unikat help

If you are looking for literature as part of your studies or for your research work, but also "for pleasure", unikat should be your first point of entry.

unikat is the search portal through which most media made available by the UB: books, e-books, journals, e-journals, DVDs and much more can be searched(and found!). (For older holdings not yet recorded in our library system, see the section on (digitized) card catalogs on our website).

unikat can also search external indexes, which allow you to find (and, in case of appropriate licenses, access) more than 400 million journal articles from about 150,000 journals as well as e-books from all fields of research.

Furthermore, the search in databases offers the possibility to search in an even wider range of e-books and articles in e-journals - however, not all documents found are also available in full text.

When you start typing a term in the search slot, you can select one of two possible so-called search areas:

• Books and other media (books, e-books, journal titles, essays in collected editions, DVDs, microforms, maps, etc).
• Journal articles (search in a variety of specialized bibliographic databases)

You can log in using the login "button", top right.

Only after you are logged in, you can use account functions in order to

In addition, many full texts from licensed sources are available to members of the University of Graz only when logged in.
You can find more details under My Account.

Additionally, please note that due to the different search spaces, the search results may also differ significantly if you are logged in.

• Order or reserve books,
• extend loan periods and view your fee status,
• create and manage lists of favorites(My Favorites),
• save your search queries.

Not all 4 million volumes in the holdings of the UB Graz are listed in our library system.

If you have not found the book you are looking for and it is an older work, you should also consult the library's card catalogs.

Enter one or more search words. unikat returns results that contain all the words you entered.

Suitable search words are words from a title, names of authors, keywords to a topic, ISBN and others.

In the simple search, all available fields are queried for the search words. The search term London therefore finds works about the city of London, works with place of publication London, persons with the name London (e.g. the author Jack London) and so on. A more precise differentiation is possible using the advanced search. See How to use the advanced search.

If you copy titles of works or other information from other sources, such as databases, please make sure that they do not contain special characters. These can lead to unexpected search results or to zero hits due to different character encodings of the systems. It is better not to copy the entire search strings, but to enter the most important words in the unikat search field or to delete less relevant words from it.

• Use quotation marks if you want to search for multiple words as a phrase - for example: 'global warming'.
• Put OR or OR between your search words to find results that contain one or the other word - for example: Irish OR Celtic.
• Put NOT or NOT in front of one of your search words to exclude that word - for example: Celtic NOT Irish.
• Use * to replace letters at the end of words - for example: europ* finds Council of Europe, european, european and more.
• Use ? to replace a letter in the word - for example: wom?n finds woman and women.
• Use () to group different searches together - for example: friedrich schiller (schauspiel OR dram*) finds results containing schiller and Schauspiel or schiller and words with dram.

Using the entries in the left column, you can filter your results by one or more criteria.

To select a single filter, click the filter label. To set multiple filters, select the checkboxes in front of them, and then click Apply Filter.

You can also use filters to exclude results. Hover over the desired filter and activate the icon that appears to the right of it to activate that specific filter to exclude results.

Active filters are displayed in the upper left corner. You can use this menu to reset all filters at once or individually:

You can also "lock" specific filters for the duration of a search session. First activate the desired filter as described. If you now place the mouse pointer on this filter, a lock symbol will appear to the left of the filter name:

You can then recognize "fixed" filters by the activated lock symbol.

By default, your search results are displayed sorted by relevance. In the left column under "Filter results" you can re-sort the results list:

Additionally, use the filter options, for example, to get only the most recent results.

• by year of publication - descending only (newer publications before older ones)
• alphabetically by author or title

Search results are sorted by default - as is usual with search engines - according to the relevance of the hits within a search result.

Basically, the following criteria apply:

• if the search term is found in the author field, these hits are generally weighted higher.
• Hits in full text resources are weighted lower to further ensure that e.g. books with author/title combinations are ranked higher.
• Conversely, hits from the local (catalog) holdings are weighted higher than the hits from the large article index of resources available online, so that the local holdings do not slip to the very "back" in the ranking of results.

Here you can combine several search criteria - even before sending the search query. Your search becomes even more differentiated via the selection of a variety of different search fields.

You can define a total of up to 7 lines with different search criteria by clicking Add new search criterion. AND, OR and NOT are available as operators.

The short display gives you an overview of the relevant information about the resource found and the option to save the hit to your personal watch list (see My Account) by clicking on the pin, to send the bibliographic information by e-mail, etc. (see Saving and Exporting) The search terms are highlighted in yellow.

The availability display gives you an indication in which library(s) the searched work is available or if it can be borrowed (see Ordering) or if it is an e-resource with full text access (see Online Resources).

The complete detailed display with all relevant information can be reached by clicking on the title or by clicking on the availability display.

By default, 10 hits per page are displayed, further hits are loaded after clicking Load more results.

Using the icon at the bottom right of the screen, it is possible to scroll back and forth (although only 10 hits are displayed on each page).

However, it is also possible to jump directly to certain pages by clicking on the page number and selecting another page. The display then jumps to the selected page.

The most comprehensive overview of the available data for a particular resource is provided by the detailed display:

Here you can order the title at a location or find the links to the full texts if it is an online resource. You can export the data in various formats and have it sent to you by e-mail.

Please note that you can only see the link Order/Prebook if you have previously logged in to unikat!

Using certain data in the detailed display (persons, linked titles, classifications (BK and RVK) and keywords), advanced searches can be performed specifically for these search terms. These searches are done via the advanced search, where they can be further refined. (see Search)

Links to Wikipedia or other links (e.g. tables of contents, individual volumes in series, etc.) can also be found in the detailed display (if available).

In the desktop version of unikat you can also switch to the previous or next hit in the detail display by clicking on the large arrows on the left side of the detail display. With a click on the X you close the detail display again.

BK - Basisklassifikation and RVK - Regensburger Verbundklassifikation are so-called classifications (systematics), which are widespread in the German-speaking area and are also used at the Graz University Library to index resources in terms of content and thus make them more searchable. Classifications are used by the Graz University Library in addition to verbal subject indexing using keywords. Especially when filtering, the classifications prove to be very helpful.

BK and RVK are also available as filters (see Search) to limit the search results.

If a search hit shows EOD, you have the option to have this work digitized via our EOD service.

Titles whose availability link shows "Online access" as a label indicate licensed or freely accessible electronic media.

Licensed electronic media are available to employees and students of the University of Graz worldwide. All other persons can use these media on freely accessible research computers on the premises of Graz University Library or with their own mobile devices connected to the WLAN of Graz University.

For licensing reasons, access to electronic resources licensed by Graz University Library (e-books, e-journals, databases) off campus is only possible for students and staff of Graz University via VPN.

The filter "Peer-reviewed Journals" identifies journal articles that have been reviewed for quality and suitability for publication by independent reviewers in a subject area. Please note, however, that this information is transferred automatically. If in doubt, check the publisher's details to see whether a journal actually uses peer-review procedures.

The "Open Access" filter identifies scientific journal articles that are freely and unrestrictedly accessible on the Internet. Open Access journals are usually financed by paying publication fees, so-called Article Processing Charges or APC for short. Please note, however, that these charges are automatically applied. If in doubt, use suitable directories (e.g. DOAJ) to check whether a journal is actually published under Open Access.

You can also save or export individual hits from your search results.

For this purpose, unikat provides several options for exporting or saving search results

Some data export formats (e.g. RIS) require a specific character encoding to be specified for the creation of the export file:

The encoding refers to the representation of non-English special characters in the data. Therefore, we recommend the use of UTF-8 to ensure the correct representation of the characters.

Thedefault is "UTF-8", as this allows the representation of all special characters.

RIS is a file format for literature management systems such as Endnote and Citavi, among others, i.e. the text files resulting from an export in RIS format can be imported into these literature management programs and further processed and managed there.

Endnote Web is the online version of the well-known literature management system Endnote. The use of Endnote Web is available free of charge for members of the University of Graz, but requires the creation of an account.

Bibtex is a file format that is mainly used by Latex users. As with the RIS format, the export results in a text file that can be imported into corresponding applications (such as JabRef or BibDesk).

"Citation" allows you to format the bibliographic data according to the specifications of common citation systems and then save it to the clipboard. You can then copy it to any application for further processing.

Click on the desired citation system on the left side to get a correspondingly formatted output.

unikat exports your selected data to text files with the extension .ris (for RIS) or .bib (for Bibtex). These files are saved by default in a folder on your computer. If you have previously associated this file type with an application, you can open the file with a double click (i.e. a .ris file in Endnote, for example).

Assign file type to an application

In the operating system (Windows/Mac) you can define with which application a certain file type should be opened by default:

For the Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers, you can specify which application should be used and which action should be performed in the browser settings, regardless of the setting in the operating system for the file type.

• Windows: Standard programs -> Assign file type or protocol to a program -> select the appropriate program for the file extension.
• Mac: Right-click on the file in the Finder, select Information from the pop-up menu, and in the Open With window that opens, select the application you want to use. Then click Change All ....
• Firefox: Preferences -> Applications -> for File extension select the appropriate program
• IE: Internet Options -> Programs tab -> Set programs -> for File extension select the appropriate program.

Make sure you are logged in (see Basics)!

When you have found the work (see Search results), click on the Available link below the title information in the results list for the desired title. You will be presented with all libraries that have a copy of the title under Locations. Copies that are not available in publicly accessible stacks can be ordered online or, if they are currently on loan, they can be reserved. Accordingly, you will see the Order/Preserve button next to the copy. If this link does not appear, the item cannot be ordered online. In this case, please contact the respective library.

Please note that in the case of multi-volume works, you must first select the desired volume before you are offered the option to order.

Order:

Media that are not borrowed can be ordered. Status display in the user account: "In process". As soon as the ordered item is ready for you to pick up, you will receive a staging message.

Reservation:

Media that have been borrowed by someone else can be reserved. Status display in the user account: "Preregistered. Place in queue: x"

Provisioning:

As soon as a preregistered item is returned or an ordered item is ready for you to pick up, you will receive a staging message. Status display in user account: Ready until DD/MM/YYYY.

Ready books are available for you during the opening hours of the respective location(At opening hours). For more information on ordering, see the FAQs on the library website, and for more information on borrowing, click here.

When you click the Queue button, the system calculates how many users have already ordered the copy in question before you, i.e. where you are currently ranked. Please note: If no one gets the copy before you, you are at the 0th position.

Copy is at location means the book is available right now, not borrowed by anyone else, not made available to anyone else, and not being processed internally.

In process means that the copy is being processed by us at the library and is therefore not available for use at this time.

The book may not be available for loan.

If the copy is at the location according to the status information and no button for ordering appears, then in most cases it is a book that is placed in the open access area and can be taken from the shelf by yourself for use.

If no libraries are listed under locations in the full title display, it is a record that has no copies. This is the case with:

Please note the media type information in the results list(multi-volume, publication series, newspaper/magazine, etc.), which is displayed in unikat above the title information.

• the parent record of multi-volume works (i.e.: you have not selected a specific volume of the work),
• series of publications,
• periodical works (e.g.: newspaper, magazine).

It is now possible to click on the title of the borrowed (or reserved) work in the account. This leads to the detailed display.

Furthermore, you can now export multiple titles at once - to do so, click the box next to the titles you want to export and then click the three dots ... and select the export option that suits you.

Additionally, you now have the option to expand the information for all works by clicking on Expand (down arrow).

"My Account" allows you to access all personal information such as.

In addition, you can view personal information such as your address stored in the system, your email address, the expiration date of your library card, and your current user group.

An icon indicates borrowings that are already due.

An icon by the Ready menu item indicates that one of your ordered works is ready for you to pick up.

• Borrowings,
• orders,
• (open) charges,
• locks and notifications.

You can extend existing borrowings in your account, provided that this is possible according to the borrowing conditions and there is no obstacle. Obstacles can be e.g. reservations, reaching the total loan period or fees. In addition, you can see the current status of your order under the menu item Order (e.g. whether the book has already been made available to you and is therefore ready for collection).

If you are in the Borrowings section of My Account, you can also view your completed borrowings from the past 90 days. To do so, select the item Returns of the last 90 days in the drop-down menu.

Completed borrowings older than 90 days will be anonymized according to the privacy policy of Graz University Library.

unikat offers the possibility to manage titles for individual, further use. To do so, click on the pin next to a title. All titles that have been bookmarked in this way can be found in your bookmark list, which you can call up by clicking on the pin in the top right-hand corner, provided you are logged in. This symbol is always available, because it also "moves along" when you scroll.

By adding so-called labels, you can relate single or multiple titles to each other in terms of content. A title can have any number of labels and thus also be assigned to different subject areas.

By clicking on the pencil symbol next to a title, you can assign a label / keyword to it or create a new one.

To edit several titles at the same time, activate them by clicking in the checkbox. The corresponding icons in the gray menu bar at the top become active and can be used (assigning labels, removing from the watch list or saving and exporting (see above)).

According to the software manufacturer Ex Libris, the following browsers have been tested and are certified according to W3C standards:

• Apple Safari in the respective current versions.
• Google Chrome in the respective current versions.
• Mozilla Firefox in the respective current versions.
• Microsoft EDGE and Internet Explorer 11.
• Mobile operating systems: IOS from version 9 and Android from Marshmallow.

Javascript and SSl 3.0 must be activated!

In some cases, so-called ad blockers can cause problems, especially when accessing online resources (called browser windows remain empty despite login via u:access, etc.). If you encounter such a problem, please disable ad-blockers first and then try again. Otherwise, please contact ub.support(at)uni-graz.at.

Furthermore, we would like to point out that (especially with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge) the option offered by the browsers to translate web pages can lead to extremely unwanted results! To be on the safe side, please disable automatic translation to prevent this.

You can find help on the support pages of Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.

unikat is based on the Primo software from Ex Libris. Primo is under continuous development, and currently meets level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act for features and functions. (Link: Primo Accessibility Statement)

LibKey and BrowZine are used in unikat to support linking to full texts and tables of contents of e-journals, respectively. BrowZine and LibKey are WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliant. (Link: BrowZine Web & LibKey Accessibility)