Frequently Asked Questions

? Do I need to register to use COAST?

COAST is a public web site and can be searched by anyone, anywhere.  However, there are some resources and functions delivered via COAST which are restricted access.  If you are a student, faculty, or staff member of CSULB, you need to create your Library Password so that all resources are available to you without restriction. 

?  I want to read one of the e-books listed in COAST, but I am having problems.  What can I do?

Most of our e-books are acquired through the Chancellor's office so we "share" our e-book collections across all of the CSU's.  Sometimes students have problems accessing an e-book, because someone in the CSUs was "browsing" or reading this e-book.  When that happens, you will get a message that it is unavailable to you until the other person "closes" the e-book.  So try again! If you are still unable to access the e-book you want, please let us know by submitting a Technical Problem Report Form (available at http://www.csulb.edu/library/guide/techproblemform.html).  In the form, please let us know the author and title of the e-book so that we can help you more quickly!

? Which web browser works best with COAST?

Although many browsers currently support the basic searching functions in COAST, there are some resources accessible or searchable via COAST which are not available with some browsers.  Consequently, for easiest access, we recommend the following:
• Netscape version 6.1 or higher
• Microsoft's Internet Explorer version 6.x or higher
If you use a web browser other than these (or a version of the above not indicated here), you may experience difficulties in using some features of COAST.  Please contact us at lib-webgroup@csulb.edu for further information and assistance.

This system "bug" happens with Netscape version 4 though (apparently) not with other browsers. Regardless of your search, when printing the results pages the print out will show "You searched: author" and will show the search was done "in Journal, Periodical, Newspaper (Serial) Collection".  This problem does not occur with Microsoft's Internet Explorer, so if it is a serious problem for you, we recommend you switch browsers.  

Marking records to export from COAST uses "cookies" to gather the marked records into the "Export List".  If you disable cookies in your web browser, you won't be able to use COAST's export feature (though you would still be able to email records using your browsers's "Send" function) so we do not recommend that you disable cookies.  

? How do I save the results of my searches in COAST?  And in what format are those results saved?

There is an explanation (with an example) of saving search results at http://www.csulb.edu/library/coast/coast.html. Records that are exported through COAST will be ASCII text files.  When you download/save records in COAST using your web browser's save feature, you will need to choose the format in which you wish to save the records (HTML or plain text).

COAST was designed by a team of library employees.  The software which drives the catalog is called INNOPAC and it was created by Innovative Interfaces, Inc.  The graphics on COAST were designed by a former CSULB student (now CSULB library employee), Ryan Tapp.

In order to VIEW your library account from home, you need to be using a web browser (and an internet service provider) that allows javascript. 

You must always include your full account name (e.g. santaclaus@csulb.edu or mrs_santa@aol.com) when using the export records function in COAST.