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OneSearch: Instructions

About OneSearch

One Search LogoOneSearch lets you search books, articles and other items found at MPC Library in one location.  OneSearch has been implemented at 110 California Community Colleges and it is the same platform at all of the California State University Libraries.  

Key benefits to this new system include account sign in, course reserves searching, and more options to refine your search.

Start a Search

Screenshots showing how to do a simple search on OneSearch from MPC Library homepage. Click in search box, type keyword, and press the search button.

  • From MPC Library's Homepage, use the search box just below the OneSearch logo to type in keywords for your topic.  
  • Do a basic search to find items by keyword, title, subject or author.
  • While the library building is closed, OneSearch will search MPC's "Online Resources" by default.  Select to change the search to "Books & Media at MPC Library", "Course Reserves", or "Everything" using the drop-down menu next to the search box.
  • Select "SEARCH".

Advanced Search

For advanced searching options, click on the "Advanced Search" found just below the OneSearch search box on MPC Library's homepage.

Screenshot of the basic search box found on the MPC Library Website. Circle and arrow pointing towards the Advanced Search found under the search box.

 

Advanced Search gives you more options to refine your search. "+Add a New Line" creates more search boxes to add new search terms.

Screenshot of advanced search. Categories include Search for online resources, books and media at MPC Library, Course Reserves, everything, Material type, language, and dates. Two search boxes available.

 

Refine your topic using these advanced search options. Find more information about these options using the tabs above. 

  • Search For
  • Any Field
  • And, Or & Not 
  • Limit by Material Type, Language & Date 

Search For:

Screenshot of the search for option found on the advanced search screen.

While the library building is closed, OneSearch will search "Online Resources" by default.  Select a button to limit the search to Books & Media at MPC Library, Course Reserves, or Everything in MPC's collection.

Books & Media at MPC Library: Books, DVDs, CDs, and other physical items that the library owns.

Online Resources: eBooks, electronic journal articles, and other online resource found in MPC's collection.

Course Reserves: Textbooks and other class materials.

Any Field:

Screen shot of a dropdown menu with options including Any field, Title, author creator, subject, ISBN and ISSN.

Before each search box is a dropdown menu, "Any field".  From this menu you can search by:

  • any field (Keyword Search)
  • title
  • author/creator
  • subject
  • ISBN
  • ISSN

And, Or & Not:

screen shot of a drop down menu with And, or and not as the three options.In Advanced Search you can also set up searches using Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) to narrow or expand your search options.  These operators connect the keywords in each search box to each other.

  • And - Narrows the results and tell OneSearch that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records.
  • Or - Connects two or more similar concepts (synonyms) and broaden your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records.
  • Not - Excludes words from your search and narrows your search, telling the database to ignore concepts that may be implied by your search terms.

Limit Type, Language & Date:

A gif demonstrating and clicking on the side search features including Material Type, Language, Start Date and End Date drop down menus.

Refine your search using the right-hand dropdown menu options.  These options narrow your search by:

  • Types (Formats such as books, images and film)
  • Languages
  • Start & End Date (publication or creation dates)

Search Results & Library Items

From a search results page, the list of results is located in the middle of the page with the number of results above it.  On the left are options that may be clicked on to refine the search.  Other features on the results page include:

  • A short overview of your topic
  • Indication of material type (book, article, video, etc.)
  • Availability and location of items
  • How to cite, email, save, etc. each result listed

 

Screenshot of OneSearch Search Results. After pressing search, on left side find refine your results. In the middle for each results find about your topic, number of results, material type, availability, cite, email and save options.

 

Available At: Physical items such as books will indicate a location and a call number after the words "Available at...".  The call number is the letter and number combination in parentheses and should be written down to find the matching call number on the item's spine.

Access Online: Electronic articles and eBooks are accessible by clicking on "Available Online".  If off campus, you will be prompted to log in using your Lobos Apps information.

 

Screen shot of two library items found in One Search. Two Circles around the location to find the items. One available online and the other through the Main Stacks of the library.

Library Account

Screen shot of the quick links located on the library's homepage. Mouse clicking My Library Account option

From MPC Library's homepage, access your account by logging in using your Lobos Apps information.  Go to "My Library Account" found under the "Quick Links" option.

By logging in, you can:

  • View what is currently checked out on your account and due dates
  • Renew items that are not over 30 days overdue
  • View personal account information the library has for you
  • Add items and queries to your "My Lists" for later use

Look for a thumb tackImage of a thumb tack.to add items and queries to your "My Lists" for later use!

Course Reserves

A moving gif depicting being able to search in the Onesearch that you can search for textbook title, instructor's name and class name to find course reserves. Use the drop down menu to select course reserves.

Many textbooks and other class materials are kept at the circulation desk by instructors for students to check out for a limited time. Search for what the library has in course reserves using OneSearch by:

  • Instructor's Name
  • Class Name
  • Book Title

Go to the library's homepage and use the OneSearch search box to get started.

 

MPC's Online Collection in OneSearch

Screen shot of onesearch's result page, limit to Online ResourcesWhile the library building is closed, as a default, OneSearch will limit to the online collection (eBooks and electronic journal articles).  Other ways to refine your search results, including the online collection, are found on the results page under "Refine your results" (left side).

Use your Lobo Apps Username & Password to get access to full-text information.