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BTC Library

How to Search the Library

This guide provides an overview to WorldCat Discovery at the Blackhawk Technical College Library

Library Search

new library search july 2025

The new Library Search will be available July 2025. This will be your guide to how to using Library Search for your courses and research. 

What You Can Use this Guide For

  1. On this page learn more about the new Library Search tool
  2. On the 'How to Use Library Search' learn how to use and navigate Library Search features:
    • Menu 
    • Search tips 
    On the 'Faculty' page, instructors can learn how to add Library Search to your Blackboard courses

What is Library Search?

What is the new Library Search?

We are replacing the Library Catalog with a one search experience. It is a tool to search everything the library offers online and physical resources.  

What do you use Library Search For?

To search and access free BTC Library materials including articles, journals, books, media and more. If you need to do research for a class, your career or want to find something fun to read, start with Library Search. 

What are you searching?

  • Everything the Blackhawk Technical Library has to offer including content from our online databases and our physical collections
  • libraries collections in the WISPALS Library Consortium
  • libraries collections in Wisconsin and worldwide - you will be able to place inter-library loan requests for some items

Search results will provide links to the BTC library's subscribed online eBooks, article databases, and electronic journals. Some links will also provide access to content from curated free Open Access databases. 

What is it replacing?

The new Library Search is replacing our current Library Catalog, which was used to search for just books in the library and had a Library Account feature.

It is not replacing the A to Z databases, you can still use the databases if you want to search a specific collection or like that platform but if you want to search all databases at once, Library Search can do that. 

Start your Library Search

New Library Search Availability Timeline

The library is finishing migrating from our current Library Catalog to a new platform which will allow for a one search experience for all Library resources. When the new Library Search first becomes available in Blackboard, we will almost be done but not quite, please note our migration timeline:

  • May 27-June 30 Preview the New Library Search: Search and access the online library. Articles, eBooks, journals and more from our A to Z database collections can now all be discovered with the one Library Search tool. Some BTC Library physical books may not be represented in the new system.
  • July 1 Migration Complete: All library resources will be discoverable.