Known items
Unlike exploratory searches, sometimes you know the author or title and want to narrow your search results accordingly.
If you have a specific resource in mind you don't want to review thousands of results.
Advanced Search
Use Advanced Search to choose specific fields to search. Try the different options to specify how your search terms should be handled.
- Is exact
- Starts with
- Contains
Combining a title and author search, along with setting a publication date range can narrow your results remarkably. The illustration below shows how combining an exact title with an author (starting with), and setting a publication date range can return only two results.
| Type of Search | Search terms | No. of results |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | Keywords anywhere contain (the taming of the shrew Shakespeare) | 12,669 |
| Advanced | Any field contains (The taming of the shrew) AND Any field contains (Shakespeare) | 12,526 |
| Advanced | Title contains (The taming of the shrew) AND Author contains (Shakespeare) | 589 |
| Advanced | Title is exact (The taming of the shrew) AND Author starts with (Shakespeare) | 115 |
| Advanced | Title contains (The taming of the shrew) AND Author is exact (Shakespeare, William) and Start Year = 2020 and End Year = 2020 | 5 |
Citation Search
Library Search uses artificial intelligence to interpret properly formatted citations when they are pasted in to the search bar. Usually you will see it as a top result.
However if that does not work, you can use the Citation Search feature. It will either present you with a link to access the citation, or provide the request options if we don't have it in the collection already.
Paste the citation details into the corresponding fields and click submit.
Robbie, & Warren, B. (1996). Taoist Approaches to the Shakespearean Sonnet: an examination of an innovative approach to teaching verse to non-native speakers of English. Research in Drama Education, 1(2), 233–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/1356978960010208
You will either be given direct access to the resource, or be presented with request options.
Browse Authors and Titles
Sometimes you might have a particular book in mind, but can't quite remember the title or the author's name.
You can browse the title and author indexes to help jog your memory.
You will find Browse in the menu at the top of Library Search. Then select the index you want to browse and enter your search term.
