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How to Search the WeblibraryLocating your "Library Site"
Displaying records
after a search Locating your Library SiteThe Regional Centers for Healthy Communities have six primary library site locations. Each location provides services to a group of cities and towns. Currently patrons may borrow materials from the library site that provides services to the city or town that the patron works or lives in. To begin searching the catalog you must select your library site. Click here to find the library site for your city or town.
SearchingTo do a search:
Finding words and phrasesType the word you want to find (computer) or type a phrase (blue harvest moon) to find those words in that order. To find variations of words, type an asterisk at the end of one or more word stems (comput* tech*). Use the symbols & / ! between words or phrases to represent Boolean AND, OR, NOT. Include a space before and after the symbol. Use the proximity operators w# (within) and p# (preceding) to find words near each other. See the examples below.
Words joined by & / ! are evaluated in left-to-right order. For example, red & white / blue finds index items that contain "red" and "white", or items that contain "blue". Use parentheses to control evaluation order: For example, red & (white / blue) finds index items that contain "red" and "white" OR "red" AND "blue".
Format for searching a dateTo find a date, use any of the below acceptable formats. Do not use the "/" symbol.:
Do not use a forward slash to separate date elements unless you surround the date with quotation marks (for example, "12/31/2002"). You can use the symbols & / ! between dates to do AND-OR-NOT searches. For example, May 2002 / June 2002 finds all dates in May or June 2002. You can do "less than", "greater than", and range searches for dates (see examples below).
Doing "less than", "greater than", and "between" searchesYou can search for items greater than or less than a certain value, or within a range. This is most commonly done when searching for dates, but can also be done when searching for values or text. Use the symbols shown below. When used with a partial date, these symbols search from the beginning of the date (first day of the month or year). A range consists of two values, low and high, separated by a colon. Include spaces around the colon.
Using the "Index" (loads rather slowly)If a search form includes an Index button, you may click it to display the entire database entries for that search field. This eliminates trial-and-error searching and makes searching easier. Please note that the Index provides the full catalog list in the Title, Author and Subject fields and may take a few seconds to load. A pop-up window will appear. In the window you can enter the word or words you are searching for or scroll through the alphabetical listing and select the item you want and click on "Select." You may select "word" or "term" searching. Word searching will show individual words in the field as a separate item to be searched. Term searching will search the entire field as one item.
Using the AND-OR-NOT drop-down listIf a search form includes an AND-OR-NOT drop-down list in front of each box, you can do more advanced searches. The Boolean operator you select for a box determines how the search criteria in that box will be combined with criteria already evaluated. Boxes are evaluated from top to bottom (first box to last). Using a regular drop-down listIf a search form includes a drop-down list next to a box, you can open the list and select one item for which to search. To clear the box, open the list again and select the blank line at the very top of the list.
Finding a term (exact, complete match)A term is a complete item, with no additional text before or after. To search for a term, precede it with an equal sign (=). For example, =macintosh apples finds only that complete term (does not find just "macintosh" or just "apples" or that phrase embedded in other text).
Case and punctuationCase in query criteria is usually ignored (a search for content server finds Content Server). Punctuation is also ignored, except for the AND-OR-NOT symbols (& / !) and search symbols (for example, : = < >). If you do not want these characters to be interpreted as search symbols, use quotation marks ("Johnson & Johnson") or replace the punctuation with a space (Johnson Johnson). Note: For Code fields, punctuation and case are not ignored. Code fields are often used for URLs. Reset buttonTo clear query criteria, click the Reset button on the search screen.
Search buttonTo start your search and find titles, click the Search button.
Displaying records after a searchA successful search finds one or more records, which are displayed in your Web browser as a report. Use the browser controls as you normally would, to browse, print, go back, and so forth. You can also:
Placing materials on hold for pickupFirst be sure you have selected your library site before searching the catalog. Materials at other library sites are not available to patrons outside their service area. 1. Click on "full record" for the item you would like to request a hold on. 2. In full record at the top of the record click on "Add to borrowing cart." 3. You may add as many items to your cart from your library site as you like. 4. When you are done, click on "View Cart." You may continue searching or remove items from your list at this point. When you have completed your list, click on "Request Hold." 5. You will need to fill out the "Borrowing Cart Checkout" information once, then click on your computer will save your information for future requests. Be sure to select your "Library Site." Then click on "Place Request." You will be prompted to call your library site to confirm availability of materials and to arrange for pickup of materials.
Troubleshooting: SearchesIf you are having trouble with a search, some of the most common problems are listed below. If you do not find an answer to your problem here, see WEB_MSG.HTM, which lists error messages in alphabetical order. I got the message "Unable to recognize as a correctly formed query."The program cannot understand the search criteria. Possible problems include:
If you cannot determine what caused the error, try a simpler search (for example, just a word in a box) to see if it works. If the search form includes Word Wheel buttons, use them to construct the query, instead of typing criteria. If even simple searches do not work, contact the Webmaster for the site. I found too many records.If you used an asterisk, omit it and try an exact search instead (for example, search for computer technology instead of comp*). Try using a Boolean symbol (& / !) between words to construct more precise queries. For example, to find articles about mythology, not cartoons, search for hercules ! cartoon. If the item you are searching for includes punctuation, substitute spaces for punctuation (for example, search for db textworks, not db/textworks) or surround the item with quotation marks ("db/textworks"). If you are searching for a date, do not use a forward slash between date components (for example, search for 12-12-98) or surround the date with quotation marks ("12/12/98"). I did not find any records.Examine the contents of the search form (especially if it is longer than the screen) to verify that you do not have query criteria left over from a previous search. If you are not sure of the spelling, use an asterisk after the first few characters (for example, colo*) or separate several possible spellings with a forward slash (for example, search for color / colour). If you did a complex search, try simplifying it to eliminate confusion. If the search form has Word Wheel buttons, use them to view and paste items to search for. If you are searching for a URL, try typing it all in lower case. If you are trying to find records that contain multiple words anywhere in the record, separate the words with Boolean symbols (& / !). Otherwise, you are doing a phrase search, which finds these words in that order. If your search includes Boolean symbols (/ & !) or range searches (:), put spaces around the symbols. Do not use words (and, or, not) for Boolean operators. You must use the Boolean symbols (& / !). Try using / instead of & between words. Using / means either word can be present (john / paul finds John or Paul). Using & means both words must be present (john & paul will not find just "John" or just "Paul"). Remember that range searches involving partial dates start from the beginning of the range. For example: <2003 means "before Jan. 1, 2003." When I try to display records or change forms, I get the message, "Your current query has expired. Perform the search again." The query set file that stored your search results has expired, so you will have to do your search again. If this message occurs frequently, contact the Webmaster for the site.
Search technology supplied by Inmagic, Inc. http://www.inmagic.com 0703 |