Return to home page




TOPCAT Features

New TOPCAT Features

Keyword Relevance Ranking

Keyword search results are now automatically grouped & ranked by relevancy to help bring best results to the top. Results are displayed chronologically by relevance, with the most recent and most relevant results displayed at the top of the result set. Read more about Keyword Relevancy Ranking.    Show me ...

Enhanced Browse Display

Keyword search results now also feature a "browse display" which includes the full title, imprint, library location(s), and material format icons (e.g., book, DVD, etc.).     Show me ...

Return to top

Keyword Spell Check

If you accidentally misspell or mistype a keyword search term, the system will provide spelling suggestion functionality ("Did you mean . . .?"). This includes a "Best Guess" link to the correct term(s) that is based on an internal dictionary as well as link to more choices (more >>) which features a drop down list of other possible matches for each keyword search term. Scroll through the drop down list to select the correct term, or type a correct spelling in the original search input box, then click on ‘Search’.

This feature appears when one is doing a Keyword or Advanced Keyword search.    Show me ...

Return to top

50 Search Results Per Page

After performing a search, you will now see 50 search results per page, rather than the old 12 per page. This allows you to more quickly scan through large result sets, as well as quickly save large result sets to email/export records by clicking on the “Save All on Page” button.    Show me ...

Tabs in the Full Record Display

Information in the Full Record display is displayed in a TABBED FORMAT.   Show me ...

The author, title, imprint displays first at the top of the record. Underneath are three tabs:

1) ITEMS AVAILABLE which is the default tab. It lists all libraries holding an item and includes their call number and item status (e.g., available, checked out, etc.). Clicking on the hot-linked call number will initiate a call number search, showing a browse screen of call numbers before and after the item's call number.

2.) FULL RECORD is the second tab. It includes full record information including all descriptive information relating to the record, content notes, series title and additional authors.

3.) FIND SIMILAR ITEMS is the third tab. It features all subject headings, as well as any additional authors, titles and/or series titles. You can click on any of these 'related items to initiate a new search for records with the clicked term. TOPCAT will take you to a browse screen with entries before and after the new search term.

Return to top

Permanent Links to TOPCAT Records:

Within the full TOPCAT record's ITEMS AVAILABLE tab, there will be a Permanent Link to this Title link. Click on the 'Permament Link to this Title'  to view a stable URL that will always lead directly to this TOPCAT record. Permanent links can be placed in course guides, bibliographies, Blackboard course pages, etc. - anywhere a direct link is needed.    Show me ...

Return to top

Logging into 'My Library Account':

You no longer have to login twice when requesting multiple items or using a remote database. Any time you log into TOPCAT using your barcode, you will have immediate access to your library record.

When logged into your account, you will now be able to see the number of items you have checked out, on hold, and/or overdue, even if the number is zero.

Return to top

Multiple Limit Values on Searches

Don't forget, you are able to select multiple values when limiting searches (e.g., DVD or Video; French, Spanish, etc.). You may also re-use and further limit searches that have already been limited. To do this, click on the Limit/Sort button or the Modify Search button from the search results page. Or, use the Advanced Search page.    Show me ...

Return to top

TOPCAT Search Plugin

You don't have to navigate to the TOPCAT home page to search the catalog. If you have the Firefox 2.0 or IE 7 web browsers, you can search TOPCAT directly from the search bar by installing the TOPCAT Search Plugin. Or, add TOPCAT to the Google Toolbar.

Read more about the TOPCAT Plugins.    Show me ...

Social Bookmarking Tool

Within each TOPCAT record there is a social bookmarking button that lets you save a library record as one of your Internet bookmarks. Click on the button and look for the web-based bookmarking service you use. There are many available, with del.icio.us being one of the most popular. Tag the bookmarked page with keywords to describe its contents. Social bookmarking lets you store all of your Internet bookmarks in one place online. You can share with others and discover other people's bookmarks by topic.     Show me ...

Return to top

Tags in TOPCAT Records

Many TOPCAT records now feature keyword tags, or tag clouds that help describe a given item. The tags are from LibraryThing, a book cataloging site that features a database of 21 million books, where public members contribute tags describing the contents of each item.

Click on a tag to retrieve other TOPCAT items having that same tag. The variation in tag font and font size reflects how many LibraryThing members have chosen to assign that particular tag to a title.

Tags are viewable within the full catalog record of many TOPCAT titles although they are not in all records.      Show me ...

Return to top

'You Might Like' Book Suggestions

Under the FIND SIMILAR ITEMS tab within a full record, there is a 'You Might Like' feature with book suggestions that are related or similar to the displayed title. Click on a title to link to its TOPCAT record.

This feature is available for many TOPCAT titles although not for all records.     Show me ...

Return to top

With thanks to the University of Miami Libraries.