Using our Library Catalog (also known as "OneSearch") might seem confusing or overwhelming at first. But it's actually not all that different from using other online and digital resources.
The following are a few helpful reminders on getting the most out of our Library Catalog.
Did you know you already have the skills needed to successfully find books and ebooks in the Library Catalog?
Every time we listen to music on an app, shop online on a website, or call someone using a mobile phone, we use a database. And like many of the other databases we use regularly, the Library Catalog is designed to work in similar way.
Remember: You Got This
Less is more in Library Catalog search requests; more words don't lead to better results.
Although some databases might understand complex requests, the Library Catalog handles simple search requests best. That's why it's better to limit an initial search request to just a handful of words on the fewest number of essential. (Think of the Library Catalog like a pet dog: simple, brief commands are more effective than long, complex requests.)
Remember: Keep It Simple... And Use Fewer, Better Words In Your Searches
Why waste time reinventing the wheel or doing things the hard way, when there might be an easier way?
Often times the problem isn't too few results when searching, but too many. Rather than manually scrolling through an endless list of results, trying to find the needle in the proverbial haystack, it's easier and faster to use the filtering options built into the Library Catalog to narrow down the list of results, such as availability, resource type, author, location, subject, etc.
Remember: Ain't Nobody Got Time For That... So Use Filters To Quickly Focus Results
Because it's a database and provides an interface to view and follow shared connections and relationship between items, once something has been found in the Library Catalog, it's easy to find other things related to it.
Can't remember the title of a song by a particular artist? Searching in a music streaming app and a few clicks later all of an artist's available albums and songs are listed. Find one book by an author on Amazon and all it takes is a click or two to find all of their other available works. The same is true when using the Library Catalog.
Remember: One Good Thing Leads To Another... So Take Advantage Of The Library Catalog Interlinking And Interface
Let's do some holiday shopping for My Little Pony on Amazon as an example. 
(Note: Over time databases such as Amazon are likely to be updated resulting in changes to their interfaces and options presented. While the screenshots of Amazon presented might no longer be entirely accurate by the time they are viewed, the functionality shown will almost certainly still exist in some form.)
Searching (Start Simple) 
There are lots of ways we can shop on Amazon.com, but let's just start by typing and searching for: My Little Pony
Way Too Many Results (Filtering)
With over 7,000 items, that's way too many to look at. Ain't nobody got time for that.
Let's use the filtering options on the left side to narrow down our results.
That's Better 
We went from over 7,000 down to just 65 items, using the category options on the left side to filter the results for Books then Children's Books then Beginner Readers.
Much better!
(Note: we should always be mindful when filtering that we might be missing out on lots of great items by narrowing down so much.)
Take a Look Around (Exploring) 
Lots of ways to find more things to browse and buy, thanks to the helpful "Frequently bought together" feature.
Although, the author's name appears to be a clickable link. Perhaps the author has written other books, too?
Easy Peasy 
And with that one click, we're at the author's landing page and can see she's written lots of other My Little Pony books. No need to manually search for them ourselves. Nice!
Now that we've had a quick overview of the research process (search, filter, explore), let's see how to apply it to our OneSearch Library Catalog by searching for books & ebooks.