When searching the library catalog it is best to use diverse methods to find what you want. This post will briefly touch on different ways to search for the same subject.
At the top of our catalog there three boxes you can select from: Keyword Search For, Search By and Limit By. I have selected the Keyword Ocean in my example search. Using this ‘keyword’ I then move down to the second box and change the options for Search By.
Below you will see three screen shots of my results. Each illustrates a different Search By option: Subject, Title and General Notes. You may note that the first book selected for each search is the same text, but the second texts and amount of results differ greatly. When I searched by Title I received 259 results. When I searched by subject I gathered 432 results and General Notes gathered 608 results.
As we are looking for books, we will not set a Limit By in this search. This option is useful if you are looking for DVD’s or sound recordings.
Other keyword search terms I could use to find books about the ocean, and ocean life, include: sea water, sea, marine, tides, waves, currents, fish, ocean life and ocean life. Truly, the list of possible ocean related search terms can go on even further.
To the left of your search results you will see additional options to limit your search. You may limit your results to different subjects, target audiences, languages and literary forms.
As always, feel free to ask a librarian to help you search for the materials you need. We will be more than happy to demonstrate the process in-person.
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