Help

Searching & Downloading

• Searching

  In the Search box, enter keywords to search the entire catalogue for titles of interest. Enter an author name or a book title in the Search box to find a specific title. To search for a precise name or phrase, please use “double quotation marks” around key words to search for an exact match. When searching for a book in Japanese, please search by ISBN for best results.
  
  The Search box also searches keywords in the Subject Category field, in addition to title, author, language, and other metadata. For example, to find self-help books, enter “self-help” in the Search box.

• Wishlist

  You can add the title it to your Wishlist from a title’s details page, which can be opened by clicking on the book title name from the search results.

• Downloading

  You can download a work from the work detail page or from your wishlist. Once you have downloaded a work, it will remain listed on your Downloads page for future reference. All downloads are packaged as a zip file. Please take note the work format before downloading to ensure it meets your needs.

 

Tips for more effective searching:

To narrow down search results, the following filters are available: Format, Language, Producer and Narration Type. For the Language and Producer filters, 15 options are displayed. Click “Show more” to expand the list with further options or “Show less” to show fewer options. The number of books available for each option is displayed in brackets.

 

• Format Descriptions

  Please note that if a Daisy Audio format file is read with an MP3 player the ability to navigate through the file is lost.

  • Braille Uncontracted / Braille Contracted / Braille Music

    Braille files (BRF) are intended to be read either with a refreshable braille display or printed with a braille embosser.

  • Daisy 2.02 Audio only

    These files are structured audiobooks produced with either a human narrator or a synthetic voice, which end-users can easily navigate

  • Daisy 2.02 Audio with Text

    These files are structured audiobooks produced with either a human narrator or a synthetic voice, which also contain digital text.

  • Daisy 2.02/Daisy 3 Text Only

    These files are structured text files, which end-users can easily navigate.

  • MP3 Audio

    This is the simplest form of audiobook produced with either a human narrator or a synthetic voice with no structure in the file for advanced navigation.

  • Large print

    These documents are Microsoft Word files with a large print layout.

  • Daisy Audio (Scrambled)
    These audiobooks can only be played in the correct order on DAISY players, whether hardware or software. Otherwise, users relying on standard MP3 players will experience the book tracks playing in a random sequence.

    A script is available in the DAISY Pipeline to convert these “scrambled” DAISY audiobooks into a standard DAISY format.

  • NLS Audio

    The NLS Audio format, produced by the U.S. National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, requires the use of one of the players listed below. NLS Audio is not compatible with MP3 players.
    The following players are compatible with NLS Audio:

    • Apex Braille Note (Humanware)
    • Apex Voice Note (Humanware)
    • Book Port DT (American Printing House)
    • Book Port Plus Player and Recorder (American Printing House)
    • BookSense (Hims)
    • BookSense DS (Hims)
    • BookSense XT (Hims)
    • Braille Sense U2 (Hims)
    • Braille Sense U2 QWERTY (Hims)
    • GuideConnect (Dolphin)
    • GuideReader Pod (Dolphin)
    • Milestone 312 Voice Recorder and MP3 Player (Bones)
    • Plextalk Pocket (Shinano Kenshi)
    • Plextalk PTR2 DAISY Player and Recorder (Shinano Kenshi)
    • Plextalk PTN2 (Shinano Kenshi)
    • Victor Reader Stream (Humanware)
    • Victor Reader Stratus (Humanware)
• Language

  The Language filter shows all languages available in the ABC catalogue.

• Producer

  The Producer filter is a list of AEs that produced the titles contained in the ABC catalogue.

• Narration Type

  The Narration Type filter allows you to select audiobooks with a human narrator or a synthetic voice. Please note that ABC does not have this information for all titles listed in the catalogue.

• Sort By

  The list of search results can be sorted using the sort by filter (found at the top right of the screen) using the following criteria:

  • First Listed (sort results by date added to the Catalogue, most recent first)
  • Date Published (sort results by date of publication, most recent first)
  • Author (sort results in ascending alphabetical order, by author name)
  • Title (sort results in ascending alphanumeric order, by title)
• Records Per Page

  The “Records Per Page” feature, found at the bottom of the search results, provides options for how many titles a user would like to see displayed on the Search Results page. These options are: 10, 25, 50, 100, 250 or 500 titles on one page.

• Advanced Search

  The Advanced Search page allows you to further refine your search based on various criteria, including Title, Author, Language, Format, Subject Category, or a Summary description of the book. The “and” and “or” operators allow you to combine criteria to create a more precise search.

• Subject Category Prepackaged Search

  If you wish to browse titles by subject categories such as Mystery Fiction, Fairy Tales, Cookery, and more, use the Subject Category Prepackaged Search. To filter the catalogue by these predefined categories, simply select the relevant option from the list below (available in English, French, and Spanish):

  • Agriculture
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Astronomy
  • Biographical Fiction
  • Chemistry
  • Cookery
  • Economics
  • Environment
  • Fairy Tales
  • Fantasy
  • Gardening
  • Geography and Travel
  • Historical Fiction
  • Horror
  • Humor
  • Information Technology
  • Mathematics
  • Mystery Fiction
  • Philosophy
  • Poetry
  • Politics and Government
  • Psychology
  • Romance
  • Science Fiction
  • Self-Help
  • Sociology
  • Sports

  These categories are based on the global Thema classification system and have been refined through extensive testing within the ABC Global Book Service to reflect the diversity of titles in the catalogue.

  In addition to the Prepackaged Categories, you can also perform a free-text search for subject categories within the Advanced Search function.

  Prepackaged Subject Searches are designed to help you explore curated categories and discover a wider range of titles. Because metadata is drawn from diverse international standards and cataloguing practices, some titles may occasionally appear in unexpected categories or across multiple categories. This is normal and ensures broader access and discoverability, though it may sometimes lead to overlaps or minor inconsistencies.

Version: October 15, 2025