Why a new search?

The University Libraries are pleased to present our new search interface, where you can search almost all of the Libraries' collections from one simple search box. This search brings together multiple resources including our physical collections within the libraries (books, music, government documents, DVDs, and more), millions of articles from research, trade, and popular journals and newspapers, electronic content from both within and outside of the Libraries, and the collections of over 70,000 other libraries worldwide.

While our old catalog search has served us well over the past 10 years, it is no longer supported by the software vendor. And even if we could update it, it only searches the collections held within our Libraries. In anticipation of this issue, we began to investigate other solutions in 2009, including moving to a completely new integrated library system.

Throughout our investigation, many of our leads repeatedly pointed to a system under development known as OCLC WorldShare Management Services. While we do plan to move to this new system by Summer 2013, we now have the opportunity to use the “WorldCat Local” search interface, pointing to the data within our current library system, while simultaneously searching our article databases and the holdings of libraries worldwide.

We believe that this new search interface and the library management platform will serve the Libraries and our users well for many years to come. We welcome your feedback and trust that you will continue to let us know how we can serve you better.

Thank you.