Tip of the Week Archive: OPAC

4CLS Catalog Features You Might Not Know About

(Shared 06.17.2025)

4CLS’s public-facing online public access catalog (sometimes known as the OPAC or as Enterprise) has some pretty great features that you might not know about!  These features can help library staff connect readers with books that they are likely to enjoy.

Start with a search at www.4cls.org and click on a title to open up a record for book.  Scroll down past alllll the details and subject headings, you’ll see the list of all of the copies available at all the libraries in our system.  Next to that, there’s a tab that starts with the word Explore.

If you click that Explore tab, you’ll find the following as you scroll down the page:

• Summary – This gives you the publisher-provided summary of the book, extolling all its best features.

• About the Author – In addition to a brief biography of the author, this also highlights other books that they’ve written, which are clickable so that you can get right to the records and description for those books.

• Librarian Recommends – This section includes different librarian-generated lists that include this title, as well as some related lists that contain titles that might be of interest.

• Professional Reviews – Reviews of the book that have appeared in journals like Kirkus, Booklist, Library Journal, etc.

• Book Profile - This section often lists a bunch of features of the book—some related to the specific characters, and some related to the plot, setting, etc.  These are all clickable so that you can find other books with those features.

A couple of caveats:

• These features are only available for books (not for movies or music).
• Not every single book in the 4CLS catalog will have every one of these features, and older books in particular will likely not have this information available.

Sorting Items by Date in the Online Catalog

(Shared 3/25/2025)

When library staff and patrons search for items in the 4CLS online catalog (at www.4cls.org), the list of search results does not always show the newest items first. 

For example, my search for Louise Penny just now brings back a list with a 2010 book at the top; in most cases, you’d be looking for her most recent work to satisfy a patron request.

Here are two ways to sort items by publication date:

Sort search results by date

• After you’ve searched for your terms and received a list, click the Sort By menu at the top right.

• Choose Publication Date (Descending) to have the newest items appear at the top of the list. 

Limit search results by date

• After you’ve searched for your terms and received a list, look for the Publication Date section of the Limit Search Results menu on the left-hand side of the screen.  (It’s near the bottom of the menu.)

• In the boxes that say Any, type in the earliest and latest publication years that you’re looking for.  (You can make both of them the same year, if you want.)
• Click the blue Include button.
• The catalog will re-search and bring back only items that fit in the years you requested.

One caveat with both methods! 

There are some items in the catalog that are considered “continuations,” where the catalog believes that there are issues of a series that are published every year.  This is especially tricky with things like DVDs, graphic novels in series, travel guides, etc., but it can also include some older materials that were cataloged using now-outdated practices.

Tip of the Week- Finding Item-Specific Collections in the Online Catalog

(Shared 11/19/2024)

Do you ever have a patron who wants to know what books are available in large print by a particular author?  Or do you have a patron who’s curious about what tools might be available to borrow from libraries in 4CLS?  Or maybe you’re looking for a professional book related to a topic relevant to issues at your library.  In each of these cases, one of the easiest ways to find these items is to use the “Local Collection” option in the 4CLS online catalog.

Here’s how to do it:

• Visit www.4cls.org
• Type your search terms in the top bar, and click “Search” (or press “Enter”).
• When the list of items loads, look at the menus on the left-hand side, under “Limit Search Options.”
• In the menu titled “Local Collections,” click the link for the type of item you are interested in.
• The list will reload, with only the items relevant to your (or your patron’s) needs included.

Here are some examples:

Mrs. Jones would like to know what Danielle Steel titles are available in large print.

• Search for “Danielle Steel.”
• In the “Local Collections” menu, click the link for “Large print editions.”
• The list will reload to include only the LP versions of Danielle Steel’s books.

Mr. Smith is interested to test out some knitting equipment before he purchases it.

• Search for “knitting.”
• In the “Local Collections” menu, click the link for “LIBRARY OF THINGS” or “CRAFTING COLLECTION.”
• The list will reload to include only the knitting equipment available from member libraries in the system.

A library staff member is interested in getting some ideas for children’s programs to hold in the library.

• Search for “children’s programs.”
• In the “Local Collections” menu, click the link for “LIBRARY PROFESSIONAL COLLECTION.”
• The list will reload to include only the books available in the Professional Collection.

Thanks to our amazing 4CLS cataloging crew, there are quite a number of Local Collection options to help narrow your search and find what you need!  Here’s a list (please note that some items are included in multiple collections):

Audio-enabled book collection.

Big books collection.

Blu-ray collection.

Book club kit collection.

Book-on-CD collection.

Braille book collection.  

Compact disc collection.

DVD collection.

Language CD collection.

Large print editions.

Launchpad collection.    

Library professional collection.

Literacy collection.

MP3 collection.

Playaway collection.

Readalong collection.

Reading Rainbow collection.

Storytime kit collection.

Toniebox collection.

Video game collection.

LIBRARY OF THINGS COLLECTIONS

Attractions and experiences collection.   

Cookware collection.    

Electronics and equipment collection.

Games and puzzles collection.

Crafting collection.

Puppet collection.

Recreation collection.

Tool collection.

Toys and educational materials collection.

Tip of the Week- Finding Book Club Kits

(Shared 4/2/2025)

This week's tip is about finding book club kits in Workflows and the OPAC.

Workflows:

• To search in Workflows, set Index to "General," Type to "Keyword," and Library to "ALL_LIBS" (if you want to search all libraries).
• Search for "book club kit collection" in the Search bar.
• All book club kits should have "[kit]" in the record's title.
• Alternatively, you can click the "Book club kit collection" hyperlink under "Local collection" in the record preview to view them all.

OPAC:

• Go to the library catalog: www.4cls.org
• Set your search to "Everything" and "All Fields," and click "Search" (without entering anything in the search bar).
• On the left, in the "Format" filter, check "kit" and click "include."
• On the left, in the "Local Collection" filter, check "book club kit collection" and click "include."
• Searching the OPAC allows you to see cover art and book synopses.