Search Portal

• Getting Started
• How to Search
• Booking Items
• Shipping Policies

Getting Started

The Search Portal is the place to access Learning Commons resources such as physical books and kits, eBooks, audiobooks, databases, curricula, hands-on resources, supplemental packs, and inclusive education support materials.

Physical resources are shipped directly to your home if you live outside the Kelowna area (e.g., Lake Country to West Kelowna). 

What is Available to Me?

*ADST/Steam resources include hands-on items such as Keva planks, K’nex, Lego, Coding kits, Snap Circuits and Cubelets.

How to Log In

Parents

Parents use their Encom username and password to access the Search Portal, Sora, and Subscription passwords. To book physical books and curriculum for a student, log in to the Search Portal under your parent account, not the student account.

If you do not know your Encom password, you can reset it here. If you don’t remember your username, it is usually FirstnameLastname. 

Changing your password in Encom will also change your password for the Learning Commons Search Portal, so please keep track of your login information. It takes up to 24 hours for the credentials to update.

Students

Students use their Encom username and password to access Sora eBooks and Subscription passwords. They cannot book physical items from the Search Portal, but they can view them. Bookings must be made on the parent account. If you do not know your Encom password, you can reset it here.

Loan Periods & Shipping

The default loan period for most items is 10 weeks, which does not include shipping time. Grade 10-12 extended loan textbooks have a loan period of eight months with an option to renew for one month.

Items can be booked up to a year in advance (September to June). Overlapping bookings are not allowed if they exceed 40 items within the 10-week loan period. Back-to-back bookings of the same items are not allowed. Items can be renewed twice for four weeks each time, provided the items have not been booked by someone else.

Enrolled Families

Enrolled families receive eight free shipments (four round trips) per school year (August 1 to June 18). There is a maximum of 40 items per shipment, including a maximum of 8 media items, 6 unit study kits, 2 mini unit study kits and 4 maker education items.

Registered Families

Registered families receive four free shipments (two round trips) per school year (August 1 to June 18).There is a maximum of 40 items per shipment.

Make the most of your free shipments! Due to the cost of shipping, we can't send just one novel or small book. We can ship one textbook or larger item, but it's best to order more than one item.

Please contact Kelly Wiebe with any shipping questions: kelly.wiebe@onlineschool.ca

Fines

Fines are charged for lost or damaged items. The fine can be paid with student funding or invoiced via Paypal. 

Avoid fines by:

• Keeping kit items together in one area. Ensure the kit bag is not damaged or forgotten when preparing the return shipment

• Check all kits for books and items as soon as you receive them. Contact us if anything is missing or damaged.

• Prepare packages properly for shipping. Poorly packaged items result in damage!

Items borrowed from HCOS should not be shared with other families not registered or enrolled with HCOS. These materials are specifically for HCOS families. You are responsible for replacement costs of all items signed out under your account, regardless of how they are lost or damaged, except for courier issues.

How to Search

This video is a visual walkthrough of using the search features in the Search Portal. You can use the timestamps to navigate to specific topics. Alternatively, if you prefer, there are written instructions with screenshots below the video.

• 0:00-1:04 Search Portal homepage overview
• 1:05-1:17 Downloading resources
• 1:18-1:28 Grade 10-12 course textbooks
• 1:29-1:35 Subscription links
• 1:36-2:02 Using the search bar
• 2:03-2:23 Refining searches
• 2:24-3:03 Subscriptions, databases, and external websites
• 3:04-3:38 Searching by topic
• 3:39-4:01 Searching by grade
• 4:02-4:18 Searching by series
• 4:19-4:50 Advanced search

Searching for Resources

To search for an item, use the Search drop-down menu. The default search is by Keyword, but you can search by Title, Author, Subject, Series, etc. There is also an "Advanced" search feature.

 

 

 

 

You will see how many results were returned once you enter a term in the search bar. Use the “Refine Your Search” options in the left column to limit your results by Material Type, Audience, Author, and Series.

The “+” sign adds further options to refine your search. Check the boxes you want to refine by, such as Books or Kits, then click on the "Refresh" button to see the refined search. 

Click “Topics” in the menu bar, which will visually search curated lists alphabetically.

 

 

Topics are organized by subjects and by grades. This is a great way to quickly find a list of items and the unit study kits by grade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Registered Families can only access the Digital Unit Study Kit Guides online.

Booking Items

This video is a visual walkthrough of how to book items in the Search Portal. You can use the timestamps to navigate to specific topics. Alternatively, if you prefer, there are written instructions with screenshots below the video.

• 0:00-1:11 Searching for resources and refining results
• 1:12-1:32 Viewing the availability of an item
• 1:33-2:03 Determining shipping and loan periods
• 2:04-2:18 Finding your shipping zone
• 2:19-2:48 Adding items to a list to book later
• 2:49-3:37 Booking multiple items for one date
• 3:38-4:49 Viewing due dates and renewing loaned items
• 4:50-6:44 Shipping multiple items on the same date
• 6:45-8:29 Reviewing future bookings
• 8:30-9:05 Cancelling future bookings
• 9:06-10:36 Booking items for extended loans
• 10:37-10:58 Viewing future shipping dates for items out on loan

Booking Resources

Click on a record to see the details. Click directly on the title to be taken to the Title Details page to book the item. The Title Record will show how many copies are available and the due date if it is already out. You can save the item to a list if you don’t want to book just one item at a time or save it to book later. Even if an item is OUT or on HOLD, you can still book it for future dates.

Determining Shipping and Loan Periods

When you click "Book Item," a calendar will appear. You will see your unique shipping “Site” on the top right. In this example, the patron is HCOS5, which means they are five shipping days from Kelowna. The small red numbers indicate how many copies are available each day. Be sure to choose a date that allows the number of shipping days before you want to receive your items. The system will automatically change your date for the correct number of shipping days. Ensure that the item is available for the 10-week loan period. Patrons cannot book items for shorter periods. 

Click on the day you want to receive the item. In this example, August 13 was chosen. Items are loaned for ten weeks, not including shipping. The calendar now shows the entire booking period. Shipping days are highlighted in dark orange on the calendar (weekends/holidays are not counted as shipping days, so seven shipping days are shown for the HCOS5 zone).  The requested date is August 6. 

When you are ready, click “Book Items.” A pop-up will confirm if your booking went through, and you will receive a confirmation email.

You can view due dates, renew, change dates or cancel items online.  Please cancel items if your plans change so other families can use the materials.

Booking Multiple Items for One Date

Add an item to My Lists by clicking the Save to My Lists button. A pop-up will ask you to create a New Favorite Title. Use dates of shipments or subjects as titles. You can search multiple subjects and add resources to your lists by creating different Titles.

Once you have added all the books to your lists, click the My Lists icon in the menu. You will see all of your lists in the left column.

Use the List view icon in the top right corner and book all items for the same date by clicking the “Book Items” button at the top right of the page. If you are in grid view, click the checkboxes for each item you want to book, then click Book Items. Choose a date on the calendar and click Book Items. A pop-up will confirm your bookings.

Any items unavailable for your original date will be bumped to the next available date. Check your Future Bookings list to ensure all items have the same loan period, and cancel any items you do not want. This will avoid using one of your free shipments! 

Viewing Due Dates and Renewing Items

Hover over the “My Account” icon, then “My Borrowing,” and select “My Loans.” View the due dates.

Renew one item by clicking the check box on the left or renew all items by clicking "Select All," then clicking the "Renew" button. The renewal period is four weeks. Items booked by another patron will not renew. Renew books no sooner than 1 - 2 weeks before they are due, or your loan period will be shortened.

View all of your Bookings for the Year, Cancel or Change Booking Date

In List View enter the “From” and “To” dates (change to June of the school year to see the entire year’s bookings).  All of your bookings will be displayed. Click the "Cancel" button to cancel your booking or the "Edit" button to change your booking date.

If you are in Grid View, hover over the item record, and the "Cancel" and "Edit" buttons will appear.

Shipping Policies

Change of Address 

If you plan to move or have moved, please update your address in Encom and email Kelly Wiebe at kelly.wiebe@onlineschool.ca with the new address so information can be updated.

If you do not update the Learning Commons with a change of address and a shipment is sent to the wrong address, you will be charged for shipping fees and any lost items.

Shipping Outside of Canada

The Learning Commons does not ship physical items outside of Canada due to shipping costs, limitations of loan periods, and higher risk of damaged and lost items. Families who are travelling can access our online resources.

Returning Items

If you live outside the courier service area, we will ship by Canada Post and provide prepaid shipping labels for returns.

Arrange a courier pick up or prepaid return by connecting with Kelly Wiebe: 778-721-8309 or kelly.wiebe@onlineschool.ca 

Tips for returning items:

• Items must be packaged in boxes or Tyvek envelopes (save the packaging in which the items were sent!)

• Please don’t use paper envelopes as they rip too easily.  

• Items damaged due to poor packaging will be billed to your account.

• Families are responsible for paying for postage to return DVDs, CDs, and small items that can be mailed if they cannot be returned with a larger shipment.

Local Patrons 

Patrons living in Kelowna, Lake Country, and West Kelowna need to pick up their items from the Learning Commons. Since no shipping time is involved, please get in touch with Library Administrator Shandra Wiebe (swiebe@onlineschool.ca) to have items booked for a shorter period. 

Learning Commons Hours and Location