where either Robert Munsch OR Michael Martchenko is a contributor

• Use the NOT operator to exclude a subset of potential matches.

You can limit your result set to specific BISAC or Thema subjects.

To select subject codes

1. Select your preferred subject standard, BISAC or Thema, and click Add/Edit Subjects under the Search subject codes text box. This opens a lookup box and the subject tree.

2. Use the lookup box to find matches for your text in the tree. You can enter the subject text or its code.

3. Use the +/- buttons to expand or collapse sections, and the checkbox to indicate your selections. For example, you can open the Non-fiction box, open the Cooking category, and make selections from the different styles of cooking, cookware, and other relevant subtopics.

4. Select a parent subject category to select all of its subcategories. For example, selecting ‘GARDENING / Climatic’ automatically selects the subcategories Desert, General, Temperate, and Tropical.

   1. Deselect one or more subcategories by unchecking the box next to the subcategories you wish to exclude.

5. Click Save.

The subject codes are populated in the subject search box.

To edit your subject selections

To edit your subject selections or to clear them without clearing the rest of the Advanced Search form, click Add/Edit Subjects to reopen the subject tree, where you can modify or clear your selections.

The filters section includes two columns, one where you can limit results with simple opt-in checkboxes or, in the second column, you can set specific range parameters and multi-select criteria from the dropdown lists.

Availability

The availability filters limit your search to a specific type of availability.

Return only

The “Return only” filters limit your results to various other checkbox options.

Ranged search filters

The publication and price range filters return only titles within your specified range.

Multi-select dropdown lists

The dropdown list filters let you select multiple format, audience, or language options.

By default, search results return in a scroll format, with the cover image displayed alongside the book’s bibliographic data.

In this view, you can:

• Click the title or cover image to navigate to the full title detail page;

• Click an author or series name to launch a search for more titles by that author or in that series;

• See which catalogues include these titles; and

• Add single titles to catalogues and access links to NetGalley when galleys exist for the title (available for logged-in users only).

When exporting from the scroll view, all returned titles will be exported.

Use the icons at the top right of your search result items (in the red box in the image at left) to select a preference for how CataList presents your search results. Simply click an icon to switch your view. When you are logged in to CataList, the system remembers your last selection and displays future searches in your selected format.

The search results grid view allows you to see more results at once in a more compact layout.

In this view, you can:

• Sort your results ascending or descending by clicking on any column header;

• Use the Customize Columns button to set the columns you want to see on this page (available for logged-in users only); and

• Drag the column headers to reorganize the columns (available for logged-in users only). The system will remember your column settings for future search results.

In grid view, you can also use the checkboxes in the first column to select and act on titles returned in your search. Again, you must be logged in to CataList to access this feature. Select all titles or specific titles, and send your selections to a custom catalogue or export them from the system.

Book results

When searching for book products, you can narrow down your results by applying a variety of optional filters:

• Availability — Filter your results according to the title’s Product Availability code.

• Publishing Status — CataList now returns all titles in the system, but you can limit this filter to only forthcoming or available titles.

• Publication Date — Click on the start or end date to limit results to only titles that publish within a specific date range.

• Audience — Easily limit to Juvenile, Young Adult or General trade with one click.

• Thema Subject — Limit by Thema subjects. You can select multiple subjects, and drill down through subject levels.

• Subject — Limit by BISAC subjects. You can select multiple subjects, and drill down through subject levels.

• Price Range — Use the sliders to adjust the top and bottom limits for Canadian retail prices to your search results.

• Contributor Location — Contributor location allows you to limit your search results to only books with Canadian contributors. Publishers are increasingly providing Contributor region codes and location details – where we have this data, you can filter down further by province!

• Geographical Region — Where publishers have provided BISAC regional codes or Thema geographical qualifiers, you can use these region filters to narrow the results set by topic or setting location of the books.

• Format — Filter your results by Product Form.

• Product Form Detail — Choose the detailed product form you would like to see in the search results.

• Accessibility — Limit results to digital products for which publishers have supplied information on accessibility features.

• Language — Limit results by the language of the text.

• Catalogued by — Applies filters based on the company that added the title to catalogues. If you have Favourites set, you can select 'My Favourites' as an option.

• Canadian Distributor — Filter by the distributor who will fulfil the order in the Canadian market.

• Content Available — Limit the results to matches where excerpts, reading group guides, teacher's guides or other supplementary content is provided.

Catalogue results

When searching for catalogues, you can also refine your catalogue results by several catalogue aspects:

• Catalogue type — Filters to only seasonal or only custom catalogues

• Catalogued by — Applies filters based on the company that posted the catalogue(s). If you have Favourites set, you can select 'My Favourites' as an option.

• Status — Allows you to include or exclude catalogues based on their draft, published, trade-only or archived status

You can save any type of quick search or advanced search.

1. Run your search to ensure that it returns the results you are looking for. If you want filters to be included in your saved search, use the filters in the advanced search box.

2. After the search results return, click Save Search.

3. Give your search a unique name and click Save.

Your search is saved to your individual CataList account.

You can run a saved search from two places: the global navigation bar and the Manage Saved Searches page.

• Global navigation bar — Click the Saved Searches link and choose the saved search you want to run.

• Managed Saved Searches — Find your saved search on the page and click Run.

Your search returns results according to the search term or criteria that you saved.

Once you have saved a search, you can edit it on the Manage Saved Searches page. You can access this page from your search results or the global navigation bar.

You can perform the following actions on searches that you saved:

• Edit — For quick searches, you can change the search name and search term. For advanced searches, you can change the search name. If you want to change the search parameters, you need to open the Advanced Search form.

• Copy — Create a duplicate of any saved searches. It will have the same name as the original, but with “Copy” appended to it.

• Delete — Delete a saved search from your account.

• Run — Run your saved search.

For advanced searches that you saved, you can change the search criteria and save it again or save your new changes as a new advanced search.

To edit a saved advanced search

1. Run your saved advanced search. The results return according to your saved parameters.

2. Make your changes to the search parameters and run the search again. The sidebar shows that you have unsaved changes to your saved search.

3. Click Save Search, then do one of the following:

   • Click Save to overwrite your search’s old criteria with the new ones.

   • Click Save as new search to save your search’s current criteria under a new name. Your old search is unaffected.

Your advanced search is saved with your new changes.