I keep seeing these terms - what do they mean?
- Catalog
- The Aurora Public Library catalog is an online version of the card catalog used by libraries not so long ago. The catalog contains records of all items in the Library's collection. In addition to searching the catalog by Keyword, you can search by Author, Title, Subject, Call Number and others. We also offer an Advanced Search.
- Database
- A database is a collection of data. Although our catalog is technically a database, on our Web site we use the term database to refer to online collections of articles from journals, magazines, and other periodicals. The Aurora Public Library pays subscription fees to these databases in order to allow our patrons to search for full-text articles and other information free of charge. An alphabetical list of our databases can be found at Subscription Databases.
- Hold
- A hold is a request for a library item that you want the library to hold for you to pick up. If the item you want is currently checked out, you will be placed in a queue, or waiting list, and notified when the item is available for you to pick up. When you log in to My Account, you can view the status of your holds, cancel holds and even change the branch where you'll pick up the item (as long as the item is not yet available for pickup).
- ISBN/ISSN
- These are acronyms for International Standard Book Number and International Standard Serial Number, respectively. ISBNs and ISSNs are unique numbers assigned by publishers to their materials. ISBNs are assigned to books, while ISSNs are assigned to periodicals and other recurring publications. If you know a book's ISBN, it's a great way to search for the exact edition you want.
- KidsOnline
- APL KidsOnline is our Web site dedicated to preteens. In addition to an easier-to-use method of searching based on pictures (called Picture-It!), there are lists of classic and award-winning children's books, homework help sites, lists of fun sites for kids and E-Reader, our portal to interactive online stories.
- Reference
| Home | Returns you to the Aurora Public Library home page. |
| New Search | Takes you to the page for submitting a new Keyword search. Use the tabs on that page to select a desired search type (Title, Author, etc.). |
| Search Prospector | Sends your current search to the Prospector catalog, a system of 25+ libraries throughout Colorado and Wyoming. From there, you can request items the same way you would in our catalog. |
| My Account | Takes you to your library account login page. If you are already logged in, clicking this link will take you directly back to your account screen. |
| Request It | Processes a hold request for the item you are currently viewing. If you not logged in, clicking this link will first take you to the My Account login screen before presenting you with the Request Confirmation screen. |
| Save It | Saves the record you are currently viewing to a list for later viewing, requesting, printing and/or exporting. Once a record has been saved, this button will be replaced by a Remove It button that will allow you to remove the record from your list without actually viewing the list. |
| Back to Results | Returns you to your most recent list of search results. |
| Help | Returns you to this Help page. |