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Research Guides | Library | Amherst College

FOLIO Library Migration

Overview

What is Discover?

Discover is a tool that searches physical and many online collections across the Five Colleges and most of our research databases at one time.

It can be a great place to get started on a topic or make sure you haven't missed anything.

Because it's looking for material in so many different places, the search results can sometimes be overwhelming! This page has tips to focus your search.

Filter Search Results by Format

On the left side of your search results screen there is an option to filter by Format of the material (book, article, etc.).

Screenshot of Format filter with options for filtering by format type

  • Select Books to filter your results to books only
  • Select eBooks to filter your results to ebooks only
  • Select Academic Journals to filter your results to articles from academic, or peer reviewed, journals only

If you don't see the format you want, click Show More to see all your filtering options.

Filter Search Results by Library Location

On the left side of your search results screen there is an option to filter by Library Location.

Screenshot of Library Location search filter with location options shown

Select the location you want to filter by. Your search results will automatically update after each selection.

See all library locations

Locations are ordered by frequency (the number of search results), instead of alphabetically.

If you don't see a library location you need, click on Show More.

Sort locations alphabetically

For an alphabetical list of locations, click on Show More, then click on Name at the top of the list.

Screenshot of Library Location expanded filter with Name sort option highlighted

Filter Search Results by Availability

Limit Search Results to Full Text

On the left side of your search results there is an option called Limit To which will filter your results.

Select Full Text (Digital) to filter your results to items where the full text is immediately available online.

Screenshot of Limit To filter with Full Text (Digital) option selected

Please read: If you use this option, you will be filtering out material that we can get for you via the Request Service. This service is often very fast (a few hours to a couple of days), so we recommend only using this filter for last-minute, need-it-now situations.

Limit Search Results to Available at Amherst

On the left side of your search results find the Limit To function.

Select Amherst College Only to filter your results to items available at Amherst on the shelves or online.

Screenshot of Limit To section with Amherst College Only filter selected

This will filter out physical materials at other Five Colleges libraries as well as online materials only accessible at other Five College library locations.

Search the Five Colleges Catalog Only

Discover includes the Five Colleges shared catalog in search results. You can pre-limit your search to only search the catalog, or filter your search results afterwards.

Pre-limit your search to the Five Colleges catalog

Click the advanced search link under the Discover search box

Discover search box with advanced search link highlighted

Beneath the search box, find the Limit your results box.

Select Five Colleges Catalog Only to pre-limit your search to materials in the Five Colleges.

Limit your results section with Five Colleges Catalog Only checkbox selected

Filter your search results to the Five Colleges catalog

On the left side of your search results find the Limit To function.

Select Five Colleges Catalog Only to filter your results to materials in the Five Colleges.

Limit To section with Five Colleges Catalog Only selected