buechereien.wien.at

Benutzen Sie die Hilfslinks zum Navigieren in diesem barrierefreien Dokument.

  1. Zum Inhalt der Seite springen (Accesskey 5). 
  2. Zur Hauptlnavigation der Seite springen (Accesskey 8). 
  3. Zur Suche springen (Accesskey 7). 

Sprachauswahl

» Home » Online Catalogue » Help with Online Catalogue Searches

Help with Online Catalogue Searches


Our online catalogue at http://katalog.buechereien.wien.at/ lists all resources available at the Vienna Public Libraries. It allows you to search for titles and shows you immediately whether a title is available or on loan.

Your user account keeps you up to date on the loan periods of the titles you have chosen and allows you to extend your loan period.

Content

When and where I can use the online catalogue

You are welcome to visit our internet library catalogue at http://katalog.buechereien.wien.at any time.

Work stations with access to our online catalogue are available in all our branch libraries during library opening hours.

Our Internet developer has certified the online catalogue for browser versions Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher and Firefox 2.0 and higher, but our experience has shown that it also runs smoothly with all other major browsers. Cookies and JavaScript must be activated.

In order to use your account, pop-ups from http://katalog.buechereien.wien.at must be accepted. If you have installed a pop-up blocker, please make sure it is configured accordingly.

Back to table of contents

Searching the online catalogue

You can start your search in either of two search screens:

  • "quick search": Enter your keyword in this search screen. You can also limit your search to a certain media category (books, videos, DVDs, CDs, sheet music ...) and/or branch library. To do this, click on the arrow next to the search fields "Zweigstelle" (branch library) or "Mediengruppe" (media category). This will open a pull-down menu for your search.
  • "professional search": This search option provides a large number of additional search criteria.

Back to table of contents

Various search fields

  • "Keyword": The keyword search is the fastest and most flexible tool for searching the resources of the Vienna Public Libraries. Keywords are categorised according to titles, subtitles, headwords, and series of the material you are looking for. You also have the option of searching for the author and description of a work rather than the title, or to enter several keywords. A search can also be initiated with the first part of a title, e.g. "wahlver" will find Goethe's "Wahlverwandtschaften".
  • "Title": If you know the exact wording of a title or the beginning of a title, place the cursor in the "title" field and enter the title of the work you are looking for. Individual words can be truncated using %. For example "Klav%" will find "Klavier" and "Klavierkonzert".
  • "Author": Please enter the author's name (last name, first name, e.g. Brecht, Bertolt). Once you have entered at least 4 letters of the author's name, you have the option of using our A-Z register function, which is particularly useful if you are not sure how a name is spelled. It is also sufficient to enter the first part of a surname: e.g. "shakes" will find Shakespeare, "bergman, i" will find Ingrid Bergman. This search field can also be used to search for composers or actors.
  • "Subject headings": Use this function to search for headwords or headword groups. Headwords describe the content of the title you are looking for. Once you have entered at least 4 letters, you have the option of using our A-Z register function, which will provide you with a list of headwords to choose from. Click on the relevant headword or headword group to obtain a search result.
  • "A-Z Register": In the headword, author, area of interest, and classification group search fields, you have the option of using the A-Z register functions. You may access this function once you have entered at least 3 letters in the search fields. The register then comes up with lists that will help you to narrow your search. The A-Z register function can also be used to ascertain whether the library catalogue of the Vienna Public Libraries features the material you are looking for and is also useful for eliminating spelling mistakes that might hamper your search.
  • "Branch library": In this search field, you can narrow your search to the branch library of your choice. The search result will then only feature the copies available at the specified branch library. If this field is left blank, the media available at all branch libraries will be listed. For information on branch library details and opening hours, click "Info" or click directly on the desired branch library in the detailed search result display.
  • "Group of media": In this search field, you can limit your search to certain media categories, e.g. books, CDs, videos, sheet music, or magazines. This function can only be used in conjunction with another search field. If this field is left blank, your search will automatically include all media categories.
  • "Area of interest": Narrow your search to certain subject areas, such as murder mysteries, fantasy, travel, Easter, Christmas, etc. The A-Z register function is also available with this search criterion and will provide you with a list of the various areas of interest.
  • "Classification": This search criterion helps to classify the content of the available media resources and to limit the number of search results, e.g. combined search for travel guides to Italy, classification group EL.EI. The A-Z register function is available with this search criterion and will guide you to the classification subgroups and the desired subject area. Click here to find out more about the classification of our media resources.
  • "Year": Limit your search query to the year of publication. You can also look for media from a particular time frame by using both search fields. If you are looking for new releases, it is sufficient to enter the current year in the first search field.
  • "ISBN": ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. If you know the exact ISBN of the title you are looking for, please enter it in the search field (without hyphens). The A-Z register function is available for this search criterion.
  • "Status": Use this search criterion to narrow your search to a certain availability status (e.g. available copies only).

Back to table of contents

E-mail notification

If you would like to be kept up to date on reserved items and expired loan periods via e-mail, please enter your e-mail address: click on the "account" button in the upper left-hand corner of the navigation bar. This will open a registration window where you are asked to enter your library card number and your date of birth. Then click "continue" to open your user account. Click on the link "E-Mail-Adress" and enter your e-mail address.
If your e-mail address changes, please notify us of your new address by following the steps listed above.

Back to table of contents

Search results

After a search has been completed, a list headed "Results - Overview" will appear on the left-hand side of the screen. Click on one of the entries to open up a detailed display on the right-hand side of the screen. This contains all catalogued information on the item you selected as well as the requested information on the branch library, classification group, location, status, and loan period.

Branch library display: the selected copy is available at the branch library specified here.

Classification group and location display: this contains information on the classification group of the item you selected as well as any special location under "shelf"

Status displays:

  • "Verfügbar" (available): the title you requested should be on the shelf. Please contact a member of the staff if this is not the case.
  • "Entliehen" (on loan): the title you requested is currently on loan.
  • "Rücksortierung" (in transit): this means that the title you requested was returned today and should be back on the shelf within a maximum period of two days. If the title was returned to a different branch library, it could take up to a week for it to become available again.
  • "Nicht entleihbar" (not borrowable): the copy you requested can only be viewed in the reading room and cannot be borrowed.
  • "Vorbestellt" (reserved): reserved copies that have been returned are considered to be on hold. However, this does not always mean that they are already ready for collection by the person who reserved them. We advise you to always wait for notification by your branch library that your reserved copy is ready for collection.
  • "In Bearbeitung" (in process): the title you requested is not yet or currently not available and cannot be reserved.

Date display: the date display indicates the return period of the title currently on loan. If no one else reserves the title, you may extend the loan period twice by a period of 4 weeks.
Please note: if no titles are displayed despite the title indication in the detailed display, no titles are available.

A simple step allows you to group your search results: above the search result hit list you will find a pull-down menu that enables you to group your search results by media category, location, or year of publication. Search results can be displayed in ascending or descending order.

Back to table of contents

Titles labelled "Magazin"

If you would like to borrow a title labelled "Magazin", please contact a member of the staff.

Back to table of contents


Non-borrowable titles

Titles carrying the label "Nicht entleihbar" (not borrowable) and "Lesesaal" (reading room only; small yellow label) cannot be borrowed. Such titles are usually reference works.

Back to table of contents

Reserving titles

A button labelled "reservation" is located above the detailed results. Click on the button and follow the instructions.

Please enter the complete 7-digit code on your library card (SBW-9999999). The code is case sensitive!

Your password is your date of birth in the format dd.mm.yyyy, e.g. 01.01.1950

We charge a processing fee for reservations. Items with the following status displays are available for reservation: "Entliehen" ("on loan"), "Verfügbar" ("available"), "Rücksortierung" ("in transit") or "Vorbestellt" ("reserved"). 

Please note that reservations are processed in the order in which they are placed. The reservation of an "available" item does not automatically count as a reservation, as reserved titles are generally only collected from the shelves once a day. It can thus happen that a reserved item is selected and borrowed by someone else. You will be notified by e-mail or standard mail when a reserved title becomes available. The reservation of a title remains valid for approximately 10 days.
We advise you to always wait for the confirmation of your library that your reserved copy is ready for collection. Reserved titles can be collected at the loan desk.

Back to table of contents

Checking user account and extending loan periods

Your account gives you an overview of the titles you have currently on loan as well as any reserved titles. It also informs you of any outstanding charges and the validity period of your library card.

Click on "account" in the upper left-hand corner of the catalogue page, next to the button "home". This will open the login window.

Please enter the complete 7-digit code on your library card (SBW-9999999). The code is case sensitive!

Your password is your date of birth in the format dd.mm.yyyy

Click on "login" to access your account.

Holders of an annual library card can extend their loan periods in certain circumstances.

By clicking on the "renew all" button, you can extend the loan period for all your items. Please note that the loan period of any item can only be extended a maximum of two times. You cannot extend the loan period of reserved titles and titles whose loan period has expired. If your library card has expired, you will not be able to extend the loan period of your items.

You may extend the loan period of individual items by four weeks (DVDs, Blu-ray Discs and video games by two weeks!) by clicking on the button in the line of the relevant copy Note: If there is no button next to the item, it is not possible to extend the loan period of the item.

The lower section of the same screen contains an overview of reserved media and their availability status.

You may borrow a maximum of 25 items per library card. The loan period for DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, videos, and video games is 2 weeks. For all other media, the loan period is 4 weeks.

Please also read our tips on loaning and loan renewal.

Back to table of contents


Other buttons

  • Home-Button The home button will load the start page of the catalogue. Click on it to reset your search criteria and to start a new search.
  • Konto-Button The account button takes you to your user account where you can access information on the loan periods of the items you have borrowed and can also extend these loan periods.
  • Info-Button The info button will take you to the homepage of the Vienna Public Libraries and refers you to branch library locations, opening hours, terms and conditions of use as well as news.
  • Hilfe-Button The help button will take you to the online catalogue help page.
  • Mail-Button Use the mail button to contact the information service of the Vienna Public Libraries.

Back to table of contents


Using wildcards

You can use the following wildcards when searching the online catalogue:

  • % or * : replace any number of characters.
    Book% returns bookworm, bookmaker, bookshelf, booker etc.

For technical reasons the wildcard characters % and * may only be used at the end or in the middle of a word and not at the beginning.

  • _ : replaces precisely one character.
    M_ier - returns Maier, Meier etc.
    M__er - returns Maier, Meier, Mauer, Mayer, Meyer etc.


The searches for authors and titles in the professional search engine are automatically right-truncated, i.e. if you enter "house" in a title your search results will automatically also include "household", "housewife", "housework", or "houses".

Depending on your request, searches using wildcards may take quite some time.

External functions and links

There is now also the option of running a search in the online catalogue via external links (keyword, ISBN, or media number/inventory number).

You also have the option of making the login page for your user account the start page of the online catalogue. To do this, visit http://katalog.buechereien.wien.at/login.asp

Language options

The catalogue is currently available in English and German. Please choose one of the two languages by clicking on the flags in the upper right-hand corner of the online catalogue display.

Fault removal

The following tips help you remove some of the problems that might occur when using our online catalogue. Should you not find an answer to your question or should you require additional help please contact the library information service.

The online catalogue freezes when the message "Der WebOPAC wird geladen..." appears. What should I do?
You have deactivated Cookies and/or Javascript or Active Scripting in your browser. You must activate these functions in order to access our website.

The online catalogue is not loading, although I have activated Cookies and Javascript. What should I do?
It is possible that your firewall is blocking Cookies and Javascript. Please check whether you have a firewall installed on your PC and adjust its settings if necessary.

I would like to access my user account, but when I click on the account button, nothing happens. What should I do?
Your computer might have a pop-up blocker that prevents additional browser windows from opening. Please configure your system in such a way that it allows pop-ups from our website.

I would like to reserve an item, but when I click on the reservation button, nothing happens. What should I do?
Your computer might have a pop-up blocker that prevents additional browser windows from opening. Please configure your system in such a way that it allows pop-ups from our website.

When I try and log into my account, an error message appears: "Registration failed (wrong library card no. or password)." What should I do?
Please make sure that you have entered your library card number (including "SBW"; case sensitive!) and your date of birth in the format dd.mm.yyyy, e.g. 01.01.1975 (make sure you include the zeros and periods between day and month and month and year). If you still experience problems logging in, please send us your query directly via our feedback form.

Why does my search query disappear and the search fields become empty when the page is left idle for a few minutes?
This is due to a session timeout, which is typical of Internet applications (see e.g. Internet banking applications). When you access our online catalogue, you will be automatically logged into your own session. After a certain period of inactivity (timeout) the session is terminated automatically and the online catalogue is reloaded.

I use Internet Explorer and the professional search or other parts of the online catalogue are not loading correctly. None of the remedies described here are applicable. What should I do?
At the moment, incompatibilities with our online catalogue may occur if you have installed .NET Framework 3.0 and are using Internet Explorer. This bug will have been fixed in the new version of the online catalogue, which will be launched shortly. In the meantime users with .NET Framework 3.0 may access the online catalogue using other browsers (e.g. Firefox).
 
If I click on the title in the overview, the detailed information about the title is not displayed. What might be wrong?
Should no data be loaded for the detailed display when navigating through the online catalogue, you are probably using Internet Explorer and have disabled the option "navigate sub-frames across different domains". Please enable this option by going to Tool -> Internet Options -> Security -> Internet-> Custom Level button.

Further information on how to use the online catalogue

In addition to this online help there is also the FAQs section on the online catalogue. Should you have questions or problems that still cannot be answered or solved please use our feedback form.

Another option would be to participate in an introduction to the online catalogue in German or in English: The Central Library on Gürtel offers free introductions to using the online catalogue on Wednesdays from 3pm to 4pm. If you are interested in this free service, please register at the College 1 info desk or at 01/0676 8118 84564 or andreas.wimmer@buechereien.wien.at.

Back to table of contents

Bildung Stadt Wien - Büchereien Wien