Library: First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg, Florida

FPC Library Catalog now online!

2009-07-04T23:30:00.007-04:00

This summer, volunteers have created an online catalog for the congregational library. This catalog is powered by an online service called LibraryThing.

Accessing the catalog is easy!

Click Here

OR

Type the following URL into your preferred internet browser:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/libraryfpc

There is also a link to the catalog in the right sidebar of this webpage.

Here are some brief instructions to get you started:

The catalog link will take you to the homepage for our catalog, which will allow you to browse the collection.
Near the top, the left side the the screen, you'll see the phrase "LibraryFPC has suggested a style for viewing this library (use it)." Click the "use it" link for optimal viewing. (Once you have done this, the text will change to "stop using it".)
Also on the left side of the screen, at the top, under the LibraryThing logo and the tabs, is a box that will tell you what part of the collection you are searching. The first time you access the catalog, this will probably default to either "your library" or "all collections". Either of these choices will let you search all of the records in the FPC Library. There are other options, for searching parts of the collection: Main Library (Adult Reading Level), Juvenile Library (Children's subjects/reading level) and DVD Library (DVDs in the collection). If you're searching for the first time, keep it at "all collections" or "your library". If you've recently searched the catalog, and, for example, chose to search only the "Juvenile Library", it might default to that the next time you log in. To switch between these, you can click the arrow, highlight your choice, and LibraryThing will change it for you.
On the right hand side of the screen, near the top, you'll see a search box that reads "search this library", with a search button next to it. This defaults to an "all fields" keyword search, and is probably the best way to start searching.

If you know the title of the book you want, type the title in the box and click "search".

If you know an author's name, type the author's name and click "search".

If you want to search for books on a subject (ex: Christmas, reformation, Moses, etc.), type that keyword into the search box, click "search", and the catalog should return a list of books we have on that topic. If you do not get results, try a synonym, check your spelling, use a broader term, etc.

The following posts will give more indepth instructions. Scroll down to read through those, or use the "Help Index" on the right sidebar.

How do I search books by topic/subject?

2009-07-04T16:38:00.005-04:00

There are several ways to search the FPC Library Catalog for books on a particular topic .

Here's one way:

Access the FPC Library Catalog (If you need instructions on this, click here.) We suggest you click on the link to use the suggested viewing style, when you first log in. This is the upper left of your screen.
On the right hand side of the screen, near the top, you'll see a search box that reads "search this library", with a search button next to it. The default search is "All fields". This is a general keyword search of all words in the catalog, and is probably your best bet for finding books on a particular topic. If the box next to the "search" button does not say "All Fields" use the arrow key to select "All Fields."
Type in your keyword subject/topic term and click "Search."
If your search yields too many results, you may want to choose a narrower term, or add an additional term to your search. Note: If you change the search mode from "All fields", make sure you change it back if you want to continue searching by subject or topic instead of author/title.
If your search yields too few results, try using a broader term, less terms (if you were using more than one) or a synonym. You can also browse the "tags" used by the FPC Library (see below.)
If you do not find the information you need, please feel free to email us, or to ask the volunteer on duty when the library is open.

Here's another way:

Access the FPC Library Catalog (If you need instructions on this, click here.) We suggest you click on the link to use the suggested viewing style, when you first log in. This is the upper left of your screen.
Near the top of the screen, under the LibraryThing logo and tabs, navigation tabs, there are some buttons that control navigation of the site. One of these is marked TAGS.
Click on the TAGS button.
You will then see a page that lists all of the subject tags that have been applied to the records for the books in the FPC Library Collection. These tags are in alphabetical order, and the number listed after the tag indicates the number of books that have been marked with that subject tag.
Browse the list of tags.
If you see a tag that corresponds to your interest, click the tag and you will get a list of books on that topic.

How do I search for a specific author?

2009-07-04T15:26:00.002-04:00

If you know the the name of an author, and want to find out if the FPC Library owns books by that person, do the following:

Access the FPC Library Catalog (If you need instructions on this, click here.) We suggest you click on the link to use the suggested viewing style, when you first log in. This is the upper left of yours screen.
On the right hand side of the screen, near the top, you'll see a search box that reads "search this library", with a search button next to it. The default search is "All fields". You can use this for your title search.
If your search yields too many irrelevant results, you may want to change (using the down arrow next to the "search" button) to the Author/Title search mode. This narrowing feature may be useful when your author is a famous person who also may be the subject of books not by him/her (example: Billy Graham), or if the author has a very common name.
Note: If you change the search mode from "All fields", make sure you change it back if you want to continue searching by subject or topic instead of author/title.
If you do not find the book you need, please feel free to email us, or to ask the volunteer on duty when the library is open.

How do I search for a specific title?

2009-07-04T15:01:00.006-04:00

If you know the title of a book, and want to find out if the FPC Library owns a copy, do the following:

Access the FPC Library Catalog (If you need instructions on this, click here.) We suggest you click on the link to use the suggested viewing style, when you first log in. This is the upper left of yours screen.
On the right hand side of the screen, near the top, you'll see a search box that reads "search this library", with a search button next to it.
The default search is "All fields". You can use this for your title search.
If your search yields too many irrelevant results, you may want to change (using the down arrow next to the "search" button) to the Author/Title search mode. This narrowing feature may be useful when your title contains popular words such as "Bible", "Jesus", or "Christmas".
Note: If you change the search mode from "All fields", make sure you change it back if you want to continue searching by subject or topic instead of author/title.
If you do not find the book you need, please feel free to email us, or to ask the volunteer on duty when the library is open.