About CONSULS
You may hear librarians refer to CONSULS (Connecticut State University Library System) as the OPAC or Online Public Access Catalog. CONSULS is the online catalog of the Connecticut State University Libraries at WCSU, SCSU, ECSU, & CCSU, and the Connecticut State Library. CONSULS replaces the old-fashioned paper card catalog. Currently there are over 1.2 million bibliographic records describing 1.9 million volumes held in the collections of the CONSULS member libraries.
Accessing CONSULS
CONSULS is accessible from any location on the Internet at: http://www.consuls.org
You can also get to CONSULS from the home page, under Books & Media
Searching CONSULS
CONSULS may be searched by Words (keywords), Subject (Library of Congress Subject Heading), Author, Title, Author & Title, or Other Searches (Family Name*, LC Call Number, Dewey Decimal Number, ISSN, or ISBN).
* Family Name searching only applies to the holdings of the Connecticut State Library.
Keyword Searching:
Keyword searching looks for words in titles, subjects or notes and allows you to place limits on the search before submitting. Using more than one keyword requires Boolean operators (see mini-guide below). If you do not use Boolean search operators, CONSULS will look for your keywords as a phrase, which will seriously limit the search results. You may limit by language, location, year, or material type. Note : to search for only those items located in the WCSU libraries you should limit by location WCSU.
Tips for Author, Title, Subject and Other Searches:
Requesting Items from Other CONSULS Libraries
If you need a particular item in CONSULS that is either checked out or not available at the WCSU Libraries you may request it from one of the other CSU Libraries. It usually takes between 3 days and a week for an item that is on the shelf at one of the other CSU libraries to arrive at WCSU. To request an item from another CONSULS library simply click the Request Book button at the top of the screen from within the record of the item you wish to request. You will be prompted to provide your Student ID (Banner) Number, your Library PIN**, and Pickup Location. Once you have entered the required information, click the Submit Above Information button and you will be prompted to select the specific item you wish to request. Once selected, click the Request Selected Item button. Please note: you must click the Request Selected Item button or your request will not be sent. You may request items not available at the CSU Libraries by Interlibrary Loan.
**If you do not have a PIN you will be prompted to create one. Your Library PIN should be between 5 and 12 characters (numbers or letters, or numbers and letters) and is encrypted in the library system. If you have forgotten your Library PIN please contact Haas Circulation at (203) 837-9100.
Printing, Emailing and Saving Records
You may print, email, or save a record or list of records from CONSULS. To print, email or save a record you must Export the record by choosing the Export button at the top of the screen. Alternatively you may choose to check the boxes to the left of the titles in a list of titles and then click the Save Marked Records button at the bottom of the screen. To print, email or save a list you have created, click the View/Export Marked Records button at the top of the screen. The next page displays the format and export (Send List To) options along with your list of titles. In general you should choose format option Full Display. Export options are Email, Screen and Local Disk. To send the list to an email address choose Email, type the address in the box and click the Submit button. To print the list choose Screen, click the submit button, and when the list is displayed use the web browser’s print button to print the list. To save the list, navigate to the desired directory and click the Submit button.
