Library:Catalogue Basic Search Tips
Catalogue Basic Search Tips
| Truncation |
Use the question mark ? to truncate; at least 3 characters required. canad? finds Canada, Canadian, Canadien, Canadiana It can be used with Keyword (relevance ranked), Keyword (use AND, OR, NOT, or "a phrase"), Title Keyword, Author Keyword, Subject Keyword searches. |
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Phrase |
Use quotation marks " " to search for an exact string of words: |
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Filter by |
Use to filter results by Date, Location, Format or Language. Use Location: Online for ebooks, ejournals, etc. Cannot be used with Browse searches. |
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Keyword (relevance ranked) |
Use to search for names, titles, subjects, etc. |
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Keyword (use AND, OR, NOT, or "a phrase") |
Use quotes to search phrases: "british columbia" Combine search terms with Boolean operators: and, or, not. Use ? with partial words to find variant endings: forest? finds forest, forests, forestry Use parentheses to group terms in complex searches: ("british columbia" or alberta) and (tree? or forest?) |
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Title Keyword |
Use to search for words within a title. Multiple terms are searched using an implied "AND". cure death lightning finds cure AND death AND lightning (will find Cure for death by lightning) |
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Title (begins with) |
Use to search for titles that begin with certain words. Omit initial articles (A, An, The, L', etc.). cure for death (will find Cure for death by lightning) return of history (will find The Return of History : conflict, migration, and geopolitics in the twenty-first century) |
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Journal Title (begins with) |
Use to search for journals, newspapers, magazines that begin with certain words. Omit initial articles (A, An, The, L', etc.). globe and mail (will find The Globe and Mail) |
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Author Keyword |
Use to search for names of authors, editors, composers, directors, organizations, etc. william shakespeare |
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Subject Keyword |
Use to search for words within a subject heading (i.e. controlled vocabulary from the Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, First Nations House of Learning and others). british columbia (will find subject headings beginning with British Columbia or as part of a subject heading, e.g. Bilingualism -- British Columbia) |
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Author (lastname, firstname) |
Browse by authors, editors, composers, directors, organizations, etc. Enter individual names as lastname firstname: Enter organizations or groups as they appear: |
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Author/Composer Sorted by Title |
Browse by prolific authors or composers and their works. Searches first author only. Enter author's last name first: |
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Subject (begins with) |
Browse by subject heading (i.e. controlled vocabulary from the Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, First Nations House of Learning and others). Omit all punctuation. ethnobotany |
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Call Number |
Use to browse Library of Congress or National Library of Medicine call numbers. Enter as much of the call number as you know, including punctuation and spaces: |
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Other Shelf Number |
Use to browse other shelf number schemes (e.g. Brian Deer classification, accession numbers). Enter as much of the call number as you know, including punctuation and spaces: SN T87 A53 2014 |