Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NICS e-Library?

NICS e-Library is a service provided by a consortium of the following Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) libraries:

The catalogue of the NICS e-Library lists all material held in these libraries.

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What services do these libraries provide?

A loan and information service is available to all NICS staff. Other services, such as journal circulation, are offered by some libraries but only to their own departmental staff. Please contact individual departmental libraries to see what services are available.

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Who can use the libraries?

The service is available to all NICS staff. Other libraries may also borrow material through the normal inter-library loan service.

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When are libraries open?

The libraries in the consortium are normally open to NICS staff all year round, Monday - Friday, excluding Bank and Public Holidays. You can check the opening hours for each library using the Contacts page. However, you can use the library catalogue or consult your account 24/7 all year round.

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Can I visit a library?

If your department has a library, then of course you are free to visit during opening hours. If not, please contact the Library you wish to visit to arrange a suitable time.

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How do I join?

NICS staff can join by completing the application form to join the library and borrow material. By completing this form you are agreeing to return material borrowed on time or when requested by the library. When you join we will send your USER ID and PIN which will enable you to access your account.

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How do I find out what books and other material the Libraries have?

You can search the online catalogue or contact us with your request.

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How do I search the catalogue?

There are a number of different ways to look for an item: Go to the Search page and type a term into the search box. To narrow your search, select one of the following options before clicking the Search button:

  1. Words or phrase
  2. Author
  3. Title
  4. Subject
  5. Series
  6. Periodical title or
  7. ISBN/ISSN

If you wish, select a particular library catalogue in the Library box, or leave ALL to include all NICS libraries in the search.

The Browse button is useful if you are not sure of the exact name.

To see a Browse List of possible search matches, click on the Browse radio button and type in the first letter or part of the search term in the Search for field.

Your search results may be a single catalogue record or a list of records.

Other Search Features

You can return to Quick Search from anywhere on the website by clicking on Library catalogue.

Click Advanced Search to further refine your initial search.

Searching Tips

Searching in Advanced Search using Operators (eg AND, OR, NOT) allows you to focus the search by linking search terms and defining the relationship between them.

Searching using Substitution and Truncation allows the symbols ? and $ to be used to represent substitution and truncation.

The e-library allows the symbols ? and $ to be used to represent substitution and truncation. These two symbols can be used together or separately, and at the beginning, middle, and end of a term. To literally search these symbols, enclose them with quotation marks.

The ? symbol is used as a substitute for a missing character in a search term, usually when you are unsure of a spelling or when you want to find two forms of one word. For example, if you enter WOM?N, the e-library locates records containing either "woman" or "women.", entering ORGANI?ATION will find records containing either "organization" or "organization".

The $ symbol is used to truncate search terms and can represent a single characters, many characters, or no characters. For example, if you enter ECONOM$, the e-library locates the specified records containing the terms "economic" "economics," "economy," "economist" etc.

To individually Search Numbers in a List, you must type a space between each number. The e-library searches numbers separated by commas as if the numbers were not separated. The following examples may help you search numbers in a list.

Searching the internet

When you search the library catalogue for items a results screen appears. From this screen you can continue your search on Google by clicking on the link on the right hand side of the screen. This automatically will search Google using the same search term.

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How do I request (or reserve) an item from the catalogue?

Once you have searched for material, a Results page will be displayed. Click on the Place Hold button beside the item that you want. Enter your User ID and PIN when prompted and then click on Place Hold. If available, your request/hold will be confirmed and the items requested will be despatched from the holding library directly to you the following day. If the material is not immediately available it will be sent to you as soon as possible. [Please note that some items are not available for loan, but must be consulted in the relevant library.]

OR You can contact a library which has the book you want. They will check that the book is available and send it out to you. If you need something urgently it is better to contact the holding library directly.

For items which are in great demand, consideration will be given to purchasing more copies.

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How do I cancel a reserved item?

You can cancel a Hold on an item(s) by contacting any library or from My Account.

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Can I request a book or other item that is not in the catalogue?

Yes. We can usually obtain material by inter-library loan. We will try to locate any item you need, using our links with NI and UK libraries. Just contact your Departmental Library.

Also, if an item would be a useful addition to stock please let us know and we may decide to purchase it.

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How do I print a list of material from the search screen?

You can print record information by marking items to keep from a Search Results hit list or from the Details display.

  1. Click Keep for the items to print. Items marked Keep initially can be unmarked by clicking Remove.
  2. When you are finished including items, click Kept.
  3. You can remove some of the items in your list by selecting the check box by the titles to be removed and clicking a remove checked titles option. To clear the list, click a remove all titles option.
  4. In the Sort By box, choose to sort the records by author, title, or call number.
  5. In the Library box, choose to filter the records by library branch.
  6. If available, choose the All, Brief, or Full View of Records.
  7. Click Print to print the records.

During a session, Kept catalogue results are included in your list of items until you remove them. Don't forget to click the Kept button after you have marked an item to keep in the search results.

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How do I use "My Account"?

Every library customer has a user record, which identifies the user and contains information about the user's circulation activity. Each user record also contains a personal identification number (PIN) which ensures that your library activity is confidential. If you haven't already logged in, you may be prompted to log in to the e-library when you attempt to change information in My Account. This login is only valid for the current transaction.

In “My Account”, information about your current library transactions can be viewed, your PIN and your address can be changed, and materials currently on loan to you can be renewed.

To login, go to the Search page and click on My Account. You will be prompted for your User ID and PIN. If you have no record of your User ID and PIN, contact any library.

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How do I change my contact details?

You can change your address by contacting any library or from My Account

  1. Go to the search page
  2. Click on My Account
  3. Click Change My Address. .
  4. Type in the new address information and your user ID.
  5. Click Send to change your address or Reset to start again.

If you haven't already logged in, you may be prompted to log in to the e-library when you attempt to change information in My Account. This login is only valid for the current transaction.

If you have no record of your User ID and PIN, contact any library.

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How do I renew material on My Account?

You can renew material by contacting any library or from My Account. If material on loan to you has been requested by another customer or has already been renewed the maximum permitted number of times, you will be unable to renew it from My Account.

  1. Go to the Search page
  2. Click on My Account
  3. Click Renew My Materials.
  4. Log in, This login is only valid for the current transaction.
  5. Click on Renew All check boxes, OR
  6. If you are renewing selected items, select the check box next to the items you want to renew.
  7. Click Renew Selected Items to renew your materials, or click Clear Selections to start again.
  8. Your renewal(s) will be confirmed and the new return date shown.

If you have no record of your User ID and PIN, contact any library.

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How do I check what items I have on loan?

You can see a list of the items you currently have on loan, or “review” your loans, via your online account. On the Search page, click on My Account.

  1. Go to the Search page
  2. Click on My Account
  3. Click on Review my account
  4. Enter your User ID and PIN.
  5. Click on Display User Information
  6. The items on loan to you will be listed, giving the date when they are due to be returned to the holding library.

If you have no record of your User ID and PIN, contact any library.

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How do I change my PIN?

You can change your PIN by contacting any library or from My Account.

  1. Go to the Search page
  2. Click on My Account
  3. Click Change My PIN.
  4. Log in, if required.
  5. Type your user ID.
  6. In the PIN box, type in your current PIN.
  7. In the Enter New PIN box, type a new PIN no longer than 10 characters.
  8. In the Re-enter New PIN box, type the same PIN.
  9. Click Change PIN to change your PIN or Reset to start again.

If you have no record of your User ID and PIN, contact any library.

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How many items can I borrow at one time?

All NICS staff may borrow up to 20 books. CAFRE students can borrow up to 6 books.

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How long can I keep library items?

This depends on the sort of material you want to borrow. Four weeks is the standard time for most material (two weeks for CAFRE students), but longer loans may be available on request. There are some exceptions when loans may be for shorter periods. Language courses are usually available for at least 3 months at a time to allow a reasonable time for progress to be made with your chosen language.

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How do I return an item I have borrowed?

You can return any item via the courier to your own departmental library. However, if you are not sure of the best way to return an item, contact the owning library (details will be printed on the the return date lable inside the front cover) who will be able to advise you. All items borrowed from the CAFRE College libraries which includes Greenmount, Loughry and Enniskillen must be returned via DARD Library, Dundonald House.

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Will I be reminded when my books need to be returned?

Yes. You will be reminded by e-mail as soon as your books are overdue. To renew these loans, just reply to the overdue and this will be arranged, if no-one is waiting for the items on loan

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Can I renew overdue items?

It may be possible to renew your material if it is not required by another customer. You can either contact the library from which it was borrowed or renew your books in My Account

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How can I see a list of new stock?

Go to the Search page and click on New Additions (top right). You can then select from:

... and you will see a list of items added to the stock of the relevant library/libraries in the last 30 days.

Some libraries issue monthly lists of their new stock. Contact your departmental library to ask about this.

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Can I contact a library for information?

Yes. Any NICS staff can either complete the Ask a Librarian form or contact us by telephone or fax with your enquiry.

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Who do I contact about journal circulation?

Not all libraries circulate their journals and those who do only circulate to the staff of their department. Please use the Contacts page for details of the holding library. Alternatively, complete this form with your enquiry.

Photocopies of specific articles can be supplied, as long as copyright procedures are adhered to. Your own library staff will be able to advise you.

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Are there restrictions on photocopying?

Yes, legislation restricts the copying of books, journal articles and other material. Library staff can give general advice about this or you may wish to read the Library Guide to Copyright. Please note that we can only photocopy for work-related purposes.

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How do I find Journals using Nexis, EBSCO, or Science Direct?

Step by step instructions are available on the

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How can I access the eBook service?

Follow the step by step instructions on our eBooks helpsheet (pdf)

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