Home → Patron Account Management → Creating New Patron Accounts → Searching for Patrons
2.1. Searching for Patrons
Last Updated 08/27/2025
How to Search for Patrons
On This Page
Before issuing a library card to someone, staff at every NC Cardinal library must search Evergreen for patrons with matching name and other identifiers. To search for a patron, select Search for Patrons from the Search menu in the menu bar.
Words to Know
Scope: The level in the org unit structure you're searching. A search can be scoped to the branch, system, or entire NC Cardinal Consortium.
Navigate to the Search Screen
Before issuing a library card to someone, staff at every NC Cardinal library must search the consortium database in Evergreen for an existing patron account.
To search for a patron, select Search for Patrons from the Search menu in the menu bar.
The Patron Search screen will display. It will contain options to search on the following fields:
- Last Name
- First Name
- Middle Name
Next to the Clear Form button there is a button with an arrow pointing down that will display the following additional search fields:
- Barcode
- Alias
- Username
- Identification
- Database ID
- Phone
- Street 1
- Street 2
- City
- State
- Postal Code
- Profile Group
- Home Library
- DOB (date of birth) year
- DOB month
- DOB day
Conduct a search
- Enter the patron's first and last name. Check to make sure their name has not changed recently, and double check spelling.
- Scope your search to the whole consortium by selecting CARDINAL from the library drop-down field.
- Include patrons marked “inactive” by clicking on the Include Inactive? checkbox.
Some tips for effective searching:
- Search one field or combine fields for more precise results.
- Truncate search terms for more search results.
- Search ignores punctuation such as diacritics, apostrophes, hyphens and commas.
- Search by Date of Birth: Year searches are "contains" searches. E.g. year "15" matches 2015, 1915, 1599, etc. For exact matches use the full 4-digit year. Day and month values are exact matches. E.g. month "1" (or "01") matches January, "12" matches December.
Note: Some fields, such as the Profile Group and the library dropdown list, are "sticky" - they do not reset to the default after you change them - so be sure to reset them (as above) before leaving the search screen.
Accessing the Patron's Account
After searching, the grid will populate with all patrons who fit the parameters of the search. If there are multiple options:
- Verify the patron's date of birth against the date shown in the DOB column of the grid.
- Once you have located the desired patron, click on the entry row for this patron in the results screen.
- A summary for this patron will display on the left hand side. Use the details in this summary to further verify the patron's identity,
The Patron Search button on the upper right may be used to refine or resume searching for patrons. Once you have verified that you have found the correct patron, click the blue linked barcode in the Card column to go to the patron's account.