Temple University Libraries

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Library Search FAQs

What is Library Search?

Library Search is your gateway to discover library content. Use Library Search to find books, articles, newspapers, archival material, images, streaming media, and much more. 
For an introduction to the site, please see our Library Search tutorial.

What does Library Search include?

Library Search includes: 
  • Books & Media: print books and ebooks, streaming audio and video, DVDs, musical scores, government documents, materials in our special and digital collections, and other online resources
  • Articles: scholarly journal articles, newspaper articles, book chapters, and other online resources
  • Databases: searchable subscription and open-access databases containing a variety of source types 
  • Journals: journals, newspapers, trade publications, magazines, and more
  • Website: information from the libraries’ website such as spaces, people, events, blogs, finding aids and services

Library Search also provides the top results for Research Guides and links to the main search for those resources.

What does Library Search not include? 

Library Search does not include:

In addition to Library Search, you can use other library databases for more focused research and article searching. Not everything in our databases can be found in Library Search.

What are some search tips for using Library Search? 

Search Tips for Books & Media, Databases, Journals, and Website

If you’re getting starting, refer to: 

Search Tips for Articles

If you’re getting starting, refer to: 
The article searches in Library Search are powered by the Ex Libris Central Discovery Index (CDI). Learn more about advanced search and ranking features on the Ex Libris Knowledge Center site.

What other features are included in the Library Search?

In Library Search, you can:

Where can I find privacy information about Library Search? 

Temple University Libraries gathers usage statistics related to web traffic using Google Analytics. As part of our library services, the Temple University Libraries also collects information about library transactions through our integrated library system, Alma. This information is accessible to library staff and the third party vendor, Ex Libris, for the purposes of managing library accounts. See Temple University Libraries’ policies on the Confidentiality of Patron Records and the Ex Libris Security and Data Policy for more information.

How is Library Search built?

Library Search originally launched on July 3, 2017. It was upgraded in August 2018 to an open source application built by Temple University Libraries’ Library Technology Development unit and based on the Ruby on Rails framework, Blacklight. It includes components to harvest, index, and display library records from multiple data sources as well as integrations with other library systems. For more technical details, visit our GitHub repository.

We use the following data sources and integrations for each search type. 
  • Books & Media, Journals: We harvest records from Temple University Libraries’ library catalog, which is managed in our integrated library system Alma, and then index the records in Apache Solr. We retrieve real-time availability information, request options, and account details via Alma REST APIs and have additional system integrations with E-ZBorrow, Aeon, Google Books, and LibKey Discovery. 
  • Articles: We retrieve records from the Ex Libris Central Discovery Index (CDI) via the Primo Search REST API. We retrieve the availability displays from our integrated library system, Alma. 
  • Databases: We retrieve data from Temple University Libraries’ Databases A-Z directory, which is managed in our LibGuides platform, and then index that in Apache Solr. 
  • Website: We retrieve data from Temple University Libraries’ custom-built website and then index that in Apache Solr. 

More questions?

If you need further assistance with the Library Search or have feedback, you can ask a librarian or contact asktulibrary@temple.edu. Additional information can also be found in the FAQ's for Temple University Libraries.