Copac User guide

Free access to the merged catalogues of major Academic Libraries plus The British Library, National Library of Scotland National Library of Wales / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru & National Art Library (V&A)

Page contents:

Copac gives free access to the merged catalogues of 50+ UK and Irish University Libraries plus the British Library & the National Library of Scotland.

What is Copac?

Copac is a library union catalogue that gives access to the merged catalogues of major academic libraries, plus the UK National Libraries, including the British Library.

Search for...

  • details of specific documents or the works of a particular author,
  • materials on a subject area,
  • maps, plans, and other cartographic materials,foreign language materials.

Find details of a wide range of documents ...

  • from research reports, conference proceedings, and theses...
  • to early manuscripts, archival materials, and hand-drawn maps and plans,
  • in many formats eg: videos, films, recorded sound, prints, microforms, electronic materials etc.
  • items ranging from the latest government reports to audio-tape stories for children.

Identify ...

  • materials for checking bibliographic information,
  • a location for hard to trace documents,
  • possibly a link to an online version of a document,
  • details of library holdings of journals,
  • check if an item is currently on loan etc.

Search Copac

The Web interface

You will see the 'Quick search' form. The tabs above the form give you the 'Main search' or 'Map search'.

The Search Forms

Quick Search: a few fields for a quick Copac search.
Main Search: a wider range of fields, including Material type, eg. limit a search to Periodicals only.
Map Search: limits a search to maps, plans etc.

1 Search Basics

Enter search terms into one or more search fields.

  • You do not need to enter text into every field.
  • Find variant word endings by truncating search terms using * eg: behavio* finds behaviour, behavioural etc.
  • Select the 'Search' button to carry out a search.

1.1 Using the search fields

  • ISBN/ISSN (etc)
    The ISBN and ISSN are unique numbers offering a quick search and you need no other search terms. You can search for other Standard numbers, eg. ISMN, too.
    Note: some records may omit Standard numbers.
  • Author & title
    Entering the author surname and one or two distinctive title words is usually a quick way of finding an item.
  • Author names, editors, translators etc.
    For people, enter the name in a familar form:
      eg: T. S. Eliot, eg: Jane Austen, eg: Clarke, Arthur C
    If in doubt use surname and initial(s), as the search finds all first names starting with those initials.
    When the author (sponsor etc) is an organisation, enter an acronym, full name, or the main words of the name.
  • Titles
    Enter the full title, the start of a long title, or just the main title words. Copac ranks the results of a title only search, displaying the records that best match your query at the top of the result list.
  • Journal titles
    Enter the journal title and use the Material type field to limit the search to Periodical materials only.
  • Publisher names
    Publisher names can vary in the records so only use this if you need to. Enter the main word(s) eg. Atlantic.
  • Subject or Keyword
    The Subject search checks the subject (often in US English), content notes, and title of records.
    The Keyword search checks all parts of the records. Used alone it can find large numbers of records, but it is worth trying if other searches fail.
    Both the Subject and Keyword fields automatically find singular and plural forms of English search words.
  • Non-Roman scripts
    You can search Copac using scripts such as Arabic, but older records may not include original script text.
    Transliteration variations can also be a problem with non-Roman scripts, so try variant spellings.
  • Finding Maps, Atlases, Charts, Plans etc.
    Use the Map search screen. You can search for place names as well as by map scale. See the Map guide at: http://copac.ac.uk/support/mapguide/

1.2 Limiting search results

In the Main search form you can restrict your search results by using the Limit fields:

  • Material Type: eg. to search for Journals include a limit to Periodical materials.
  • Date: enter a date or date range, eg. 1794, eg. 2004-, eg. 1940-1945. A date range does a 'fuzzy' search.
  • Place of publication: this can be variable in form (or missing), so only include it if you really need to.
  • Language: choose a language from the list. A Limit to English may not affect the results but can be slow.
  • Library: choose one or more libraries from the list.

2 Displaying Retrieved Records

2.1 Brief records for browsing:

Search results are shown in a Brief record display, eg:

  HAL's legacy / edited by David G. Stork 1997

  • There are 25 records on a screen. Browse records using the 'Next', 'Previous', 'First', 'Last', and 'Page' links.
  • To see the Full Record select a document title.
  • Use the Sort option at the top of the result list to change the record display order.

2.2 Full record display:

The Full record gives all available document details eg:

Title Details: HAL's legacy / edited by David G. Stork
Publisher: Cambridge, Mass. ; London : MIT Press, c1997
Physical Desc.: xxi, 383p : ill (some col.) ; 24cm
ISBN/ISSN: 0262193787
Subject(s): 2001, a space odyssey (Motion picture)
Artificial intelligence - Miscellanea
Other names: Stork, David G
URL: http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-books/Hal/
Held by: Aberdeen; Birmingham; Cambridge; Edinburgh; Glasgow; Imperial; Leeds; Liverpool; Manchester; Oxford; Warwick
  • Browse records using the 'Next' and 'Previous' links.
  • To see the Local Holdings display select a Holding library name from the end of a Full record.
  • Select highlighted Name, Title, and Subject terms in the Full Record display to initiate a new search.

2.3 Local Holdings Display

This gives branch library, shelf location, available journal volumes, local notes etc. For most libraries it also shows if an item is currently on loan, or reference only etc.

3 Marking & Downloading Records

3.1 Marking records

Marking Brief or Full records lets you gather records of interest from all your searches into a single Marked list (max. 2,500 records). Depending on your web browser:

  • Select the black 'Unmarked' icon . This will change to the green 'Marked' icon .
    Your browser needs Javascript enabled for this.
  • Select the 'Mark this record' link by the record.
    This is only visible if CSS is not enabled in your browser.
  • Choose the 'Marked list' option to see your records. To remove records from your list, select the check box by the record number, then select the 'Delete' option.

3.2 Downloading records

Select the 'Download' option. You can download the records in your Marked list, or all the records in any single result set, up to a max. of 2,500 records.

  • Save to file: select the 'Download records' button. If the records appear in your Web browser, use the browser's 'Save as' or 'Print' function.
  • Via email: Enter your email address, then select the 'Email records' button.

4 The Search History

You can view details of all your searches by selecting the 'History' option. The Search History shows:

  • Search: the search number.
  • Hits: the number of records retrieved by a search.
  • Search Terms: a reminder of your search.
  • Options: View the records, Edit and re-run a search, use the RSS icon RSS Feedto subscribe to an RSS feed for the search.

5 Amending your search:

Read the online help or try:

  • Check your spellings! or try variant spellings.
  • Replace an author full name with surname and initials.
  • Remove or add a Limit eg. a Library or Date.
  • Remove or add hyphens, eg. change On-line to Online.
  • Try truncation eg: behavio* finds behaviour, behavior etc.
  • Try American terms, eg. replace 'car' with 'automobile'.
  • Use broader/narrower search terms or alternatives eg. replace 'Peasants' Revolt' with 'Tyler's Insurrection'.

6 Accessing materials

6.1 Linking to Full-text

Some Copac records contain a URL link to the online full-text, or summary etc., where this is provided by another service. Some online materials are free access, but others are restricted to members of subscribing institutions. Talk to your academic library staff about access to specific full-text services.

6.2 OpenURL link: access your own library service

At the end of each Full record there is an OpenURL link, its name will depend on your academic library. If your own library has OpenURL access the link will give local options for obtaining items found on Copac.

  • Eg: there may be a link to the full-text of a journal where your academic library gives online access.
  • Eg: you may be able to search your own library catalogue for a book you've identified on Copac, or there may be a link to your inter-library loan service.

The OpenURL facilities are defined by your library, so if you have questions talk to your own library staff.

6.3 Inter-library loan & copy request

Most materials recorded on Copac are not available in electronic form. To obtain all or part of a document your simplest option is to make an inter-library loan or copy request via your own academic library.

You can try contacting the Holding library regarding copying and/or visiting arrangements but not loans. The 'Libraries' option on the Copac Home page includes links to each contributing library web site.

Help and Advice

Online help is provided using the 'Help' option or select 'More...' beside each field on the search forms.

For assistance contact the Copac Helpdesk:
Email: copac@mimas.ac.uk   Tel: 0161 275 6037

Support pages