Help Notes
Version 5: BDSLive
July 2015
Annandale House
The Crichton
Banked Road
Dumfries
DG1 4TA
www.bibliographicdata.com
+441387 702251
Registered at the above address.
Registration number: Scotland 154602.
Contents
Welcome 3
Homepage 4
Logging in to BDSLive 4
Change password 4
Search 6
How to search 6
Quick search 6
Searching for DVDs 6
Advanced search option 6
ISBN/EAN searching 7
Dewey range searching 7
Search filters 7
Results list 8
Filter options 9
Search options and Save Search results 9
Short List & List Manager 9
Exporting lists 10
Publishing lists 11
Slideshow 11
Selecting an item to view 12
ISBN Lookup 12
Browse 13
Preferences 14
Welcome:
Welcome to BDSLive. This manual will help you use to your best advantage the web-based, information-rich, multimedia cataloguing and search tool, BDSLive.
BDSLive is alive and dynamic. Please give us feedback about your experiences of using BDSLive as this will help us to change and improve BDSLive so that it better suits your needs. BDSLive is an adaptable tool which is focused on serving your library and the community of library users.
BDSLive is built upon the high quality data that has made BDS the foremost supplier of data to libraries in Britain. Whether researching a reading list, building the library catalogue, ordering a newly released DVD, reading up on your favourite computer games, building a purchase order or keeping track of stock, BDSLive should be your tool of choice.
This manual covers the fifth July 2015 release of BDSLive and subsequent updates to the site and has been updated from the initial help manual which was made available for use with the release edition of BDSLive.
Homepage:
The BDSLive Homepage
In order to reach the BDSLive Homepage, please visit www.bdslive.com
The new version of BDSLive has been optimised for use on phones and tablets and we recommend that you use the latest version of Internet Explorer (IE11), Safari, Firefox or Chrome wherever possible when logging into the site.
The BDSLive Homepage is the gateway to BDSLive. To progress beyond this page requires that you enter your subscriber’s username and password.
Sales contact information is displayed for Sarah Armitage, tel. 07860 324570 email .
At the very top of the screen, above the BDSLive banner, you will find the menu bar with tabs that offer access to the following features which stay on screen no matter where you are within BDSLive:
1. Home - where you are now.
2. Contact us – phone and email contact information
3. BDS Corporate Site – a link to the home page of the BDS Corporate site
4. Help – you will find a help telephone number – 01387 702255. Call this number between 9:00 and 17:00 to talk to someone if you are having problems with BDSLive or cannot answer your question through the use of this document. An email address for queries is also provided –
A copy of these help notes is also displayed.
5. Log In
This week’s top 10 titles can be seen at the bottom of the home page beneath the Log In box. If you click on any of these titles before logging in then you will be directed to the Log In screen. Once you have successfully signed in, clicking on these links will take you to more information about these titles within BDSLive.
Logging on to BDSLive
On the very top left of the screen, you will see a Log In button. BDS provides you with a login and password in order that you are able to use BDSLive. Please contact Sarah Armitage on 07860 324570 or email if you do not yet have your login and password. Clicking on the Log In button will take you to a new screen with the options to enter your login and password. If you have forgotten your password or want to change your password, please follow the on screen prompts within the login box. Once you have entered your login and password information, clicking on the Log In button will redirect you back to the Home page where your login name and a “log out” option will appear on the left hand side of the page. You will now be able to access the rest of BDSLive.
Once you are logged in to BDSLive, along the top of the screen, beneath the BDSLive banner, you will find the menu bar with tabs that offer access to the various features of BDSLive. You will not be able to access any of these areas of BDSLive without logging in. These options stay on screen no matter where you are within BDSLive, offering you speedy access to any feature of the BDSLive website. They are:
1. Books
2. Film
3. Music
4. Games
5. Manage
Clicking on any of the first four options will allow you to Browse search. Notes on using the Browse option can be found on page 13 of this document. Clicking on Manage gives you access to the following options:
1. ISBN Lookup (see page 12)
2. Publish lists (see page 11)
3. Manage lists (see page 9)
4. Saved searches (see page 9)
5. Preferences (see page 14)
Search
The search features in BDSLive enable you to track down the item or items you are looking for via a number of search options.
Search option
The Search option is present in every section of BDSLive and can be found on the top right of the screen. It offers the user the opportunity to begin or to change their line of research by entering a single word or phrase from anywhere within the site. There is a box into which you can type your search terms, a drop down list of databases to search and a “search” button. The drop down box defaults to “Search everything.” The type of search that Search offers is a keyword search; in other words, the search is processed through the number of times your search terms occur in an entry, including in the commentary. Thus, although this is a quick option, it is wise to choose your search terms carefully. Commonly occurring words or phrases, even in the titles of books, may result in a list of results that is quite wide-ranging. More specific searches can be performed using Advanced search. Notes on using the Advanced search option can be found on page 6 of this document.
Please note, when searching for DVDs, you must always leave a space between any initial letters and the numbers which follow them, for example:
AWP 014DVD
IMPH 0425
JD 11022
BBCDVD 2484
After you have entered your search terms, click “Search” and you will be presented with the results of your search. The results will be organised by relevance, newest first, unless you have changed your default settings in the Preferences section of the site. Notes on using the Preferences option can be found on page 14 of this document.
Advanced Search option
Advanced Search can be accessed by using the button labelled “Advanced Search” which stays at the top of every screen no matter wherever you are in BDSLive.
On the main Search form, there are three boxes in which to enter your search terms with drop down lists at the side of each box. Using the drop down arrows next to each of the fields you can choose any of 17 different field options from the drop down menu across three search entries. You can enter a single search term, a number of search terms or a phrase, using inverted commas.
Dewey range searching is possible in the Dewey drop down search option but the Dewey numbers must be entered separated by a colon and without any spaces, for example:
780:790
776.334:779
776:776.334092
The ISBN/Barcode search allows for the insertion of 10 or 13 digit ISBNs, EANs and manufacturer’s numbers for DVDs. When entering more than one ISBN separate your codes with a semi-colon and space. Alternatively, use the ISBN look up function. More detailed notes on ISBN look up follow later in this help document.
Please note, when searching for DVDs, you must always leave a space between any initial letters and the numbers which follow them, for example:
AWP 014DVD
IMPH 0425
JD 11022
BBCDVD 2484
Search filters
Publication date requires you to enter a date range, although you can, for example search from March 2015 to March 2015 to retrieve only titles due to be published in March 2015. This option can be used separately from Select Search Field(s) or independently of it, depending on whether you want to filter by date alone or by date and keyword, author, title etc.
Filter by Format and Filter by Type allow you to be more specific about the type of material which you are looking for.
Library quality or Trade books
The books database on BDSLive is formed of two separate databases, one of trade records and one of library quality records. These two books databases can be searched either in conjunction or separately by using the tick boxes next to each database name, depending upon whether you want to search our 2.5 million record AACRII library quality database our, 5.5 million record trade quality records, or whether you want to search the combined 8 million record library quality and trade databases. The default setting is Library quality and Trade books, however, this can be changed either by using the Filter by Type option on this page or by changing the default in the Preferences option. Notes on using the Preferences option can be found on page 14 of this document
Filter by Price allows you to limit your search results to a defined price range.
Filter by Availability allows you to retrieve pre-publication or published books titles. It also contains a rental/retail filter which allows you to retrieve only those rental titles which can be purchased and lent to library borrowers.
Sort by allows you to decide in what order your search results will be retrieved. The default setting is relevance, however, this can be changed either by using the Sort by filter on this page or by changing the default in the Preferences option. Notes on using the Preferences option can be found on page 14 of this document
Results list
After you have entered your search terms, click Submit and you will be presented with the results of your search. The results will be organised by relevance unless you have used the Sort by filter on the Advanced search screen to re-order your search results, or unless you have changed your default settings in the Preferences option. You can re-order your search results by using the drop down box on the top right of your Results list.
You can also filter your search results by using the drop down menus at the top of the search results page.
Your results list gives some information about the titles which your search has retrieved, including the prices and stockholdings of UK wholesalers and library suppliers. Price and Availability data from that supplier is displayed against each title on the right hand side of the results list.
You can change the display of the Results list from a List view to a Grid view by clicking on the options on the right side of the page.
Filter options
Once you have reached your list of search results, should you need to refine your search you can do so using the filters in the grey bar at the top of your list.
Search options
It is also possible to Save Search by choosing this option from the grey bar at the top of your search results. Choosing Save Search will give you the option to give your search a name by which you will be able to recognise it in future. Clicking on Save will then save your search parameters which you have entered against your log in until such time as you come to delete them. Saved searches can be accessed using the Manage tab which remains at the top of each screen throughout BDSLive.
Your ShortList
Your ShortList is situated on the top left of your results list page (underneath Advanced search) and allows you to create lists of MARC records to export to your library management system. Clicking on the “Add to ShortList” button against individual items, either from search results screen or from within the full details for an item will add that single item to your ShortList. Clicking on the “Add these to ShortList” button at the head of each page of search results will add the whole page of items to your ShortList.
TIP: Because you can set your search to retrieve up to 100 results per page (in Preferences or via Advanced search) you can add up to 100 results to a list at any one time.
You can add items from different results lists and from different searches to your ShortList. There is no limit on the number of items which you can add to your ShortList and you can add items from a mixture of different media types.
You can view your ShortList at any time by clicking on the “Your ShortList” button which remains at the top of each screen throughout BDSLive.
When you have added all the items which you require to your ShortList, clicking on the “Your ShortList” button and then clicking on “Save” directs you to your List Editor page. The List Editor allows you to view a Slideshow of your items or to Export or Publish your list, however, in order to access these options you must first give your ShortList a name and click on the Save button. The screen will take you into Manage lists and you will see your new list at the top of the list.