Keyword Search Examples:

• copyright law
• economy and japan
• (alaska or canada) and environment*

Keyword searches allow you to find words and phrases in author names, titles, subjects, notes, and other fields.

Keyword searching permits boolean searching, adjacency and proximity searching, and several truncation options.

See here for advanced search, limit, and sort options.

Title Search Examples:

Type as much of the TITLE as you want, starting with the first word (initial articles are not necessary), for example:

• much ado about nothing
• much ado abou
• sonata for clarinet
• 2001 a space od

NOTE: If you are unsure of the exact TITLE, try a KEYWORD search instead.

Journal Title Search Examples:

Type as much of the JOURNAL TITLE as you want, starting with the first word (initial articles are not necessary), for example:

• journal of biological chemistry
• journal of biolog
• callaloo
• jama

NOTE: Your results will be more accurate if you are able to provide more information.

Author Search Examples:

Type the LAST NAME first, for example:

• wilde, oscar
• wilde

You can also type in the names of artists and composers, government bodies, companies, or the names of organizations, for example:

• picasso
• american medical association
• united states army
• general motors corporation

Subject Heading Examples:

Type as much or as little of the SUBJECT HEADING as you want, for example:

• sports medicine
• sports
• united states foreign economic relations china
• dickens, charles
• cleveland ohio
• world war, 1939-1945 -- bibliography

NOTE: The SUBJECT SEARCH is a search by Library of Congress Subject Headings only. This type of structured, subject language searching is most useful when a search in KEYWORD results in too many or no hits.

Library of Congress Call Number Examples:

Type as much of the CALL NUMBER as you know, for example:

• QA 1 S87
• BF 1
• QP
• QP 376
• QP 376 D38

Dewey Call Number Examples:

Type as much of the CALL NUMBER as you know, for example:

• 822
• 822.33
• 822.33 S8

SUDOC Number Examples:

Type the SUDOC NUMBER, for example:

• PRVP 42.2:G 74
• EP 1.2

NOTE: The Superintendent of Documents classification system is used for U.S. government documents. The system is generally organized based on agency. Using correct punctuation (.,:,/) will help ensure an accurate search.

Other Call Number Examples:

Type as much of the CALL NUMBER as you know, for example:

• CD 00-09
• User Guide

ISBN/ISSN Examples:

Type the complete ISBN/ISSN/REPORT NUMBER, with or without punctuation, for example:

• 0-39451-598-6
• 0394515986
• 0098-7484
• 00987484

GPO Item Number/LCCN Examples:

Type as much of the GPO ITEM NUMBER or LCCN as you know, for example:

• 89-18623
• 126A
• 97640067

NOTE: GPO is short for Government Printing Office. LCCN is short for Library of Congress Card Number.

OCLC Number Examples:

Type the complete OCLC NUMBER (WorldCat Accession Number), for example:

• 12346
• 35879251

NOTE: For those using the FirstSearch WorldCat database, the WorldCat Accession Number is an OCLC Number.

Genre Search Examples:

Type as much or as little of the Genre term as you want, for example:

• Biography
• Documentary
• Suspense
• True crime stories

NOTE: This type of structured, genre term searching is most useful when a search in KEYWORD results in too many or no hits.

Problematic Subject Terms

Learn more about subject headings, problem flags, and how changes to subject headings are made.