• To Start
• To Browse the Indexes
• To Search
• Truncation
• Limiting
• To Combine Sets
• To Mark and Display Records
• To Print Records
• To Exit

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

• Highlight the BROWSE option, press R

• Highlight the index field to search, press R

• Type search term and press R

• Move the cursor to the term and press R to highlight the term. Follow the instructions To Mark/Display records.

To Search

• Highlight the SEARCH option, press R

• Type the search category abbreviation, a connector (usually an equal sign (=)), and the search term. The categories are listed to the left, press 1 HELP for more information on each category.

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.

• A dollar sign ($) at the end of a word searches any number of characters.

• A question mark (?) at the end or within a word searches for one character.

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.

• Type the set numbers to combine using Boolean operators.

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

• Press 0 to display the short records.

• While viewing the short records, place the cursor to the left of the record to be marked.

• Press R to mark the record.

• Press D to unmark the record.

Displaying

• Press 0 for the Full Record Display.

• Press + or - to move through the marked records.

To Print Records

• Mark the records to be printed.

• Press 5 PRINT, press R

• Select BRIEF or FULL display, press R

• Press R to begin printing.

To Exit

• Press E until only the Menu Bar is showing.

• Press r to highlight ACTION, press R

• Press b to highlight QUIT, press R