Use
to search the subjects of a book. Keyword searching is best if you don't know
the exact subject heading. Asterisk (*) lets you pick up variations of a word,
economy, economic, economics, etc.
Use
when you are searching a broad topic, or know an exact subject heading.
This type of searching allows you to find subject terms related to the terms
you typed in, which can often be helpful.
Searching mythology lets you browse a list to find different types of mythology
(African, Norse, Greek, etc.) and indicates that words like legends, gods, etc.
are related terms.
Use
to search the title of a book when you know some title words, but aren't sure
of the exact beginning of a title.
In the example, the full title of the book is Heavens on Earth: Utopian Communities
in America, 1680-1880, but the searcher has only remembered words from the
sub-title.
Use
to search the title of a book when you know the exact starting words
of the title.
Click
on each search type to see a sample search.
Searching
author by keyword is best if you only have part of an author's name,
or are unsure of the author's last name. For example, is Cynthia Hewitt de Alcántara's
last name Hewitt, or de Alcántara?
Use
to search a book using the format, last name, first name. All types of
alpha searching let you browse an alphabetical list, in this case, a list of
authors' last names.
Use
to search the title of a journal, magazine, or newspaper when you are sure about
the beginning words of the title.
Choosing
a Search Type
Tutorial
1: Locate Books using the Library Catalog
