Voyager quick start guide

Ambox notice.png This page refers to the Voyager ILS, an Ex Libris product used at the Folger from 1996 to 2022.

For current documentation on using the catalog, see Category:Catalog.
For current documentation on staff use of the ILS, see Category:TIND ILS.


This article describes basic functions of Voyager for a person who is new to it but may have used other integrated library systems before.

Searching in Voyager

  • The Search button is located in the icon bar at the top of the screen as a magnifying glass over text (Alt+R+S)
  • Four different search tabs are available: keyword, index selection, builder, and history
  • To set a default tab, use the Default Tab button on the bottom left corner of the search screen. If the button is grayed out, the default is already selected for that tab.
  • Double-clicking on the search result ends pulls up the bibliographic record.
  • To view the holdings record, use the Get Hldgs button at the icon bar at the top of the screen (Alt+R+H)
  • To view the item record, select Get Items (Alt+R+M)
  • To view the bibliographic record again, select Get Bib (Ctrl+J)

Colors/fonts

To personalize and quickly ascertain different types of records in lists, you can change the color and font style of different record types. Additional preference settings are necessary for each module.

  • Go to Options, select Preferences, then Colors/fonts.
  • Click the corresponding buttons to update preferences

Importing Records

  • Go to Record/Import/From new file (Alt+R,P,N) [Note: if the file is already open, it will be (Alt+R, P, V)]
  • Open original Hamnet record (if one exists) Recommended: split the Voyager screen between the two records (Alt+W+T)
  • Copy the 583 field from the old record and paste it into the new in chronological order (older field comes first). Copy any 79X fields and any associated 852 $z
  • Copy new 035 field (ex: ‡a (OCoLC) ocm04926471) and paste into old record to overlay it; save to DB and close (Crtl+Q) old record
  • Highlight the 541, your 583, and the 852 and copy (Ctrl+C)
  • Save to DB (Crtl+B), click continue button, look for statement that overlay was successful
  • Open the holdings record (Alt+R+H) and paste (Ctrl+V) and then delete the old 852 except for those added by Acquisitions
  • Save the holdings record (Ctrl+B)
  • Open the item record (Alt+I+M) and review for item type accuracy
  • Save and close the item record
  • Check the record in Hamnet. Recommended: manual search by call number

Holdings and Item Records

  • Select Get Holdings for copy 1 (Alt+R,H)
  • Copy/paste the 852 field into holdings record, delete old 852 and any other fields present
  • Enter field 866 for records covering multi-volume sets
  • Go to Hamnet to review updated record