Previous Page TOC Index Next Page



Bowker Software Search Techniques


The Books in Print and the Eighteenth Century Short Title Catalog CDROMs use the Bowker software. For more detailed searching, consult the database documentation at each station, press 1 ]HELP or contact the Library Information Desk.


To
Start


Define your search by identifying the important words and related terms for each concept.


To Browse the Indexes



To
Search


AU=TOOLE, JOHN KENNEDY

TI=CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES(Note that the word 'A' in the title has been omitted.)

KW=AESTHETIC? AND KW=ESSAY?(Keyword searching, which searches the entire record, often is more useful than subject searching.)


Truncation


Truncate a root word or term with an asterisk or question mark to retrieve variants.

Examples:STAT$ will find state, states, but also retrieves statement, statutes, etc. WOM?N will find women or woman. Think about the possible occurrences before using truncation.


Limiting


To narrow your search, you can search in the limit fields using the publication year, language, publisher or any of the other fields. Check the database documentation for specific fields.

PY>=1990

PU=OXFORD

LA=FRESee Section IV of the Books In Print User's Guide for language abbreviations.


To Combine Sets


Any number of previous search sets can be combined.

CS=1 AND CS=5 will find all records containing both terms.

CS=1 OR CS=5 will find all records containing one or both terms.


To
Mark and Display Records


Records can be marked for displaying and printing.

Marking

Displaying


To
Print Records



To
Exit



Previous Page TOC Index Next Page