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SEARCH

Chapter 3. SEARCHING

   

 


Quick Search

Quick Search is the broadest of the available search methods. Quick Search searches a specified index to locate materials based on the keyword(s) you enter (see Entering Search Terms for details). If your library has selected to display the index selection menu, you can search All Headings (Title, Author/Creator, Subject and Notes) or search a single selected index for matches to your search term. You can search using one or more keywords in your search term.

NOTE: If the index selection menu is not enabled for display, the default search index is determined by your library.

To perform a Quick Search:

NOTE: The Quick Search entry fields are shown at the top of every screen.

Quick Search Field

Quick Search Field

  1. If your library has enabled display of the Resources menu, click the Resources icon Resources Icon to choose the resources you wish to include in your search (see Database Selection for details).

    NOTE: If your library has not enabled display of the Resources menu, your search will be submitted to a default selection of resources determined by your library.

    NOTE: If desired, you can use the Your Favorite Resources function to select and save your favorite resources from a list of all resources available through your library. Each time you log into the system, your favorite resources are automatically selected in the Resources menu. See Your Favorite Resources for details.

  2. Enter your keyword(s) (search term) in the text box. You can use one or more keywords in your search term (see Entering Search Terms for details).
  3. If your library has enabled display of the Indexes menu, click the Indexes Menu icon to choose the index you wish to search:

    NOTE: Available search indexes are determined by your library.

    NOTE: If your library has not enabled display of the Indexes menu, the system will search the default index specified by your library.

    • All Headings: Searches terms that appear in any of the Title, Author/Creator, Subject or Notes headings.
    • Author/Creator: Searches by the author's name (personal or corporate).
    • Title: Searches terms that appear in the publication title.
    • Title Begins With: Searches for titles that begin with the specified term.
    • Title Exact: Searches for titles that are an exact match to the specified term.
    • Subject: Searches terms that appear in particular subjects.
    • Subject Begins With: Searches for subjects that begin with the specified term.
    • Subject Exact: Searches for subjects that are an exact match to the specified term.
    • Journal Title: Searches terms that appear in Journal title.
    • Title Series: Searches terms that appear in Series title.
    • ISBN: Searches terms that appear in International Standard Book Number. Enter a partial or complete (9, 10 or 13 digit) ISBN without the hyphens. When entering a partial ISBN, you must include the asterisk wildcard “*” at the end of your search term (see Using Wildcards for more information).
    • GMD (General Medium Designator): Searches terms that appear in the General Medium Designator subfield ($h) of the 245 tag.
    • Notes: Searches terms that appear in record notes.
    • ISSN: Searches terms that appear in International Standard Serial Number. Enter a partial or complete (7 or 8 digit) ISSN; hyphens are optional. When entering a partial ISSN, you must include the asterisk wildcard “*” at the end of your search term (see Using Wildcards for more information). If you omit the hyphen, close up the number and do not use spaces. For example, if you omit the hyphen for ISSN 1068-2554, enter the number as 10682554.
    • LCCN: Searches terms that appear in Library of Congress Catalog Number. Enter a complete (8, 10 or 12 digit) or partial LCCN.
      • If you enter a complete LCCN, the hyphen is optional. If you omit the hyphen, close up the number and do not use spaces. For example, if you omit the hyphen for LCCN 95-123456, enter the number as 95123456.
      • If you enter a partial LCCN, you must include the hyphen between the second and third digits. For example, 95-123. When entering a partial ISSN, you must include the asterisk wildcard “*” at the end of your search term (see Using Wildcards for more information).
    • OCLC Number: Searches terms that appear in Online Computer Library Center Number. Enter a complete OCLC number.

      NOTE: When searching by OCLC Number, the system will return only those records where the OCLC number is an exact match to the search term entered.

    • For Government Printing Office (GPO) numbers, you may enter either a complete or a partial number. When using partial GPO numbers, do not omit or delete numbers within a related group of digits.

      NOTE: These options are available only if your library has set the authorization.

      • GPO SuDoc Number: Enter a complete or partial SuDoc number. It is not necessary to enter spaces and/or punctuation marks when entering the SuDoc number. If desired, you may use the “*” wildcard character to replace multiple characters in the SuDoc number (see Using Wildcards for details).
      • GPO Item Number: Enter a complete or partial Item Number for Depository Library items, including spaces and punctuation marks.
      • GPO Order Number: Enter a complete or partial Stock number, including spaces and punctuation marks, assigned to publications by the Superintendent of Publications.
      • GPO Report Number: Enter a complete or partial Report number, including spaces and punctuation marks, assigned to certain series designated as technical reports.
      • GPO Monthly Cat. Number: Enter a complete or partial Monthly Catalog Entry Number, including spaces and punctuation marks.
      • GPO Ship List Number: Enter a complete or partial Ship List Number, including spaces and punctuation marks.
    • Original Control Number: This optional feature searches for records using other system number(s) located in the 035 tag. Enter a complete or partial number.
    • A-G Control Number: The A-G Control Number is the Auto-Graphics assigned accession number (system number). Enter the complete A-G Control Number.
    • Publisher Number: Enter a complete publisher number assigned to sound recordings, video recordings, printed music and other music-related material.
    • Personal Name: Searches terms that appear in Personal Name.
    • Dewey Call Number: Searches terms by Dewey Decimal Classification Number.
    • LC Call Number: Searches terms by Library of Congress Call Number.
    • Other Standard Identifier
    • Material Type: Searches terms that appear in general material designator (electronic resource, video, recording, etc.).
    • Item Call Number: Searches terms by Item Call Number. Enter a complete or partial Item Call Number, with or without spaces and punctuation marks. When entering a partial Item Call Number, you must include the asterisk wildcard “*” at the end of your search term (see Using Wildcards for details).
    • Study Program: Searches terms that appear in the Study Program Name.
    • Your Reading Level: Searches terms by Reading Level.
    • Your Desired Point Level: Searches terms by Point Level.
    • Lexile Level: Searches terms by Lexile Level.
    • Interest Level: Searches terms by Interest Level.
    • Genre Subject: Searches terms that appear in the Genre Subject.
    • Barcode: Searches terms by item barcode.
    • Related Resource: Provides for full text searching of items “linked” to bibliographic records in an A-G database. For each record that includes a link to an electronic resource, the system retrieves and indexes the full text content of the “linked” resource.

      NOTE: The Related Resource feature does not support “phrase” searching.

  4. Click the Search button Search Button to begin the search.

NOTE: If you have not entered a search term, the message “Please enter a search term to start searching” displays briefly at the top of the screen. Enter a search term in the text box and resubmit your search.

NOTE: If you have not selected at least one database, the message “Please select resources for search” shows briefly at the top of the screen. Select the desired database(s) and resubmit your search.

  1. The Search Summary screen displays when the search is completed (see Chapter 4, Viewing Search Results for more information).