ODIN Basic Search

Use ODIN to find books, government documents, electronic books, selected Internet sources, videos, CDs, DVDs, and other materials in the NDSU Libraries. A link to the ODIN Online Catalog is on the NDSU Libraries home page in the left column under Research Tools, or go to http://www.odinlibrary.org/nwq.html.

Start a Keyword Search

  1. When you open the online catalog you will be taken to the Basic Search screen. This page is set up to automatically search the NDSU Libraries catalog for any matches to the keyword(s) that you type in the Search For text box (#1 on the search screen).
  2. Click in the Search For text box and type in a word or a phrase. Be as specific as you can to start your search. The example below uses women with detectives rather than just detectives.
  3. To truncate search terms use the asterisk (*) for word endings (detective*) or word beginnings (*phobia).
  4. To replace a letter or letters inside of a word to retrieve various spellings, use the pound sign (#). Using this symbol in wom#n will search for both woman and women.
  5. Use the Boolean terms (and, or, not) to narrow or expand your search.
  6. Click Search and wait for the search results.


Search by Keywords in the Title, Author or Subject

  1. After typing in your search term(s), go to the Search Type box and click on the down arrow next to Keyword(s) Anywhere (#2 on the search screen).
  2. Select the appropriate search type: Title, Author, or Subject.

Start a New Search
Click on the Basic Search button or the Clear button to begin a new search at any time.

Display Search Results

  1. The results list will display alphabetically by the title of the item. To sort by author, format, or title, click on the underlined column header.
  2. To see a full record of an individual item, click on the #-view link for the record.
  3. To display the call number of an item, click on the Library link in the far right column. Complete location information will be displayed.

Print Records
Display the full record of an item using the #-view link. Click on File in your browser, then Print.

Email or Save Records

  1. Select up to 10 records by clicking in the box to the left of the author.
  2. Select Save/Mail in the light bluemenu bar.
  3. Follow the instructions for emailing the records or saving the records to your disk.

Want to know more? Select the ODIN Catalog Help button in the upper right corner of the Basic Search screen.