How to Use the Online Catalog

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Simple Search

To search for a book when you know the title or author:

1) Open the Santa Monica Public Library's Online Catalog. You can do this by clicking on the link in the previous sentence or by clicking on , found at the bottom of every page in the SMPL Kids web site.

2) From the Search For drop-down list, select Author or Title.

3) In the field next to the Search For drop-down list, type in the title or author.

Note: Does the title of the book, video, DVD or CD begin with any of the words a, an or the? If so, you can drop the a, an or the when you type in the title.

• For example: If you were looking for the book The Indian in the Cupboard, you would type indian in the cupboard.

Also Note: The online catalog is not case sensitive. You do not need to capitalize any words when typing them into the catalog.

4) Click Search.

In a moment, your results are displayed.

If you do not find the book, DVD, video or CD you are looking for you may want to try a power search. If you have questions or are having difficulty, please contact a librarian by e-mail or telephone, or visit a librarian at any of the Santa Monica Public Library locations.

Important: Click on the Details button to verify that the book is available and where it is located. You may need to scroll to the bottom of the page to see this information.