Performing Basic Searches
You can search very easily in Primo. Just type one or more words you are looking for and click the "Search" button.
| NOTE: |
Primo assumes that you are searching for all the words you type unless OR or NOT are specified between the words and phrases. |
Once you are familiar with the basic Primo search, you might want to try doing more with the Search panel or use the Advanced Search option. Both of these options offer numerous features for making your searches more precise and enable you to get results that are more useful.
How Can I Do More with the Search Panel?
You can do more than just a simple search with the Search panel. Try the following search options to get the best results for your search:
Searching for a Phrase
To search for a phrase, type quotation marks around the phrase. You can combine both words and phrases in your search.
| NOTE: |
If you do not enclose the phrase with quotation marks, the system will find items that contain the individual words in the phrase, regardless of whether these words are located next to each other in the order specified. |
For example, to search for "Sherlock Holmes" as one term, type the following in the search box:
Searching for Any Specified Words or Phrases
You can search for items that contain at least one of the words or phrases you type in the Search box. To do so, type "OR" between the words or phrases.
| NOTE: |
If you search for words or phrases without specifying "OR" or "NOT", Primo assumes that you are searching for all the specified words or phrases. |
For example, to search for items with the word "Sherlock Holmes" or the word "Abductive reasoning", type the following in the search box:
| NOTE: |
To use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) within search phrases, you must enter them in uppercase letters. Otherwise, Primo removes them and performs a simple search that includes all search phrases. |
Excluding Words or Phrases
You can exclude items that contain specific words or phrases. To do so, type NOT and then type the word or phrase to exclude.
| NOTE: |
If you search for words or phrases without specifying OR or NOT, Primo assumes that you are searching for all the specified words or phrases. |
For example, to search for items with the word "Sherlock Holmes" and exclude any of these items with the word "Conan Doyle", type the following in the search box:
Searching Using Wildcard Characters
You can include the following wildcard characters in your searches:
| ? - enter a question mark to perform a single character wildcard search. For example, type wom?n to search for records that contain the strings woman, women, and so forth. |
| * - enter and asterisk to perform a multiple character wildcard search. For example, type cultur* to search for records that contain strings, such as culture, cultural, and culturally. |
| NOTE: |
The system ignores wildcard characters placed at the beginning of search terms. For example, the system treats the search terms
?aying and *aying as if you had searched for aying. |
Grouping Terms Within a Query
You can use parentheses to group terms within a query. For example, to search for "Sherlock Holmes" and either "Abductive reasoning" or "Forensic science", type the following in the search box:
Your Space in Primo
This section includes:
Why Should I Sign In?
When you sign into Primo, you are able to do the following:
- Set preferences for your current and future sessions.
You can set your preferences so that they reflect the way you usually search, and save them for future sessions.
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- Add items you found and queries you submitted permanently to your basket.
You can save items from your results list to your basket and you can save queries that you have performed for future use.
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- Set alerts for your queries.
You can set a query to become an alert, that is, to run automatically and send you email notification once it locates new items answering your search criteria.
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- Access external licensed resources.
The institution offers licensed information resources to its users. Once you sign in, you can search and retrieve items from these additional resources.
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- Use library services.
You can benefit from library services such as requesting or recalling items.
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Why Should I Sign Out?
You should sign out of Primo so that your searches remain private and your personal settings and basket are not tampered with by anyone else.
My Library Record
My Library Record enables you to view the contents of your library card and perform library services, such as renewing a book or canceling a request. In addition, it lets you define your personal Primo settings. To access My Library Record, click the My Library Record link, which appears at the top of each page in Primo.
Personal Settings
You can tailor the Primo user interface so that it reflects the way you usually search. For example, you can specify the default language, the maximum numbers of search results per page, your default e-mail address, and your cell phone number. To set your preferences, click the Personal Settings option on the left side of My Library Record.
| NOTE: |
To keep your settings for future sessions, you must sign in and save your preferences. |
Using e-Shelf
e-Shelf allows you to save and organize items that you find during your Primo session. To access e-Shelf, click the e-Shelf link at the top of the page.
This section includes:
Saving Items to e-Shelf
When you select the Star icon for an item in the search results, the system highlights the icon and adds the item to the Basket folder in e-Shelf.
| NOTE: |
You must sign in to save items in e-Shelf for future sessions. |
Removing Items from e-Shelf
To remove an item and all of its copies in the various folders in e-Shelf, select the highlighted Star icon next to the item in the search results.
If you do not want to delete all copies of an item in e-Shelf, you must remove each copy directly from e-Shelf. For more information on removing items from e-Shelf, see Managing Items.
Viewing Items Saved in e-Shelf
To view items that are saved in e-Shelf, click the Basket folder or any of its subfolders. From the list of items, click the item that you want to display.
Managing Folders
From the e-Shelf tab, you can perform the following operations on folders:
| Button |
Description |
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Create Folder - To add a new folder under the selected folder. |
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Rename Folder - To rename the selected folder. |
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Copy Folder - To copy the selected folder into memory. |
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Paste Folder - To paste the last folder placed in to memory into the selected folder. |
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Delete Folder - To delete the selected folder from Basket. |
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Add Note - To add a note to a folder. |
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Modify Note - To modify a folder's note. |
Managing Items
From the e-Shelf tab, you can perform the following operations on items:
| Button |
Description |
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Cut Items - To cut the selected items and to place them into memory. |
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Copy Items - To copy the selected items into memory. |
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Paste Item - To paste the last items placed into memory into the current folder. |
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Delete Items - To delete the selected items. |
| E-mail |
E-Mail Items - To email the selected items. |
| Print |
Print Items - To print the selected items. |
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Save Items - Select an option from Save pull-down list and save the selected items. |
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Add Note - To add a note to a folder. |
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Modify Note - To modify a folder's note. |
Using the Brief Results
The Brief results display all the items that match your search query. For each item, the following information displays:
- Resource Type - the format of the item, such as book, article, journal.......
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- Title - Depending on your institution's configuration, clicking the title displays either the item's information or the online resource.
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- Author and date - the item's author, creator, and publication date
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- Star icon - click the Star icon next to the title to add or remove the item from your basket. A highlighted star indicates that you have already added it to your basket.
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If you would like to see more information on an item, you can select the following tabs:
View Online Tab
The View Online tab displays items that are available online inside the tab. If the item has multiple entries, click an entry to display the item on a new page.
Locations Tab
The Locations tab lists all of the locations that hold this item. To get more information on the location that holds the item, click either the location link or the Plus icon.
Details Tab
The Details tab displays the item's full record and additional links.
More Tab
The More tab displays additional links, such as provided by the SFX link resolver.
Using Queries, Alerts
This section includes:
What Is a Query?
A query is a word or phrase you specify in the search panel to request information. You can do the following with queries:
- View the current session's queries and results.
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- Save a query from the current session in order to use it later.
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- Activate alerts on your saved queries to have them run automatically at scheduled times to provide you with updated results from queries.
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Viewing and Saving Queries
If you are signed in, you can save a query by clicking the Save Search link, which appears below the facets on the Brief Results page. You can access your saved and session queries by clicking either the e-Shelf or My Account link and then clicking the My Queries tab.
This tab contains the following folders:
- This Session's Queries - this folder lists all of the queries that you have performed in the current session.
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- Saved Queries & Alerts - this folder lists all of the queries and alerts that you have saved.
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| NOTE: |
If you are not signed in, your queries are available only during the current session. |
You can run a saved query yourself, or you can set it as an alert that runs automatically at scheduled times and sends you new results by e-mail.
What Is an Alert?
An alert is a process that runs your query automatically at scheduled times and sends you new results via e-mail.
Viewing and Activating Alerts
To view the list of alerts, click the Saved Queries & Alerts menu. To configure an alert for a saved query, click the Update link for that query and then specify the alert settings.
