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COLLAGE Search Tips

Keyword

The database recognizes the following three Boolean operators: AND, NOT, OR.

  • AND Operator: If you want all of your search results to have every term you enter, type "AND" between each word. The same results are achieved by placing a phrase or multiple terms in quotes.
  • NOT Operator: If you want to exclude certain records if a keyword is present, type NOT before each term to be excluded.
  • OR Operator: If you want all of your search results to have any term you enter, type OR between each word. Leaving a blank space between words is an implied "OR" search.

Examples

Czech AND Slovak or "Czech Slovak" (Results will include only records identified as both Czech and Slovak).

Slovak NOT Czech (Results will include only records identified as a Slovak and are not simultaneously identified as Czech).

Czech OR Slovak NOT Slovenian (Results will incude all records identified as Czech, all records identified as Slovak and no records identified as Slovenian)

All searches can be refined by selecting one or more of the options listed on the search screen:

The additional search options provide the user with a more directed search. These search qualifiers include Subject, Medium, and Date. The predefined subject list can aid in general searches. Medium searches allows users to narrow materials by their genre. Searches can also be qualified by date, by entering the earliest and latest years for which you wish to discover materials, or by selecting particular decades from the choices shown. As always, users may select more than one option in a list by holding down the "Ctrl" (Windows) or the "Apple" (Macintosh) key and clicking each item individually.