Getting Started with Mirlyn

Mirlyn is the University of Michigan's online catalog system, and includes the catalogs of the Thompson Library catalog and of various libraries in Ann Arbor. Links on the Thompson Library website take you directly into the Thompson Library's catalog.

Searching

Basic Search

The Basic Search screen appears when you open Mirlyn. The default search is a keyword search labeled Word(s) anywhere. This search will identify a word, words, or a phrase throughout the catalog record in the author, title or subject fields, in the publishing information, notes, etc.

You may also search by title, author, subject, journal name and call number. Use the pull-down menu to the left of the search box to change search type. You may type multiple terms in the search box and combine them using and, or or not. Search Hints

  • Mirlyn is not case-sensitive.
  • Use quotations marks around an exact phrase for which you are searching.
  • You may search for words that are used as Boolean operators (i.e. and, or and not) within quotation marks; for example, gone but not forgotten.

Advanced Search

Advanced searching allows you to combine two or more different types of search terms. Click on the Advanced Search link in the yellow bar in the banner at the top of the screen to go to Advanced Search. The three search boxes display three different search fields as defaults but all can be changed using the pull-down menu to the left of the text box.

Browse

Select an index to browse from the pull-down on the Browse page. The closest match to your search appears as the second item on the results list. Click to display the item of interest.

The basic search screen provides both word and browse search types. Additional options are available on the advanced search screen and on the browse screen.

Search versus Browse

Within Mirlyn search and browse have different meanings and give different results. This distinction is important.

Search commands include vword(s) and result in a list of books, journals and other material that have the search term(s) somewhere in the record. Example: word(s) anywhere chocolate retrieves a list of all Mirlyn entries that have the word chocolate anywhere in the title, author, publisher, subject, etc.

Browse commands usually include the words vbegins with However, Call number and Author (last name first) are also browse searches. The result of a browse is an alphabetic or numeric list with your term or the nearest match in second position. You can scroll forward and backward through this list.

Example: subject begins with chocolate retrieves:

    Chocky
    Chocolate by Hershey a story about Milton S. Hershey
    A chocolate soldier : a novel
    The chocolate war : a novel

Search Results

If your search finds only one match, the full record for that book (or other source) will display. If you have more than one match, you will see the brief record display. To display the full record, click on the title of the work or on the item number to the left of the work. Icons in the second column of the results list show the type of material.

Brief Record Display

From the full display (see below) you can tell the location of an item (including which library has it, if you're searching more than one library's catalog). To see if the item can be checked out, click on the location link.

Full Record Display


Personal Options


Click on Login

If you do not already have an account, click on account setup form. Select a method; you may use your Kerberos (or Ann Arbor) password or set up a separate password. Logging in allows you to use features such as My Account, My Shelf, and My Saved Searches.

  • My Account shows what you have checked out, your hold requests, and what you owe. You may renew books through My Account. You can also set some preferences, including selecting a default catalog.
  • My Shelf is a permanent list of saved records. Save from the individual item record.
  • My Saved Searches are permanently saved searches. Save from Previous Searches page. Redo searches by checking the box next to the search on your My Saved Searches page and clicking on Re-run Search.


Problems or Questions?

If you have problems or questions using Mirlyn which are not answered by this handout or the online help:

  • Ask at the Reference Desk on the third floor of Thompson Library.
  • Call the Reference Desk at 810-762-3408.
  • Contact a reference librarian by clicking the Ask Us link in the dark blue part of the Mirlyn banner.

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