If you don't find what you are looking for, check your spelling or try a different search. Try removing limits if you used them to look at a particular section of the catalogue.
See our tips on how to search the catalogue.
Keyword search results
The top results are based on the keywords you searched for, presented in order of relevancy rather than alphabetically.
First, the E-library tries to find items that match all the words you searched for. If it can't find an exact match, it will suggest titles including some of the words you used.
Author search, title search, and advanced search results
You will be given the option to narrow your search further, for example, choosing Dan Brown from a list of authors with the surname Brown.
Changing your search results
Edit your search
You can go back to the search page and change the words you looked for by clicking ‘Edit your search'.
Removing limits
If you searched for a particular library, children's titles, formats or languages, you can remove these limits and search more of the catalogue by clicking the links which appear at the top of the results page.
Choosing a format
You can narrow your search results further by clicking the list of available formats.
To go back to the list of all formats, either click ‘ALL' or the ‘Remove all limits' link in the middle of the page.
Why titles appear more than once
Some titles appear in the catalogue more than once. This is usually because they have been published in more than one format or a new edition has been printed.
For example, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' has been published in hardback with separate covers for children and adults, and it is also available as an audiobook on CD.
If all copies of the item you want are on loan, go back to your search results to check if other formats are available in the same or another library.
Title information page
Click on each title in your results to check availability and get more details, such as:
- which libraries have copies
- are they on loan or available to borrow – shown as 'Check shelf'
- description of the book or director and actors in a film
- publication details, including the edition
- link to the title on the Ebooks and audiobook website.
Number of copies
Your search results tell you how many copies we have of a title, but sometimes the full title information screen doesn't list all the copies. Reasons for this include:
- it is missing or damaged
- it is unavailable during refurbishment work at a library
- it is held at a library usually closed to the public, such as our County Library Store.
To find out if you can reserve a copy, please ask staff in libraries.
Reserving the title
You can reserve most titles in two places – the search results screen or the title information screen.
Just click the 'Add to reservation basket' link – you will see the total items in your basket change and a ‘Reserve' button appear below it. Carry on searching to add more titles to your basket.
To complete your reservation, click the 'Reserve' button on any screen.
Reserving ebooks and audiobooks
If you want an ebook or audiobook, first go to the title information screen on the E-library and then click the 'Download' link.
This will take you to your chosen title on the Ebooks and audiobooks website – click the 'Add to basket' link on this page instead to download or reserve the title.
You can also search and reserve ebooks and audiobooks by going directly to the Ebooks and audiobooks website.
East Sussex County Council