FirstSearch
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About FirstSearch
Uniquely valued by member libraries, FirstSearch will continue to be offered as a separate service from WorldCat Discovery. A FirstSearch/WorldCat Discovery subscription provides access to the FirstSearch and WorldCat Discovery interfaces.
For more information about the future of FirstSearch and WorldCat Discovery, see Frequently Asked Questions, Next steps for WorldCat Discovery and FirstSearch.
Additional details about plans for FirstSearch will be shared as they are confirmed. To receive ongoing updates about FirstSearch enhancements, register for Discovery and Reference email updates.
View the FirstSearch interface with July 2018 enhancementsClick a file format below to view and download images of the new FirstSearch interface to update your library's instructional materials. Advanced Search screen 
Results screen 
Detailed record screen 
Access the new FirstSearch Community CenterWe're excited to announce a new FirstSearch Community Center, an online environment that provides an opportunity for FirstSearch users to connect through discussion boards, collaborate by sharing ideas and resources, and receive news directly from the FirstSearch product team. You can access the Community Center at https://www.oclc.org/community/firstsearch.en.html. Use your existing credentials for other OCLC Community Centers—such as WorldCat Discovery or WorldShare Interlibrary Loan—to access the new FirstSearch Community Center. If you do not have credentials, you can request them by submitting this form. Within 5-7 business days, you will receive an email with instructions for how to update your OCLC Services account password and log in to the FirstSearch Community Center. Please contact OCLC Support for your region with questions about your credentials. |
- Get started
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- Get started with FirstSearch.
- WorldCat Admin
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- About WorldCat Admin
- Administer staff ILL settings
- Administrative module direct links
- Create deep links to your library catalog in the WorldCat Services administrative module
- Customize databases and full text
- Customize Interlibrary Loan for patrons
- Customize passwords and timeouts
- Customize searching and library holdings
- Customize the Patron ILL Request Form
- Description of the administrative module
- Information needed to set up IP address recognition access to FirstSearch
- Link your library, FirstSearch, and other web resources
- Navigate the administrative module
- Send patron comments to your library
- Set up or change IP address recognition access to FirstSearch
- Use the WorldCat Services Admin module
- FirstSearch databases
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- Find detailed information about databases available from FirstSearch and the OCLC Z39.50 server.
- FirstSearch training
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- Find training on FirstSearch.
- Troubleshooting
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- Find frequently asked questions (FAQ) and troubleshooting steps (Troubleshooting).
- Are all ECO journals available through Z39.50 access?
- Are usage statistics available for my library?
- Can FirstSearch perform user authentication?
- Can I add my OpenURL server to FirstSearch?
- Can I browse Electronic Collections Online journals?
- Can I bypass the FirstSearch home page during login?
- Can I change the FirstSearch interlibrary loan request form?
- Can I choose a default database for FirstSearch?
- Can I choose a default interface language for FirstSearch?
- Can I choose a default search mode for FirstSearch?
- Can I control interlibrary loan in FirstSearch?
- Can I control the databases and full text our users see?
- Can I link from FirstSearch to my online catalog?
- Can I link from my website to individual FirstSearch databases?
- Can I mark multiple records for printing, e-mailing, or saving?
- Can I use EZproxy to access FirstSearch?
- Can users reuse previous searches during a FirstSearch session?
- Does FirstSearch include thesauri?
- Does FirstSearch offer relevance ranking of search results?
- Does FirstSearch remove duplicate records from cross-database search results?
- How are the FirstSearch databases accessed through FirstSearch Z39.50 access?
- How can I get a list of the Electronic Collection Online (ECO) titles that my library subscribes to?
- How can I learn about future changes to Z39.50 access?
- How can I receive the latest news about FirstSearch?
- How can I set up ILL access from FirstSearch?
- How can I tell what a FirstSearch Usage Statistics report is reporting on?
- How does Electronic Collections Online relate to FirstSearch?
- How do I access the FirstSearch WorldCat Services administrative module?
- How do I add links to my library's catalog from FirstSearch?
- How do I add my institution's IP addresses or create URLs for IP recognition?
- How do I configure FirstSearch so off campus students don't need to log in?
- How do I create LHRs in FirstSearch?
- How do I set up authentication from our library website to FirstSearch?
- How do I set up automatic logon for FirstSearch?
- How do I set up links from WorldCat holdings information?
- How do I turn off ILL requests coming to my library through WorldCat.org?
- How is FirstSearch protected from connection disruptions?
- How is holdings information determined?
- Is cross-database searching available in FirstSearch?
- Is FirstSearch training available for my library staff?
- Is there a way to set up a single IP address to authenticate multiple FirstSearch authorizations?
- I see zero and null searches from FirstSearch databases
- My library does not use a proxy. How can I give remote users access to FirstSearch?
- Null error returned when sign in to FirstSearch
- What are the options for displaying holdings in FirstSearch?
- What defines the ranking and the sorting of a search?
- What is Z39.50 access to FirstSearch?
- What version of Z39.50 does FirstSearch support?
- When do holdings appear in FirstSearch databases?
- Why is our holdings symbol missing from a FirstSearch record?
- Reference
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- Additional resources for FirstSearch.