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Known problems and downtime of the Library Catalogue

Details of downtime and known problems with the Library Catalogue are listed below.  If you encounter other technical problems, please contact service-desk@bristol.ac.uk.

Library Catalogue downtime

  • Planned maintenance sometimes results in Library Catalogue downtime - details of these downtimes are posted on the news section of this website.  Also, please note that the Library Catalogue is unavailable from between approx. 3:00 - 3:10am each morning.   When the Library catalogue is not available a page is displayed with the text "University of Bristol Library Catalogue - Service Unavailable".
  • As an alternative to the Library Catalogue you may search COPAC.  COPAC has over 30 million records, representing the merged catalogues of members of the Research Libraries UK (RLUK), plus specialist collection such as the National Art Library (V&A Museum). Research Libraries UK (RLUK) includes all the UK National Libraries, and a wide range of major University libraries (including Oxford, Cambridge, and the University of  Bristol). Please note that when searching COPAC:
    • You will need to check for University of Bristol holdings (do this by choosing the 'Main Search' option and selecting Bristol in the 'library' list).
    • No loan details will be available.
    • Very recent changes to the catalogue (within the last 4 weeks) will not be shown.

Known problems

  • Initial display problems and 'Connection is untrusted' message with Firefox
    The first time you access the upgraded catalogue using Firefox, it may display oddly (without 'styling' from its stylesheet). On searching (or following a link to part of the catalogue) a 'This connection is untrusted' message displays. To clear this problem use the 'I understand the risks' link, then 'Add exception' and finally 'Confirm Security Exception' (with 'Permanently store this exception' ticked). With your own PC this should solve the problem completely. On public PCs you may need to do this again in future sessions under certain circumstances.  We are looking for a permanent solution to this problem.
  • Truncated titles on Results List
    Sometimes the title on the Results List is truncated if the title is long.  This problem is being looked at for a possible solution.
  • Online Catalogue terminals
    The dedicated online catalogue terminals in the libraries are specifically for searching of the catalogue.  They cannot be used for accessing web resources outside of the UOB domain, so you cannot link to eBooks, eJournals, databases, etc.  Security restrictions set up on them also prevent the display of Google book covers, and the use of the online Store request form (see below).  If you wish to use any of these functions, please use a PC instead.
  • Online Store request form
    In some circumstance the Online Store request form will not automatically open when the Store link on the 'Results List' page is used, as the browser (both Firefox and Internet Explorer can be affected) 'blocks the popup'. However in both browsers the block can be over-ridden by clicking on an override option in the message bar that appears at the top of the page.
    Note that the dedicated online catalogue terminals in the branch libraries cannot be used to access the online Store request form; please use a normal PC instead, or you may ask Issue Desk staff to use the online Store request form on your behalf.

 

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