• Searching and ordering literature
• Digital Library
• Reader Services
• Resources by Subject
• Courses and Tutorials­
• Libraries
• A to Z

• For Beginners
• Virtual tour
• User Account
• MyUB

The HEIDI Catalogue – Usage help

This page will be revised shortly. If you have any questions concerning the recently introduced HEIDI features ("Articles & more") please contact our Information Service Desks.

• Choice of lending branch
• What you can find in HEIDI
• Search functions
• Results list
• Status display
• Refine results
• Detailed display
• Export
• Inter-library loan
• Account
• Exit HEIDI
• Subject search
• Web2.0-AddOns for HEIDI (in German)
• "Getting started guide" for HEIDI (PDF-file; in German)
• film "How to use HEIDI" (in German)
• film "How to choose your lending branch in HEIDI" (in German)

Choice of the lending branch

On the OPAC front page please choose first of all your preferred lending branch. This is the lending branch at which media you order or reserve can be collected. You can also see what is directly available in this branch and what can be ordered there for borrowing or reference. The lending branch you have chosen is displayed in the menu bar and can be changed at any time

What you can find in HEIDI

The HEIDI online catalogue provides a complete list of the university library's holdings published from 1971 onwards. For older publications please note the parallel search results in the digitized card catalogue. Holdings of the decentralised libraries are listed completely from publication year 1990 onwards. Older publications are partly listed.

For further holdings please see the catalogue overview

HEIDI provides the option to subscribe via RSS to new titles that match your search request.

Further information about RSS (ger)

Display of individual titles from national licence products in the HEIDI online catalogue (ger)

Search functions

Basic Search

With "basic search", different categories (e.g. author, title, year of publication, keyword and ISBN) can be searched using a single search field. "Basic search" and "Advanced search" use the same database.

Advanced search

The advanced search option offers 3 fields into which search terms can be typed, along with options to sort the results and /or limit the search to specific holdings.

To change the search criteria use the pull-down-menu. After clicking on it (see arrow), other search criteria can be chosen, e.g. keyword, shelfmark, year, language, type of media, etc.

Search tips

For each search term specific "search tips" are offered bottom left in the search field. Please open via the plus sign.

Search tools

Multiple terms in the input field are automatically linked with the Boolean operator AND. Others (OR, NOT) can be inserted.

The 3 search fields are also linked together with the default setting "AND" which can be changed to "OR" or "NOT" via the pull-down menu.

You can choose how the displayed results will be sorted. Sorting is preset to reflect the accuracy of the results. It does this by displaying those results that seem to correspond best to your search terms at the top of the list. You can also sort the results in ascending or descending order by year of publication, in alphabetical order, etc.

Index

To the right of the search fields is the option to control your search terms via the index or apply them from the index directly to your search. This is recommended especially for the search categories author, corporate author, type of media, language, keyword or notation. Here as an example is the index language:

Search options

By choosing options you can specifically restrict your search in advance by criteria such as catalogue area, only journals, facsimiles, theses, films, online-holdings, etc.

Searches can also be restricted by location (such as institutions), e.g. university library, branch and departmental libraries or individual sections: UB-reading room, UB open-stacks, etc.)

Additionally, you can limit the number of results shown per page

You can also define whether you want to see the availability of all the results at the same time. Please note that this general availability check can slow down the OPAC response time. Alternatively, you can at first switch off the general availability check, and then display the specific availability of an item by clicking on the title.

You have the option to tick in the index fields whether the letters typed in so far should be completed from the index.

Search criteria

Specific advice on all search criteria is offered by the "search tips" (see above). Here are some further hints:

• When typing in the search terms, capitalization can be ignored.
• Umlauts can be typed in "as is" or resolved this way: ae, oe, ue.
• Truncation (substitution of letters or letter strings):
  • * replaces any number of letters,
    The usage of this truncation sign is possible from the 3rd position onwards. For example: entering the search term "Bau*" in the title field shows results whose titles contain "Baukunst", "Bauwirtschaft", "Bauarbeiter". etc.
  • ? replaces exactly one letter,
    e.g.: entering the search term Ma?er in the author field shows works by the authors "Maier", "Mayer", "Maler" etc.

Search history

On the right of the search mask you can open a search history and relink your search requests.

Results list

After starting your search you get a shortened list of results which display the most important bibliographic facts; when the availability option is activated you can also see the UB shelf mark and information on loan status. Furthermore, you can already order or reserve items, view electronic full texts, reviews and tables of content or search for similar titles or titles with identical topics.

Status display

The meaning of the most important status displays:

Available

The title can be found in one of the open-stack areas and can be taken from the shelves here and can be borrowed. An order is unnecessary, a reservation not possible. Please note the shelfmark to be able to find the title in the open stacks.

Can be ordered

Title can be found in closed stacks or in a sub-branch and can be ordered for borrowing. Upon completion of the order you will see the exact date of pick-up. When ordering before 12am, most of the holdings will be available from 2.30pm on the same day; when ordering after 12am, pick-up is usually the next day after 10.30.am

Can be ordered (reading room)

Title can be found in closed stacks and can be ordered for consultation within the UB.

On loan (reservation ...)

Title is currently on loan and can be reserved online. The expected date of availability displayed gives an estimate of when approximately the medium will be available. If there are any previous reservations the 4 week lending period per reservation has to be added. You will be informed of the actual date of availability by email or letter.

Free back since today

This item should be back in place tomorrow.

On order

Title has been ordered from a bookshop but has not yet arrived in the UB.

Being processed

Title was recently received and is being processed in the UB (cataloguing, labelling, bookbinding, etc.) The title can be reserved.

Not for loan

Title is part of an institute library which does not normally lend books. The location of the item and the library's address are shown in the detailed display

Not for loan (institutional collection)

Title is part of an institute library which does not normally lend books. The location of the item and the library's address are shown in the detailed display.

Available online

Direct access to full text available but may be restricted by the licence agreement to certain user groups and/or computer locations. Note parallel access possibilities for different holdings.
Note also additional printed editions, which are indexed separately in the catalogue.

Reference use for university members

Film holdings of the UB may only be used by university members (i.e. students and faculty) due to licencing restrictions.

See volumes

Complete record , shelf mark and availability displayed for the respective volumes.

Missing

Please contact the staff of the UB information centres for inter-library loan if necessary.

Held by institute library

Title is part of a departmental library's reference only collection. Via Full Details you can see the location and shelf mark.

Refine the result set

You can specifically structure your results according to year of publication, language, type of media, assigned keywords, type of document and/or personal names.

Via the plus sign you can open further selection options. You can see immediately how many hits you can find with a click against which criteria, which enables you to target your results.

It is also possible to increase the number of results via the function "search similar titles".

No results

Should you fail to get any results for your search request the OPAC will offer you an alternative search term:

Detailed display

You can view the complete bibliographic record, links to tables of content and reviews, book covers etc. when you click on the title (or the result number) to display the full information:

Here you also find shelf marks of departmental holdings and/or additional UB editions. Additionally, you can display a plan of the respective shelf mark group within the UB.

Export

Titles that were marked in the abbreviated list of results or in the full text display by clicking on the floppy-disc symbol, can be printed, saved or emailed via the function "export":

Inter-library loan

If you do not find the requested title in HEIDI and the other local catalogues (digitalised printed catalogue, catalogue of dissertations and brochures up to 1935, complete catalogue up to 1989) you can

order holdings of other libraries for loan or consultation via the UB, using the function "inter library loan". See: interlibrary loan help.

Account

Via the function "user account" you can get an overview of the titles you have ordered, borrowed and/or reserved. You can place reservations, change your password and email address and you can also see the registered user details and any accrued fees.

Exit HEIDI

Please make sure to close HEIDI properly by clicking "Logout". We strongly recommend to do this if you used self-service functions like orders or renewals. In this way you avoid the risk that other users work (by accident or knowingly) in your abandoned but still active session, possibly causing fees on your account.