Basic Search
To do a basic search:
1. On the Basic Search screen, select the type of search by choosing a type of search from the
Search by: list.
Example: select Author Browse
Example: select Subject Browse
2. Enter the word(s) to search for in the Search for: box.
Example: Brown, Dan
for the Author Browse
Example: wolves for the Subject Browse
3. Press [Enter] or click the Search button.
Options:
1. Limit the search - Use only one of the following limits because Quick Limit will not work
with the Limits button:
a. Select a location or collection limit
from the Quick Limit list.
Example:
BSU Albertsons Library West Campus
b. Click the Limits button and
choose from the list available.
2. Determine the number of search results that will display on each page by
choosing among the options in the drop-down menu in the … records per page
box. The options are 10, 20, 25, or 50 records per page.
3. Sort your search results:
a. If you are using the Keyword or Keyword Everywhere search, your search results are automatically sorted by Relevance. The Relevance sort option is only available in these two Keyword searches. Title searches are sorted by title, author searches are sorted by author, etc.
b. To sort your search results by other criteria, use the drop down menu on the Sort by: box. Your choices are:Title
Author
Publish Date
Publish Date Descending
Basic Search Types:
* Indicates limits may be applied to searches.
1. *Keyword ► searches every word in the entire record and displays titles in Relevance order
2. *Title – omit A, An, or The at beginning of title ► searches by title, series title, and other titles
3. *Journal/Magazine/Newspaper Title – omit A, An, or The at beginning of title ► searches journals by title
4. *Author (Person (Last, First name) or Corporate) ► searches either author's name or corporation name
5. Author Browse ► searches by author name; displays an alphabetical list beginning with name searched
6. Author Browse with Titles ► searches by author name; displays an alphabetical list beginning with name searched and
associated titles
7. Keyword within Subject ► searches keywords in subject headings
8. Subject browse ► searches by subject entered; displays an alphabetical list beginning with subject searched
9. Call # Browse ► searches by call number. Searches the Library of Congress classification number,
the Dewey classification number, the SuDocs (Superintendent of Documents) classification number, or by
miscellaneous Boise State University classification systems
10. ISBN/ISSN ► searches by the assigned ISBN (book) or ISSN (journal) number
11. OCLC # ► searches based upon the OCLC control number (control numbers listed in WorldCat)
12. *Command Search ► searching based upon knowing codes to invoke specific search
13. *Keyword Everywhere (use ‘+’ to require word) ► searches every word in the entire record and displays titles in Relevance order
| ARIEL UNICODE MS is the recommended font for viewing Search Tips. The screen may not display properly in other fonts. | ||
| Search Tips: | Limits | Limits may only be used with Keyword, Title, Journal Title, and Author (Personal or Corporate) searches. Limits are retained between searches until they are removed. Use Quick Limit to apply a single, commonly-used limit to your current search. Use Limits to apply one or more limits (such as years, languages, locations, etc.) to a search. Quick Limit and Limits cannot be used simultaneously. |
| Keyword | The default Keyword search is a relevance search that combines terms with 'and'. To truncate, use a question mark. For example: child? will retrieve child, child's, children, childhood, etc. To search phrases, use quotes. For example:"French Revolution" |
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| Title and Journal Title | Omit initial articles (a, an, the, el, la, etc.) when doing a title search: lewis and clark journals rather than the lewis and clark journals |
|
| Author (Personal or Corporate) | For individuals, enter last name first, followed by first name, if known: shakespeare william Enter names of organizations or groups: american psychological association |
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| Subject Browse | Searches Library of Congress Subject headings. For this search to work, terms must be entered in exact order. Example: united states history rather than history united states If the search does not work, try a Keyword or Keyword Within Subject search where word order does not matter. |
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| Call Number Searching | Albertsons Library uses several types of call number searches. Call Number Browse will search any of these types.
For all, type as much of the call number as you know, including spaces and punctuation.
a. MATH Elem. Allyn (for CRC textbooks) b. MICROFICHE 123 c. M 1183 (for phonorecords) d. MSS 021 (for manuscript collections) |
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This file last modified 02/20/09