You can narrow your search results using filters that are shown in the left column of the search results page (or the Filter Results modal when using the mobile interface). Clicking one or more of the options listed will limit your search based on the criteria selected. The number shown in parentheses next to each option indicates the quantity of items available for a given category.

The filters you have selected appear at the top of your search results. You can remove an individual filter by clicking the X for that filter.

Yes. Clicking on several filters will further narrow your results set. For example, choosing Print book as a material type and Fiction as a literary form will limit your results to items that satisfy both criteria.

Using the sort dropdown, which is located to the right of the total number of the search results, it is possible to order your search results in six different ways.

The default sort is by Relevance, which displays your results in order of their relevance to your search criteria. In other words, items that most closely match your criteria are displayed first.

You can also sort by Newest First or Oldest First, which orders your results from most current or oldest publication date.

Choosing to Sort by Author will arrange your results alphabetically by author last name. Likewise, Title sorts alphabetically by Title, omitting leading articles such as "A" and "The".

Date Added will order your results to show the titles most recently added to the library collection first.

The Location filter will limit your search results to the library locations selected. More than one location can be selected.

If you are in a library, that library will show at the top of the Location List, so that you can easily limit your search to items held there.

If you are logged in, your home, preferred, and/or alternate libraries will show at the top of the location list.

Limits your search results to the Material Type selected. For example, DVD or Blu-Ray. You can select multiple material types or a group of material types to include in your search results. To select an entire group of material types, click on the checkbox for that group. For example, clicking the Music checkbox will select Music CD, Music LP/Cassette, and Music Score material types.

Allows you to limit your search results to one of three age groups: Children, Teen, and Adult. These groups are based on shelving locations, so items may fall into multiple categories due to differences in shelving by library locations. Some items may not fall into any category if they are only shelved in general interest locations.

Allows you to limit your search results to either Fiction or Non Fiction material, based on shelving location. Since most of the items shelved specifically as fiction or non-fiction are print books, this filter is effective primarily for print books. Other types of material (i.e. music, video, magazines) are not usually shelved as fiction or non-fiction and are generally not included in this filter.

Allows you to limit your search results according to specific Subject terms. The Subject terms contained in a title's bibliographic record belong to a controlled vocabulary called the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Controlled vocabularies group similar items by subject, which makes them ideal for filtering your search results.

Because this list is designed to be browsed, it contains only a small subset of broad subject terms and not every possible subject is represented here. Combining a keyword search with the use of Subject filters may help narrow your results to a more specific subject.

Limits your search results to materials by a particular Author based on your search term.

Limits your search results to materials available in a specified Language based on your search term.

This filter allows you to select items that have been recently added to the library catalog.

By default, the library catalog does a Keyword search, meaning that it searches for the word or phrase you enter in the search box in any of the information (i.e. title, author, description, notes) in the catalog. You can change the type of search that to search for only specific fields instead, such as Title, Author, Author/Artist/Contributor (helpful for music and video searches), or ISBN. To select one of these alternate search types, or Advanced Search, click the gear icon () just to the right of the magnifying glass icon (), and select a search type from the drop down menu.

If you frequently do the same search, you can save your search so that you can easily rerun it. To save your search, click the gear icon () just to the right of the magnifying glass icon (), and select Save Search from the drop down menu. If you're not already logged in, you will be asked to log in first. You can view and run your saved searches from the Saved Searches page in your Account.

A request is an order for the first available item to be sent to the library you designate as a pickup location. The item will be held for you at that library, and you will receive an email or phone message (depending on your account preferences) that the item it ready to pick up. There are several ways that you can place a request.

• Click the Request button on the Search results
• Click the check box next to an item on a List or in your Book Cart, and at the top of the page, click the On Selected drop down menu and choose Request.

You can see the status of your requests on the Requests page on the Account menu. You can also cancel, freeze, and change the pickup location of your requests on this page.

The library catalog includes econtent items as well as physical material. To locate econtent items, you can filter your search results by material type and select econtent material type (i.e. eBook, OverDrive Listen, OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, Streaming Video), or you can filter by location and select the location Digital Collection.

• Some items can be accessed directly from the library catalog. If this is the case, you will see links to the online version on search results and the details page.
• Econtent items from OverDrive must be checked out before they can be accessed. If this is the case, the search results will display a Check Out button. Once the item is checked out, go to the Checked Out page and click Actions to either download the item or access it online.

When you are logged in, you can access the Account drop down menu at the top right corner of the page. Depending on the device you are using, the Account menu will either be labeled Account, or it will be the icon. You can use the Account menu to see what you have checked out, renew items, download ebooks, view/cancel/freeze your requests, view your reading history, and set your preferences.

As a patron, you have the option to select two Preferred Libraries (in order of preference) where you would like to pick up your requested items. When these choices are specified, your first choice becomes the default pickup location for when you place a request. If you're logged in, your preferred libraries are also used in your search results in the following ways:

• When you Filter Results by location, your preferred libraries show at the top of the list.
• The initial search results screen will indicate if the title is available at your preferred libraries.
• If the item is available at one of your preferred libraries, the Availability Details will show the copies available at your preferred libraries first.

To make these selections, go the Profile page from the main navigation menu. Click on the Preferred Libraries section and make your Preferred and Alternative Library selections. After choosing your preferences from the drop down menus, the catalog will save your settings and refresh the page.

Checked Out lists what you have checked out, when it is due, and how many times it has been renewed. The items are sorted by due date, with the items due soonest listed first. In the left panel, you can choose to show only overdue items, or only items due this week.

You can renew items that you have checked out on the Checked Out page. To go to the Checked Out page, log in at the top right corner of the page. Once you are logged in, click the Account drop down menu at the top right and select Checked Out. You can renew an individual item by clicking the Renew button. To renew multiple items at the same time, click the check box to the left of the items you want to renew, and then click Renew Selected at the top of the page. A popup box will indicate which items have been successfully renewed. An item will not be renewed if another user has requested it, or if there is the maximum number of renewals has been reached. The number of renewals permitted for an item varies by library. You cannot renew items if your library account has a problem, such as an expired card or unpaid fines above a certain amount. The Message Center on your account menu will usually indicate problems with your library account. Please call your local library to find out how to resolve your problem.

To go to the Requests page, log in at the top right corner of the page. Once you are logged in, click the Account drop down menu at the top right and select Requests. The Requests page shows your requests and their status.

• The Pending status means that your request is waiting for an available item.
• The In Transit status mean that an item is on its way to the pickup library.
• Ready for Pickup means your requested item is being held for you at the pickup library.
• Frozen
means that you're a holding your place in the queue of people waiting for this item, but the item won't be held for you until you unfreeze the request and you're the next person in the queue.

If a request is in Pending status, you can Cancel, Freeze, or Change Pickup Location for that request. To do any of these functions, check the box to the left of the request to select the item, and at the top of the page, click the drop down menu labeled On Selected, and click the desired action for the selected requests.

Freezing requests offers a way to avoid having your requested items expire when you are out of town or otherwise unable to them up from the library. If your request reaches the top of the queue while it is frozen, it will be skipped so that requests placed by other patrons can be filled. When you reactivate your request, you will be placed at the front of the queue.

There are two situations in which a request cannot be frozen:

1. The request is more than 255 days old.
2. The request is about to be filled (this means the item is available, on the holdshelf or in transit to the holdshelf.

To freeze a request, go to the Requests page from the main navigation menu. You can freeze requests by checking the appropriate boxes in the Pending section and choosing the Freeze option from the On Selected dropdown.

Lists and Book Cart enable you to save items of interest while you continue to browse the library catalog. These items will remain in your list from session to session. To save an item to a list or your book cart, simply click the Cart/Lists button found to the right of the item on the search results or the item detail page, then select your list or Book Cart from the menu. If you have not already logged in to your account, you will be prompted to enter your library card number and PIN. Once you log in, the item will be added to your list or Book cart.

To view your Lists or Book Cart, log in at the top right corner of the page. Once you are logged in, click the Account drop down menu at the top right and select either Lists or Book Cart. On the Lists page, you can click the name of the list in the left panel to view the contents of the list.

From your list or cart, you can remove or request items you have added. To remove a single item, click the Carts/Lists button, then click the list name to remove the item from that list. To request a single item, click the Request button. It is also possible to remove or request multiple items in your book cart at one time by using the checkboxes to the left and the On Selected button at the top of the page. Book Carts are limited to 300 items, and Lists are limited to 300 items for each list.

You have the option to record the history of items that you have checked out. Reading history can be recorded only for physical items checked out from the library. Ebooks that you have checked out are not included in the reading history. Your checked out items are not recorded in Reading History until you turn it on. To turn it on, go to Reading History , and click the button labeled Enable Reading History. To disable Reading History, you must delete any items in your Reading History, and click Disable Reading History.

The Reading History displays 50 items at a time. To show more items, click Show More at the bottom of the page.

By default, the Reading History is sorted to show the most recently checked out items first. To change the sort to title or author, click the drop down menu at the top of the page and select a different sort option.

To delete titles from Reading History, check the box to the left of the titles you want to delete to select them, and click Delete Selected at the top of the page.

The Saved Searches page allows you to view, run, and deleted searches that you have saved. To go to the Saved Searches page, log in at the top right corner of the page. Once you are logged in, click the Account drop down menu at the top right and select Saved Searches. Click the link for the search in the first column.

The Profile page allows you to view, and set preferences related to your account. To go to the Profile page, log in at the top right corner of the page. Once you are logged in, click the Account drop down menu at the top right and select Profile. Some information, such as name, address, library card number, home library, and expiration date is displayed for information only. Please contact your local library if you need to change this information.

• To change your email or phone number, select click About Me in the left panel, and click the pencil icon to the right.
• The Notification Preference indicates whether you would like to receive an email or phone call when an item is ready for pickup or overdue. The profile shows your current notification preference. Click the drop down to change it.
• By default, physical items and econtent are shown together on the Checked Out and Requests pages. You can change this option if you would like to display physical items and econtent separately.
• Select Change PIN to change your library card PIN number.
• Select Preferred Libraries to select your Preferred and Alternate libraries. Your Home Library is based on your addresss. Please contact your local library if you need to change your address.
• If you use econtent items from OverDrive, you can change your loan period for eBooks, Audiobooks, and eVideo on the OverDrive Options page.

Your library card enables you to access eBooks, Audiobooks, music downloads and many other types of eResources from various sources. For more information, including access details, supported devices, and more, visit the Allegheny County Library Association's eResources page.

Some of these items, including OverDrive and OneClickdigital resources, can be discovered by searching the library catalog but require you to set up a free account on another site in order to access them. See below for information on accessing these items through the online catalog.

Click the Checkout button to the right of the item information on the search results or item detail page. If you are not already logged in to your account, you will be prompted to enter your library card number and PIN. If your checkout has been successful, a message banner will appear at the top of the page letting you know that the item has been checked out and available for download from your Checked Out page. You can go to this page at any time by clicking the link from the main navigation menu.

Accessing OneClickdigital items requires setting up a free OneClickdigital account. It is recommended that you do this before searching the catalog for OneClickdigital items. To do this, click here to go to the OneClickdigital site and click the Create New Account link in the upper right hand corner.

To access OneClickdigital items from the library catalog, click the Access Online button to the right of the item record on either the search results page or the item detail page. This will take you to the OneClickdigital item information page. From there click Checkout Now! and you will be prompted to log in with your OneClickdigital credentials.

You might also encounter materials such as digitized images, government documents, and public domain eBooks in your library catalog search results. These items can be accessed by clicking the Access Online button to the right of the item information on the search results or item detail page, or by navigating to the item detail page and clicking the link at the bottom of the record. Some of these items may require you to hold a valid library card for access.

Click here for more information about these and other eResources available from your library.

When you first visit the Advanced Search page, you are presented with several search fields. In each field, you can type the keywords you want to search for. Search operators are allowed.

Each field is accompanied by a drop-down that lets you specify the type of data (title, author, etc.) you are searching for. You can mix and match search types however you like.

The Match setting lets you specify how multiple search fields should be handled.

ALL Terms - Return only records that match every search field.
ANY Terms - Return any records that match at least one search field.
NO Terms -- Return all records EXCEPT those that match search fields.

The Add Search Field button may be used to add additional search fields to the form. You may use as many search fields as you wish.

For certain complex searches, a single set of search fields may not be enough. For example, suppose you want to find books about the history of China or India. If you did an ALL Terms search for China, India, and History, you would only get books about China AND India. If you did an ANY Terms search, you would get books about history that had nothing to do with China or India.

Search Groups provide a way to build searches from multiple groups of search fields. Every time you click the Add Search Group button, a new group of fields is added. Once you have multiple search groups, you can remove unwanted groups with the X button in the top right corner, and you can specify whether you want to match on ANY or ALL search groups.

In the history of China or India example described above, you could solve the problem using search groups like this:

In the first search group, enter "India" and "China" and make sure that the Match setting is ANY Terms.
Add a second search group and enter "history."
Make sure the match setting next to the Add Search Group button is set to ALL Groups.