Search Tips (Catalog Help)

1. Zero Results: If no matches are found:
   • a. Check your search text.
   • b. Try a different kind of search:
     • Do a browse search by title, typing just the first few letters of the title.
     • Do a browse search by author, typing just the first few letters of the author's last name.
     • Do a browse search by subject. Cross-references may help you find related subjects.
2. Phrases: If you type more than one word, your results may include materials with the words in any order. If you want to find the words in the exact order, begin the phrase with double quotation marks.
3. Wildcard Characters: You can type a part of a word and use a wildcard character. The wildcard character asterisk (*) represents the rest of the word. For example, if you type King*, the results include words such as King, Kingsley, and Kingford. The question mark (?) represents exactly one character. For example, wom?n finds woman and women.
4. Punctuation, Cases & Symbols: Letter case, multiple spaces, and punctuation are ignored. Omit hyphens in numbers. However, you can include the following characters if they immediately precede or follow a letter or number (no space between): + # % $
5. Subject Cross-References: Cross-references are very useful when you browse the subject index. You can easily go to related subjects by clicking the cross-reference links. The headings may include cross-reference links that refer you to related headings. Click a cross-reference link to go to the portion of the index that includes the related heading.
6. Limit by Branch: You may also limit your search to include only items that are owned by a particular branch of your library. In the upper right corner you can Switch to another branch by selecting a specific community library. When you then perform your search, the results will only show items owned by that library.
7. Limit by Availability: After limiting your search to your library you can use the Limit By option in both Keyword and Advanced searches to limit your search to include only items which are on the shelf in that library. Select On Shelf Items.
8. Limiting by both Availability & Type of Material: Because you can only choose one option under Limit By, you will need to limit by material type after first choosing On Shelf Items. Once you get your results, you have the option to further limit them by using the Narrow your search feature, which is located on the right side. Click on Type of material, and then choose from the types (e.g. Book, DVD, Audio Books).
9. Full Record: Click on the Full Display button to view each item's full record. From this display, you will now be able to see the Call Number, System Availability (how many copies Sno-Isle owns), and other details about that item. You will also see choices on the right side to view more information about that title such as a Summary, Professional Reviews and other Reader's Advisory content. Most full records have links to enable you to look at other records which have a common element with that item.

   For example, you may find links in the Name field, the Author field, the Subjects field, the Series field, etc. Clicking on one of these links will initiate a browse search on that index.

You may notice terms in the 'Search By' drop down box that are unfamiliar. These are terms mostly used by library cataloging staff, many of which are not used by Sno-Isle Libraries. They are built into that search box and at this time can't be removed. It is our goal to simplify this box in the future.

• ISSN=International Standard Serial Number (a number that uniquely identifies a periodical or magazine title)
• LCCN=Library of Congress Control Number (a number assigned by the Library of Congress to items cataloged by them)
• SuDoc=Superintendent of Documents Classification Number (assigned by that organization to identify government documents.)
• CODEN=This is unique identifier used for scientific publications.
• STRN=Standard Technical Report Number (a number that uniquely identifies technical reports)