Library -- Guide to FirstSearch

Westfield State College Ely Library

FirstSearch Guide

Access	Detailed Record	Marking Records
Searching	List of Records (printing, saving, and more)	Help
List of databases	Continue through the guide or Start Searching.

Access

From the Ely Library Home Page <http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/>, click on Quick Links to Databases.
Click on FirstSearch Databases, or on any database name coming from FirstSearch (see list).
Click on Connect to OCLC. Note, all databases available through FirstSearch are listed and described here.
You must have the Westfield State College Login information to proceed. Once you are logged in, select the database you wish to search (Not all of those listed are FirstSearch Databases!). You will have options to search more than one FirstSearch Database at a time once you make a selection from this list (See below).

Searching

Once you are on the FirstSearch Home web page, Enter a word or phrase in the Search for box and click on the dropdown menu next to In: to select a Topic (e.g., Education, Life Sciences, Business and Economics) or specific database. Selecting a topic will provide more options than limiting yourself to one database. Click on Search. First Search Basic Search Screen for display purposes only

First Search Basic Search Screen for display purposes only

This search will find words anywhere in a record. You can choose a different command language on the bottom bar of this page. To search by Title, Author, and Abstract, use the Advanced Search.
Important: Use the buttons, links, and tabs on the bar at the top to navigate through FirstSearch screens. When you want to stop using FirstSearch, click on the FirstSearch Exit button (top, left).

Home--Returns to a blank opening search screen	Results--displays List of Records; Detailed Record; Marked Records or Previous Searches (use as Back button)
Databases--List All; List by Topic; Suggest Best	Comments--Send comments to OCLC
Searching--initiate a search for a document using Basic, Advanced, or Expert searching	Options--change screen size and # of records displayed
	Exit--end search session

At the top bar, use the icons to Sort, find Related Subjects or Authors, Limit, E-mail, Print, or Export your search. The available icons and commands will change depending on the screen you are viewing. Online help is always available.

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List of Records (printing, saving, and more)

Once you run your Basic Search, FirstSearch displays a List of Records screen containing results. If your search found no records, FirstSearch displays a screen containing information to help you redo the search. To return to the Search screen, click on Searching.

Help--provides help related to the current screen and allows you to access other help topics.

Up to ten records are listed on each page of the List of Records screen if your search retrieves any items. The records are numbered and listed in the order they were added to the database, with the most recent usually occurring first, but not always. Use the Rank by feature to order results by Date.

Here are the primary options available on the Search Results screen:

To print or save the list, click on or , then use your browser command: File/Print Preview or File/Save As.
To email the list, click on
To see more of the list, click on (next) or (previous).
To jump to a particular place in the list, click on "Go to Page" and select a page number. Press Enter. In response FirstSearch displays the page of the list that has the number you selected.
To see the full display of a record, click on the linked title in the list.
To Mark Records for viewing, printing, or e-mailing, click in the box before each record.
To redo the search and limit the records from your search, click on .
To redo the search and expand the records from your search, click on or .
To Interlibrary loan an item, click on . To find out which libraries own the periodical, look for (available here), or (a list of other libraries). Check our Full Text Periodical Titles link for a complete list of what is available at Westfield State College online and in print.
To begin a new search, click on Searching.

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Detailed Record View

View a detailed record. This consists of bibliographic information like author name, title, descriptors (subject headings), date, journal name, etc. An abstract is included with many records.

If the following icon appears on your screen: , look for the journal or book in the Ely Library Catalog or Full Text Periodical Titles list. Otherwise, to identify other libraries that have the item, click on . The default display is Massachusetts, then the Northeast region.

It is possible to request an item (that we do not own) through Interlibrary Loan (ILL):

Click on "see more details for locating this item." Then select: "Borrow this item from another library (Interlibrary Loan)."
If we do not own the item, fill in the request form to obtain the item through Interlibrary Loan.
Fill out the information form. You must enter: Name, Address, Telephone #, Email, and Status.
When completed, click on the Submit button. The Record and information that you typed will be sent to the WSC InterLibrary Loan department.
You will be contacted when the material arrives.

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Topic Search

If you enter a term and select a Topic at the initial search screen such as Education, Life Sciences, or Engineering, you will be provided with a list of databases associated with the topic and estimated results for the word you searched. You may choose up to three databases at a time before clicking on Select to retrieve the results list. To see more than the first database results, select the others from links above results.
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Marking Records

To mark records listed in the search results and then view the records all at one time, do the following:

Do not use your browser buttons or commands, such as Back and Forward, while marking records. Use only the FirstSearch buttons such as (Next) or (Previous).
On a page of the List of Records, click on a checkbox by each entry whose record you want to print, save, or e-mail. You can mark a maximum of 100 records.
Click on Next or Previous to go through the list as you mark entries.
To view the marked records, click on Marked Records under Results in the left-hand column. FirstSearch displays the Marked Records.
To print or save the Mark Records list, click on File (Netscape toolbar), then Print Preview or Save As.
You may return to the List of Records by clicking on that link in the left-hand column without losing your previously marked records.
To clear all marks so you can mark other entries without duplicating your previous marks, click on Clear.

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HELP

You can get more information about FirstSearch by reading the online

. It is structured so you can access help about the current FirstSearch Web screen. Other FirstSearch Web Online Help topics include unique information for individual databases.

FirstSearch Databases

Restricted to Westfield State College Students, Staff, and Faculty.
Connect to OCLC / FirstSearch Search Guide

AGRICOLA--National Agriculture Library 1970- Updated Monthly.
Art Index-H. W. Wilson Company September 1984 - Updated Monthly.
ArticleFirst® Database--OCLC January 1990 - Updated Daily
Arts & Humanities Search--Institute for Scientific Information 1980 - Updated Weekly.
BasicBIOSIS (formerly BIOSIS/FS)--BIOSIS Current Three Years. Updated Weekly.
Biography Index--H. W. Wilson Company July 1984 - Updated Monthly.
Biological & Agricultural Index--H. W. Wilson Company 1983 - Updated Monthly.
Biology Digest--Plexus Publishing 1989 - Updated Monthly.
Book Review Digest--H. W. Wilson Company 1983 - Updated Monthly.
Books In Print--Reed Reference Publishing Current. Updated Weekly.
Business Dateline--UMI 1985 - Updated Weekly.
Business & Industry--Responsive Database Services, Inc. Mid 1994 - Updated Daily.
Business and Management Practices 1995 - Updated Weekly.
Business Organizations, Agencies, and Publications Directory--Gale Research. Current. Updated Annually.
Consumers Index--The Pierian Press, Inc. 1986 - Updated Quarterly.
Disclosure Corporate Snapshots (Brief Records) --Disclosure, Inc. Current. Updated Weekly..
Dissertation Abstracts--UMI 1861 - Updated Monthly.
EconLit--American Economic Association 1969 - Updated Monthly.
Education Index--H. W. Wilson Company June 1983 - (Abstracts from August 1994 - ) Updated Monthly.
Electronic Collections Online (ECO)- OCLC 1995 - Updated Daily
Essay and General Literature Index - HW Wilson 1985- Updated Annually
FactSearch--The Pierian Press, Inc. 1984 - Updated Quarterly.
General Science Index--H. W. Wilson Company May 1984 - Updated Monthly.
GEOBASE--Elsevier Science Publishers 1980 - Updated Monthly.
GPO Monthly Catalog--U. S. Government Printing Office July 1976 - Updated Monthly.
Humanities Index--H. W. Wilson Company February 1984 - Updated Monthly.
Index to Legal Periodicals & Books--H. W. Wilson Company August 1981 - Updated Monthly.
Library Literature--H. W. Wilson Company December 1984 - Updated Monthly.
MDX Health Digest--Medical Data Exchange January 1988 - Updated Monthly.
Media Review Digest - Pierian Press 1989- Updated Quarterly
Microcomputer Abstracts SEE Internet & Personal Computing Abstracts
Newspaper Abstracts--UMI 1989 - Updated Weekly.
OCLC Union Lists of Periodicals Database--OCLC Current. Updated Twice Per Year..
PapersFirst® Database--OCLC 1992 - Updated Biweekly.
Periodical Abstracts--UMI 1972 - Updated Monthly.
ProceedingsFirst® Database--OCLC 1993 - Updated Biweekly.
Readers' Guide Abstracts--H. W. Wilson Company January 1983 - Updated Monthly.
SIRS Researcher--Social Issues Resource Series, Inc. 1988 - Updated Monthly.
Union Lists (OCLC Online Union Catalog) - OCLC Current Updated Two times per year.
Wilson Business Abstracts--H. W. Wilson Company June 1990- Updated Monthly.
Wilson Select Plus--H.W. Wilson Company 1994 - Updated Weekly.
The World Almanac--Primedia Reference, Inc. Current. Updated Annually.
WorldCat Database (OCLC Online Union Catalog) - OCLC 11th Century - Updated Daily.
Worldscope GLOBAL (Brief Records)--Disclosure, Inc. Current. Updated Weekly.