Help Center

Search Tips

Adjacency: Multiple words are searched together as one phrase.
Example: world health organization
Wildcards: Words may be right-hand truncated using an asterisk ("*") in place of other characters. The "*" wildcard may also be embedded in a search string. You may use "?" to replace a single character anywhere within a word.
Examples: environment* polic*; wom?n
Boolean Operators: Use "and" or "or" to specify multiple words in any field, any order. Use "and not" to exclude words.
Example: stocks and bonds
Example: (alaska or canada) and (adventure and not vacation)
Field Limits: A field limit causes the system to search only the specified field for the specified word(s).
Grouping: Keyword search results are usually grouped by relevance to bring the most likely titles to the top of the list. Each group represents a similar level of relevance and results are sorted within the group by date or title. To get an ungrouped result set, use Boolean operators to form a complex query.

Results Ranking

About: Keyword search results are ranked by relevancy. This ranking is intended to bring the best results to the top. Results will appear in up to 5 groups. Each group is ordered by date unless title or relevance is selected from the Sorted By menu. To deactivate ranked results select (Author, Title, Subject, or Note) from the Any Field drop-down menu.
Most Relevant: The search returns the very small number of titles where the primary title contains the search as a phrase (e.g. Values Education).
Highly Relevant: The search phrase appears in the subtitle (e.g. Matters of Feeling: Values Education Reconsidered).
Very Relevant: The search phrase is in the contents, series notes, or subject headings (e.g. Politics, Education, and Citizenship which has the phrase "values education" in the table of contents).
Relevant: The Boolean AND pulls words from the search phrase in the primary title and/or subtitle (e.g. Values, Citizenship, and the Purposes of Higher Education).
Other Relevant: The Boolean AND pulls the words from the search phrase from anywhere in the record (e.g. Place of Science in a World of Values and Facts which has "values" in the title and "education" in one of the subjects).

Renewing

Patrons may renew their materials online as long as:

Their account is not expired.
The material is not overdue.
The material is not on hold for another patron.
The material has been renewed less than two times.

How to renew materials:

Log in to your library account by clicking the "Login" menu item in the top right corner of browser.
Your "Checked Out Items" will display at the bottom of the screen.
Select the materials you want to renew by checking the boxes in the renew column and then click the "Renew Selected" button. To renew all items click the "Renew All" button. Confirm your renewals when asked.
If an item cannot be renewed, a message will appear on the screen. If you are successful, a new due date will appear in the "status" column. Always check the STATUS column for information on the success or failure of your renewal.

To renew materials after they are overdue, call 517.546.0720 or bring the materials to the circulation desk. If the material is marked as "Billed" you will need to bring the material to the circulation desk.

Preferred Searches

If you have a favorite author or subject for which you often search when using the catalog, you can save the search with the click of a button. This will prevent you from having to key in the search each time and you can even have the search run automatically, sending an email notice when there are new items matching your search terms!
How to:

Log in to Library Account by clicking the "Login" menu item in the top right corner of browser.
Click on the "New Search" menu item in the top right corner of browser.
Search for your favorite author, subject, title, etc. or create an advanced keyword search including limits to material type, language, publication year, etc..
When your results are displayed, click the button marked "Save as preferred search".
The next time that you log in to your library account, you can click the "Preferred Searches" button to see a list of your saved searches.
Click on the search link associated with any of the preferred search terms in the list to quickly execute your search.
You can be alerted of new materials added to the library collection which match your searches. Just check the "Mark for Email" box and be sure that your patron record information includes your current email address.

Reading History

Patrons may keep a record of the Howell Carnegie District Library materials that they check out. (Please read the disclaimer below before opting into this service.)
How to:

Log in to Library Account by clicking the "Login" menu item in the top right corner of browser.
Click on the "Reading History" button.
To activate Reading History Click on the "Opt In" button.
From this point on when you check out Howell Carnegie District Library owned materials (this service does not work with Mel materials), your checkouts will be recorded and accessible in your Reading History.
If you want to "remove items" from you reading history fill in the mark box, and hit the Delete Marked button. You may also use the delete all button.
If you want deactivate "Reading History" hit the Delete All button, and then the Opt Out button.

Disclaimer: It is the policy of the Howell Carnegie District Library to preserve the confidentiality and privacy of the registration and circulation records of its patrons to the fullest extent permitted by law. (Circulation Policies, E. Disclosure of Circulation Records) Although the Howell Carnegie District Library server uses secure connections into your library account, there is no guarantee that your personal reading history is absolutely secure from other users on the network.

Start the login by clicking the "Login" menu item in the top right corner of browser.
A Login form will show with the following fields "Name", "Barcode or Your Alternate ID", and "Enter your PIN".
Enter correct information into all the fields.
Press "Submit" button to login to your patron account.

If you happened to forget your PIN click the "Forgot Your PIN?" button and fill in the PIN Request form to get an email sent with the link to reset your PIN. If you do not have an email associated with your account please call the library for assistance at 517.546.0720.

Item Status

Ordered by status frequency.

Due mm-dd-yy: The item is checked out to another patron.
ACTION: You may place a hold on the item or request the item from another library through MeLCat.
Check Shelf: The item should be on the shelf.
ACTION: If you cannot find the item on the shelf ask at any public service desk for assistance.
Billed: The item is overdue.
ACTION: You may place a hold on the item or request the item from another library through MeLCat.
Claims Returned: The item cannot be located by the borrower or library.
ACTION: You may place a hold on the item or request the item from another library through MeLCat.
In Transit: The MeLCat (interlibrary loan) item is on its way to the library.
Lost: The item has been lost by the borrower.
ACTION: You may request the item from another library through MeLCat.
Lost and Paid: The item has been lost and paid for by the borrower.
ACTION: You may request the item from another library through MeLCat.
On Holdshelf: The item is currently reserved for a borrower.
ACTION: You may place a hold on the item or request the item from another library through MeLCat.
In Processing: The item is being cataloged and processed for the collection. It is currently unavailable for checkout.
ACTION: Place a hold on the item and when your name comes up, you will be contacted.
Recently Returned: The item has been returned to the library within the last 24 hours. The item may be on the shelf, if not ask at a service desk.
Mending: The item is being repaired and is unavailable for checkout.
ACTION: You may place a hold on the item or request the item from another library through MeLCat.
On Order: The item is on order, but not yet received by the library.
ACTION: Place a hold on the item and when your name comes up, you will be contacted.
Withdrawn: The item has been removed from the collection.
ACTION: You may request the item from another library through MeLCat.
Damaged: The item has been damaged and is unavailable for checkout.
ACTION: You may request the item from another library through MeLCat.
Missing: The item has disappeared and is unavailable for checkout.
ACTION: You may request the item from another library through MeLCat.
Technical Services: The item is in the Technical Services Department and is unavailable for checkout.
ACTION: You may place a hold on the item or request the item from another library through MeLCat.
Information Desk: Ask at the Information Desk for the item.
MEL Paged: Item has been requested by a patron at another library. It has been removed from the shelves in preparation for shipping to the requesting library.
On MEL Loan: The item is on loan to patron at another library through MeLCat, the interlibrary loan program. The item is currently unavailable but a hold may be placed.
MEL Received: A requested MeLCat (interlibrary loan) item from another library has been received and is being processed and prepared for checkout by a Howell Library patron.
MEL Returned: A MeLCat (interlibrary loan) item is being returned to the lending library.
MEL Canceled: A MeLCat (interlibrary loan) request has been canceled and will not be sent to the Howell Library.
MEL Re-Request: A canceled MeLCat (interlibrary loan) request has been requested a second time.
MEL Renew Pending: A MeLCat (interlibrary loan) renewal request is pending the lending library’s decision to renew or not.
MEL Renew Deny: A MeLCat (interlibrary loan) renewal request was denied and the item must be returned to the lending library.

Using Lists

When performing searches in the catalog you can gather and save information from your search results to a list. A wish list is available for your current session only. However, if you have a library account, you can create and save multiple lists to your account for future reference.

How to create, edit and save a list:

Log in to Library Account by clicking the 'Login' menu item in the top right corner of browser.
Click on the "New Search" menu item in the top right corner of browser.
Search for your favorite author, subject, title, etc. or create an advanced keyword search including limits to material type, language, publication year, etc..
When your results are displayed, click the button “Save all to Wishlist” to create a wish list or choose select titles to save to a list.
You can conduct multiple searches during your current session and add them to your wish list. Clicking on the button “View my Wishlist” will display everything you have added during that session. You can now edit, export, or save the list.
When saving a list, your will be prompted to sign in to your library account if you have not already done so, and will be asked to choose an existing list or create a new one. Click on Submit.
You can now log in to your account and click on My Lists to view your lists at any time. The information in these lists display real-time information and links that enable you to place holds.

Help Center

Item Status Help