- MENU BAR: At the top of the page is the site menu bar. From here you can access My Account | Policies | Library Course Guides | Databases (by title or by subject) | eBook Collections | and Help files. See the entries to the right for a fuller explanation of this options.
- SEARCH WINDOW: Below the menu bar is the search window. It defaults to a simple search, but you can click the ADVANCED button to the right customize your search.
- KIOSK: There is a Kiosk feature to the right of the Advanced button. This is a graphical directory of resources (designed primarily for young users) and is still be configured so, it currently has limited functionality.
- LANGUAGE: To the right of the Kiosk button is an icon that lets you change your language from English to either French or Spanish. This feature is not configured and will not function properly.
- WELCOME & LIBRARY HOURS: Below the search window are two panels that display a welcome message and library hours. These are for your information and updated as necessary.
- MAIN PANEL: In the center of the page is the main display. This panel will display newly added items, most recent, and most accessed material. Eventually, it will also display a list of recommended readings.
- FEATURED RESOURCES: To the right of the main panel is a list of Featured Resources. These are external databases and online resources that are particularly useful and recommended.
The advanced options allow you enter multiple search terms, specify which metadata fields you want to search, how you want the search applied, and link each search term and metadata option with other terms and options using the most common Boolean operators.
METADATA OPTIONS
By specifying one of the following terms, you are instructing Insignia to only look for your term in that specified portion of the items record. The field options are: Keywords, Title, Author, Subject, Series, Call No, ISBN, Location, LCCN, Control Number, Publisher, Copy Notes, and e-Resource. The most useful will likely be: Keywords, Title, Author, or Subject.
SEARCH APPLICATIONS
You can instruct Insignia to apply your search options with:
- ANY MATCH - will match any part of your term with any data in the searched fields. For example, "Children's Literature" may return results for Children, Child, Literature, or even Art.
- STARTS WITH - is a truncation option that lets your search for multiple derivations of a term. For example, "Christ" may return results for Christian, Christianity, Christendom, or even Christmas or Christopher.
- EXACT MATCH - will only return results that exactly match the term you enter.
BOOLEAN OPERATORS:
- AND - searches for records that include all specified terms and selected metadata fields. [Less comprehensive, more precise, and will return fewer results than a simple search.]
- OR - searches for records that include either specified term or metadata fields without all being relevant. [More comprehensive, less precise, and will return more results than a simple search.]
- ANDNOT - searches for records that include specified terms and metadata fields but excludes others. [Least comprehensive, most precise, and will the fewest results.]
OTHER OPTIONS
[The following options may have limited effectiveness depending on the quality of the metadata recorded during the cataloging process.]
- LANGUAGE - lets you specific the target language. Example, only Spanish works.
- MATERIAL TYPE - lets you specify what kind of resources to search. Example, audio material versus books or e-resources.
- COLLECTION TYPE - lets you specify a sub-portion of resources limited by a Dewy Decimal catalog range or other sub-categories.
- AUDIENCE - lets you specify searches relevant only to specified target audiences.
- NEW ONLY, AVAILABILITY, RATING, and PUBLICATION DATE - should be self-explanatory.