Catalog Searching Tips & Tricks

Would you like to see all the audio books on CD in the catalog? Or all audio books on cassette? Perhaps you’d like to browse the DVDs or videotapes? A special format search can pick out compact discs, cassettes, CD-ROMs, computer disks, videotapes, videodiscs, or web sites. Several formats have lists of new arrivals on the "New Titles at the Library". Any subject, title, author or keyword search can be limited with the "Limit/Sort Search" button, and using the drop-down boxes to specify format, location, year of publication, or words contained in specific fields.

But to browse long lists of materials in any desired format, your best approach is usually the "Advanced Keyword Search" on the catalog page.

AUDIO BOOKS: in Advanced Keyword, type "audiobooks" and limit by the format desired.

VIDEOS: in Advanced Keyword, type "video recordings" and limit by format videotape.

Or use "Fiction/Other" instead of "Advanced Keyword." Type "vhs" followed by the a genre subheading, if known. Genre subheadings are: Action, Bus Motiv, Chld Features, Classics, Comedy, Computers, Documentary, Drama, Fine Arts, Fitness, Foreign, Geo Soc St, Health Safety, History, Horror, How to, Juvenile, Misc, Musical, Mystery, Native Amer, Parenting, Performance, Religious, Sci Fi, Science, Shakespeare, Sports, Travel, Western.

DVD: in Advanced Keyword, type "dvd" and limit by format video disc.

Music CD's: in Advanced Keyword, type "compact discs and not audiobooks" and limit by format compact disc.

Or use "Fiction/Other" instead of "Advanced Keyword" and type any broad category: Blues, Classical, Country, Folk, Jazz, Movie, Musical, New Age, Popular, Religious, Rock, Juvenile, Christmas, etc. Then limit by format using "compact disc" or "cassette."

COMPUTER SOFTWARE: in Advanced Keyword, type "software" and limit by format CD-ROM.

WEBSITES: in Advanced Keyword, type "web site" and limit by format websites.

MATERIALS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES: In subject search, type the name of the language, followed by "language materials" (i.e. Spanish language materials, Russian language materials, followed by subheadings such as "fiction" or "bilingual"). Material about learning the language, such as grammars, phrase books, dictionaries, alphabets, etc. are just under the subject "Spanish language," "Russian language," etc.

SONGS: In Advanced Keyword, type in all significant words in the title of the song and use "Sort by Relevance". Choose format according to desired material: Music Recording or Compact Disc for audio recordings; Music Score for sheet music; Videotape or Videodisc for a music video. Use n: with words to eliminate book titles.

GENRE FICTION: Not all fiction has a subject heading or annotation referring to its genre, but many can be found using the following searches. There are several genre bibliographies in the Popular Materials Center to guide you to appropriate authors. On our website, view the "New and Upcoming Best Sellers" page or use the database NoveList to suggest authors.

• Christian
  Subject: "Christian fiction," "Religious fiction," "domestic fiction," "family fiction"
• Mysteries
  In Advanced Keyword, type "mystery fiction" or "suspense fiction"
• Romance
  Subject: "love stories," "romantic suspense fiction," "regency fiction"
  Or on the Catalog page, click on "Fiction/Other," and type "romance" or "browsing romance."
• Fantasy
  In Advanced Keyword, type "fantasy fiction"
• Science Fiction
  In Advanced Keyword, type "science fiction"
• Westerns
  Subject: "Western stories"
• Graphic novels (fiction in comics format, published as a book)
  Subject: "Graphic novels"
• Fiction with black characters
  In Advanced Keyword, type "African American* AND fiction" and limit by format desired (second search - use "black* AND fiction")
• Fiction written in the form of letters
  Subject: "epistolary fiction"