Encore

Encore FAQ

1. How do I refine my search results?
2. How do I access results from research databases?
3. How do I access My Account?
4. How do I place a hold on an item?
5. How do I access the old catalog search?
6. How do I create a tag?
7. How do I view the holdings for a particular title?
8. What is Access Pennsylvania?

1. How do I refine my search results?

In Encore there are two ways of refining your search results.

1. On the left hand column of your results page you can use the Refine By: section to refine your results using different categories such as Search Found In, Format, Collection, Location and Language.


Encore facets

• Search Found In will show you only items where your search was found in the Author, Title, Subject or Community Tags.
• Format allows you to find exactly the media you are looking for, such as printed materials, DVD, Large Print, Music CD or electronic resources.
• Collection is an alphabetical listing of libraries that have an item that matches your search term(s). Selecting a library from this list will show you only the titles owned by that library.
• Location is similar to Collection except that is a ranked listing of libraries’ holdings that match your search. The library with the greatest number of holdings related to your search appears at the top of the Location list.
• Language allows you to limit your results to a preferred language.
• Date allows you to select a year of publication.
2. The second way to refine your results is to use the Refine By Tag: option. The Tag Cloud is a collection of terms taken from predefined library subjects as well as terms generated by the library staff and our community of users. Click on a tag to find more items like the ones you have found. If you have a library card with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh or any library in Allegheny County, you can create tags.

2. How do I access results from research databases?

Research databases

In the Articles and More section located on the lower right hand column of the page, you can click on a list of databases. If you are not logged in, Encore will prompt you to do so. A new window or tab will open and provide you with a list of results. To the left of the results is a list of research databases with results for your search. To refine your search, click on a database title. Please note that this is only a small selection of the databases available through Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. For a complete list visit our Research Databases page.

3. How do I access My Account?

Login to My Account

To access your account click on the Log In link in the upper right hand corner of the Encore results page. Once you are logged in, you will see a link to the My Account feature of The Catalog located in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Click on it and the My Account page will open in a new window or tab. You can still access your Encore search by selecting the Encore tab or window in your browser.

My Account links

4. How do I place a hold on an item?

There are two ways to place a hold on an item.

1. You can click on the Request It link below the title of each item in your search results page.
   

   Place request from results page

2. The second option is to click on the title of an item and select the Request It link from the item page.
   

   Place request from item page

5. How do I access the old catalog search?

You can access the old catalog search by clicking on the Classic Catalog Search link located next to the Encore search box at the top of your screen.

6. How do I create a tag?

At the bottom of each item page is a heading for Community Tags. Directly below this heading is a text box where users can enter a tag. If the text box is not visible, you can click on the heading Community Tags. Enter your tag in the text box and click on the submit button. If you’ve made a mistake in entering your tag, click on the red “x” icon next to the tag. Your tag will appear immediately on the item page, but could take up to 10 minutes to appear in the tag cloud on a results page.

Community tags

7. How do I view the holdings for a particular title?

There are two ways to view the holdings for an item.

1. From the results page, you can click on the Show All Copies/Volumes link located below the title of an item. You can also select Show All Available Copies/Volumes to limit the results to copies immediately available for check out.


View all holdings for an item

2. The second option is to click on the title of an item. You can access the links to show all or available copies from an item page.

8. What is Access Pennsylvania?

The Access Pennsylvania Database is an online catalog that includes the holdings of academic, public, school and special libraries throughout Pennsylvania. By clicking on the Access Pennsylvania icon, you can view a list of results that match your search. Allegheny County residents can request an item from the Access Pennsylvania Databases through Interlibrary Loan. Before using the Interlibrary Loan service, check to see if the item is available at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh or another library in Allegheny County. The Access Pennsylvania Database is a project of the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.